The 1923 San Francisco Seals season was the 21st season in the history of the San Francisco Seals baseball team. The 1923 team won the Pacific Coast League (PCL) pennant with a 124–77 record.
Dots Miller began the season as the team's manager. However, he developed tuberculosis and resigned his position in July to seek treatment at a sanitarium in Saranac Lake, New York. He died there in September 1923.
When Miller resigned as manager, first baseman Babe Ellison became a player-manager. He compiled a .358 batting average and led the team with 23 home runs, 67 doubles, and a .564 slugging percentage.
Right fielder Paul Waner, playing his first season of professional baseball at age 20, led the 1923 Seals with a .369 batting average. Waner later played 15 years for the Pittsburgh Pirates and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1952.
Pitcher Harry Courtney led the PCL with a .766 winning percentage (19 wins, six losses) and ranked second in the league with a 2.80 earned run average (ERA). In addition, three other San Francisco pitchers (Red Shea, Bob Geary, and Doug McWeeny) won at least 20 games each.
Players
Batting Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; SLG = Slugging percentage Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI OF Paul Waner 112 325 120 .369 3 .514 1B Babe Ellison 192 757 271 .358 23 .564 LF Joe Kelly 107 443 154 .348 5 .481 OF Tim Hendryx 133 475 161 .339 6 .463 RF Gene Valla 194 829 277 .334 1 .429 3B Eddie Mulligan 155 620 204 .329 9 .434 2B Pete Kilduff 161 622 204 .328 10 .477 OF Pete Compton 134 527 171 .324 7 .454 C Sam Agnew 110 369 115 .312 13 .491 SS Hal Rhyne 168 611 181 .296 5 .376 C Archie Yelle 106 356 100 .281 2 .365
Pitching Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; PCT = Win percentage; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L PCT ERA Red Shea 44 291 21 10 .677 3.62 Bob Geary 42 262 21 11 .656 3.64 Doug McWeeny 48 253 20 12 .625 3.91 Harry Courtney 36 251 19 6 .760 2.80 Shovel Hodge 49 256 18 15 .545 3.48 Jim Scott 28 173 11 9 .550 4.06 Ollie Mitchell 41 204 10 9 .526 3.40
References