Jigger Statz
| Jigger Statz | |
|---|---|
 Statz in 1922 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: October 20, 1897 Waukegan, Illinois, U.S. | |
| Died: March 16, 1988 (aged 90) Corona del Mar, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 30, 1919, for the New York Giants | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 30, 1928, for the Brooklyn Robins | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .285 |
| Home runs | 17 |
| Runs batted in | 215 |
| Teams | |
| |
Arnold John "Jigger" Statz (October 20, 1897 – March 16, 1988) was an American
Early life
Statz attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he moved from Illinois along with his parents at an early age. He played baseball for two years at Holy Cross before enlisting in the U. S. Navy during World War I. Though he signed with the Giants in 1919, Statz continued his studies at Holy Cross and graduated with his class in 1921.[1]
Major league career
Statz played in the major leagues during eight seasons from 1919 to 1928 for the
Minor league career
Statz played 18 minor league seasons, all of them for the Los Angeles Angels of the top-level Pacific Coast League. In an era when many players had lengthy minor league careers, Statz's statistics surpassed those of his contemporaries, e.g. a grand total of 4,093 major and minor league hits, and a total number of games played which was exceeded only by Pete Rose.[1]
Statz had a distinguished career in the Pacific Coast League. He holds the PCL records for games played (2,790), hits (3,356), doubles (597), triples (136), and runs scored (1,996). His career PCL batting average was .315.[citation needed] The year after his playing career ended, he was a member of the first group of players elected to the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.[citation needed]
Total hits
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Statz is one of only nine players (along with Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Ichiro Suzuki, Hank Aaron, Minnie Miñoso, Julio Franco, Derek Jeter, and Stan Musial) known to have amassed at least 4,000 combined hits in the major leagues and minor leagues.[2] (Jake Beckley and Sam Crawford may also have hit 4,000, but data for some of their minor league seasons are missing.)[3]
Post–playing career
Statz managed for five years in the minor leagues. He was the Angels' player-manager during 1940–1942, and managed the Visalia Cubs of the California League in 1948–1949.
Jigger Statz played himself in the 1929 Paramount film, Fast Company, and in 1952 served as a technical advisor for The Winning Team, a fictionalized Warner Bros. biography of Grover Cleveland Alexander which starred Ronald Reagan.[4]
References
- ^ a b Jigger Statz at the SABR Baseball Biography Project , by Bill Nowlin, Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- SABR.org, accessed 2021-12-07
- ^ Chasing 4000, Devon Young, Baseballmusings.com, accessed 2013-08-23
- IMDb
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet