Outfielder, Boston
Braves
Age: 33
Bats – Both,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’1” Weight: 178
Prior to 1950:
Born in
Mississippi, Jethroe moved with his family to East St. Louis, Illinois, where
he played semipro baseball until joining the Negro League Indianapolis Clowns
in 1938 while still in high school. He returned to semipro ball until returning
to the Negro American League in 1942 with the Cincinnati/Cleveland Buckeyes.
Despite the incomplete nature of Negro League statistics to provide clear
evidence, Jethroe played well for the Buckeyes, who were exclusively a
Cleveland-based club while he was with them from 1943 through 1948. Widely
considered to be the fastest player in baseball, he was selected to Negro
League East-West All-Star Games in 1942, ’44, ’46, and ’47. He led the league
with a .353 batting average in 1944. Jethroe was given a tryout, along with
Jackie Robinson and Marvin Williams, by the Boston Red Sox in 1945, who were
coming under heavy pressure to integrate. The tryout did not lead to a signing
(major league baseball remained segregated until 1947, and the Red Sox for well
after that) and Jethroe returned to the Buckeyes, where he led the Negro
American League with a .393 batting average. Known as “Jet Propelled Jethroe”
which was shortened to “The Jet”, his contract was purchased from the Buckeyes
by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948, who assigned him to the Montreal Royals of the
Class AAA International League. In 76 games with Montreal, Jethroe batted .322,
scored 52 runs, and stole 18 bases. He had a much bigger year with Montreal in
1949 as he hit .326 with 17 home runs and 83 RBIs. “The Jet” also topped the
International League with 19 triples and 89 stolen bases. Having demonstrated
that he was clearly ready to advance to the major leagues and blocked by the
presence of Duke Snider in center field with the Dodgers, Jethroe was dealt to
the Braves, where he became the first black player in franchise history and
overcame a poor spring to become the starting center fielder in 1950 as a
33-year-old rookie.
1950 Season Summary
Appeared in 141
games
CF – 141
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 641 [15]
At Bats – 582 [10]
Runs – 100 [7,
tied with Willie Jones]
Hits – 159 [16,
tied with Gil Hodges]
Doubles – 28 [16,
tied with Willie Jones, Bob Elliott & Whitey Lockman]
Triples – 8 [6,
tied with four others]
Home Runs – 18
[20, tied with Carl Furillo]
RBI – 58
Bases on Balls
– 52
Int. BB – 1
Strikeouts – 93
[2]
Stolen Bases – 35
[1]
Caught Stealing
– 9 [3, tied with Earl Torgeson & Richie Ashburn]
Average - .273
OBP - .338
Slugging Pct. -
.442 [20, tied with Dick Sisler]
Total Bases – 257
[17]
GDP – 8
Hit by Pitches
– 5 [7, tied with eight others
Sac Hits – 3
Sac Flies – N/A
League-leading
stolen bases were +18 ahead of runner-up Pee Wee Reese
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 9, RBI - 29, SB – 25, AVG - .286, OBP – .355
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) at Cincinnati 5/6, (in 5 AB) at Phila. Phillies 7/4, (in 4 AB)
vs. Brooklyn 9/4
Longest hitting
streak – 15 games
Most HR, game –
1 on eighteen occasions
HR at home – 8
HR on road – 10
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 4 vs. Pittsburgh 6/17
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 384
Put Outs – 355
Assists – 17
Errors – 12
DP – 6
Pct. - .969
Awards & Honors:
NL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
27th
in NL MVP voting, tied with Earl Torgeson, Bos. Braves (6 points, 2% share)
NL ROY Voting:
Sam Jethroe,
BosB.: 11 of 23 votes, 46% share
Bob Miller,
PhilaP.: 5 votes, 21% share
Danny
O’Connell, Pitt.: 4 votes, 17% share
Bubba Church,
PhilaP.: 2 votes, 8% share
Bill Serena,
ChiC.: 1 vote, 4% share
---
Braves went 83-71
to finish fourth in the NL, 8 games behind the pennant-winning Philadelphia
Phillies.
Aftermath of 1950:
A disruptive
force on the basepaths with his speed, Jethroe again led the NL in stolen bases
with another 35 in 1951 to go along with a .280 average, 29 doubles, 10 triples,
18 home runs, and 65 RBIs while scoring 101 runs. However, vision problems and
an unexceptional throwing arm caused him to be substandard in the field, where
he led center fielders in errors. Recovering from intestinal surgery in 1952,
Jethroe’s performance dropped off to .232 with 13 home runs, 58 RBIs, and 28
stolen bases, and his strikeout total rose to 112. With the move of the Braves
to Milwaukee in 1953, Jethroe was instead demoted to Toledo of the Class AAA
American Association where he batted .309 with 32 doubles, 10 triples, 28 home
runs, 74 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases. In the offseason he was traded to the
Pittsburgh Pirates. He appeared in two games for the Pirates in 1954. Jethroe
spent the rest of the season in the International League with the Toronto Maple
Leafs, hitting .305 with 36 doubles, 8 triples, 21 home runs, 84 RBIs, and 23
stolen bases. He played for Toronto until 1958, when he retired at age 41. His
hitting dropped off during his final seasons, but he still drew a fair number
of walks and hit 19 home runs in 1956, a total that he never again exceeded. He
also stole 24 bases in 1955 and ’57. For his brief major league career, played
almost entirely with the Braves, Jethroe batted .261 with 460 hits that
included 80 doubles, 25 triples, and 49 home runs. He also scored 280 runs and
compiled 181 RBIs and 98 stolen bases. He encountered financial difficulties in
retirement, not helped by his inability to qualify for a pension from major
league baseball. Clearly an exciting and productive performer in his prime, one
wonders what he could have accomplished had he been allowed to play major
league baseball sooner. Jethroe died in 2001 at age 84.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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