Sammy Hale

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1920-1930)

Sammy Hale was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1920 to 1930 for the Detroit Tigers, the Philadelphia Athletics, and the St. Louis Browns, a span of 11 seasons. In 883 career games, he hit .302 with 880 hits, 30 home runs, and 392 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 833.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .302
HR 30
RBI 392
H 880
OPS .760
PIV 833
Position
Third Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'8" / 160 lb
Born
9/10/1896 in Glen Rose, TX, USA
Died
9/6/1974 in Wheeler, TX, USA
MLB Debut
1920-04-20
Last Game
1930-08-23

Full name: Samuel Douglas Hale

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Batting Statistics

Sammy Hale — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
883 2,915 422 880 157 54 30 392 41 130 218 .302 .336 .424 .760 833

Career AVG .302 vs. league average .284 across their career seasons — +6.3% above league average.

Career OBP .336 vs. league average .346 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .424 vs. league average .397 across their career seasons — +6.7% above league average.

Career OPS .760 vs. league average .743 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Sammy Hale Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1920 DET AL 76 116 13 34 3 3 1 14 2 5 15 .293 .271 (+8%) .331 (-3%) .363 (+9%) .694 (+3%) 31.8
1921 DET AL 9 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1923 PHA AL 115 434 68 125 22 8 3 51 8 17 31 .288 .282 (+2%) .344 (-5%) .390 (+2%) .734 (-2%) -193.5
1924 PHA AL 80 261 41 83 14 2 2 17 3 17 19 .318 .283 (+12%) .345 (+6%) .389 (+5%) .734 (+6%) 283.2
1925 PHA AL 110 391 62 135 30 11 8 63 7 17 27 .345 .288 (+20%) .349 (+7%) .407 (+33%) .756 (+21%) 1451.3
1926 PHA AL 111 327 49 92 22 9 4 43 1 13 36 .281 .279 (+1%) .345 (-10%) .390 (+13%) .735 (+2%) -47.5
1927 PHA AL 131 501 77 157 24 8 5 81 11 32 32 .313 .282 (+11%) .344 (+4%) .392 (+8%) .736 (+6%) 557.2
1928 PHA AL 88 314 38 97 20 9 4 58 2 9 21 .309 .280 (+10%) .342 (-2%) .395 (+18%) .737 (+9%) 366.8
1929 PHA AL 101 379 51 105 14 3 1 40 6 12 18 .277 .289 (-4%) .353 (-14%) .415 (-19%) .769 (-17%) -1095.2
1930 SLA AL 62 190 21 52 8 1 2 25 1 8 18 .274 .293 (-7%) .354 (-14%) .429 (-17%) .784 (-16%) -521.5
Career · 10 seasons 883 2,915 422 880 157 54 30 392 41 130 218 .302 — — — — 833

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (885 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Sammy Hale — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home444141820245615214.322
Away441150921942615193.282

Last 10 Games — Batting

Sammy Hale — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1930-08-23 SLAMINL 100000000
1930-07-31 SLACHWL 101000000
1930-07-30 SLACHWW 400000010
1930-07-29 SLACHWL 402000000
1930-07-28 SLACHWL 513200101
1930-07-27 SLABOSW 400000001
1930-07-27 SLABOSW 512010101
1930-07-26 SLABOSW 400000000
1930-07-25 SLABOSW 401000200
1930-07-24 SLABOSL 412100100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Sammy Hale — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 3 0 4 2 0 1
3B 704 0 686 1373 133 145
OF 10 0 9 4 1 0
SS 1 0 0 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Sammy Hale — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1920 DET 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1920 DET 3B 16 0 8 31 5 2
1920 DET OF 4 0 6 1 0 0
1923 PHA 3B 107 0 85 222 28 17
1924 PHA 3B 55 0 39 108 8 10
1924 PHA OF 5 0 3 3 1 0
1924 PHA SS 1 0 0 0 0 0
1925 PHA 2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1925 PHA 3B 96 0 98 173 24 19
1926 PHA 3B 77 0 82 152 13 16
1926 PHA OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1927 PHA 3B 128 0 152 247 16 46
1928 PHA 3B 79 0 86 189 20 17
1929 PHA 2B 1 0 4 1 0 1
1929 PHA 3B 99 0 90 171 12 13
1930 SLA 3B 47 0 46 80 7 5

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Sammy Hale Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 3
Third Base 704
Shortstop 1
Left Field 4
Center Field 5
Right Field 2

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Sammy Hale (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Russ Wrightstone
    .297 avg, 60 HR
  2. 97
    Cotton Tierney
    .296 avg, 31 HR
  3. 97
    Johnny Hodapp
    .311 avg, 28 HR
  4. 91
    Buck Jordan
    .299 avg, 17 HR
  5. 89
    Freddy Sanchez
    .297 avg, 48 HR
  6. 88
    Fred Dunlap
    .292 avg, 41 HR

Sammy Hale: the record in brief

April 20, 1920 and August 23, 1930 bracket Sammy Hale's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The season rows list, in order, the Detroit Tigers (1920 through 1921), the Philadelphia Athletics (1923 through 1929), and the St. Louis Browns (1930). Born on September 10, 1896, in Glen Rose, TX, USA, Hale is listed as a third baseman and batted and threw right-handed. The bio gives 5 feet, 8 inches and 160 pounds. Hale's death is recorded on September 6, 1974, in Wheeler, TX, USA. The bio lists the given name Samuel Douglas.

Hale's career batting table shows 883 games, 2,915 at bats and 880 hits, a .302 average; the totals also include 30 homers, 392 runs batted in, and 41 stolen bases. Hale got on base at a .336 rate and slugged .424 (.760 OPS). The league as a whole hit .284 across Hale's seasons, which puts the .302 career mark 6.3% above average. 1927 produced Hale's most hits, 157 of them for the Philadelphia Athletics.

Frequently Asked Questions about Sammy Hale

What years did Sammy Hale play?
Sammy Hale played in Major League Baseball from 1920 to 1930.
Was Sammy Hale a pitcher?
No. Sammy Hale was a position player (Third Baseman).
How many home runs did Sammy Hale hit?
Sammy Hale hit 30 career home runs with 880 hits.
What teams did Sammy Hale play for?
Sammy Hale played for 3 teams: the Detroit Tigers (1920–1921), the Philadelphia Athletics (1923–1929), and the St. Louis Browns (1930).
What were Sammy Hale's career stats?
In 883 games, Sammy Hale had 880 hits, 30 home runs, 392 RBI, 422 runs, and 41 stolen bases, with a .302 batting average.
What position did Sammy Hale play?
Sammy Hale played primarily as a third baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Sammy Hale and how much did he weigh?
Sammy Hale was listed at 5 feet 8 inches and 160 pounds.
How many home runs did Sammy Hale hit each season?
Sammy Hale's home runs by season: 1 in 1920, 0 in 1921, 3 in 1923, 2 in 1924, 8 in 1925, 4 in 1926, 5 in 1927, 4 in 1928, 1 in 1929, and 2 in 1930. His most in one season was 8, in 1925.
What was Sammy Hale's career batting average?
Sammy Hale batted .302 over his career, with 880 hits in 2,915 at bats.
How many RBI did Sammy Hale have?
Sammy Hale drove in 392 runs in his career.
Is Sammy Hale in the Hall of Fame?
No. Sammy Hale has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.