The first black player in Atlanta Braves Franchise history, Sam Jethroe, was also National League Rookie of the Year in 1950. / GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS / USA
When Atlanta Braves center fielder Michael Harris II was named 2022 NL Rookie of the Year, he was following in the footsteps of the franchise’s first African-American player, Sam Jethroe. I've written about Sam before, but his story is worthy of noting today.
In 1950, the Atlanta Braves Franchise became the fourth in baseball and the third in the NL to add an African-American player to their Major League roster, when they signed Samuel Jethroe.
The rookie years of Harris and Jethroe have many similarities, but the roads each player took to that rookie year are lightyears apart.
For Harris, it began when the Atlanta Braves drafted the 18-year-old outfielder in the third round of the 2019 Amateur Draft. Three years later, Dana Brown convinced Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos that Harris was ready despite his lack of experience, and at 21, Money Mikey became the club’s starting center fielder.
Different Times, Different Standards for “Ready”
At 18, Sam Jethroe was playing pickup ball on a segregated team in East St Louis. At 21, he played three games for the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League but had to quit to return to St Louis to care for his ailing mother.
In 1942 Jethroe began playing for the Cleveland Buckeyes. Over the next four years, he earned a spot in four All-Star Games, batted .321/.366/.475/.841 with a 157 OPS+, and helped them win the 1945 Little World Series.
Under public pressure to integrate the majors, the Red Sox paid lip service to the idea by inviting three Negro League stars to Fenway for a tryout, Jethroe, Jackie Robinson, and Marvin Williams. The Red Sox didn’t contact any of them once the tryout ended, saying they ”had all the potential, but it wasn’t the right time.”
Branch Rickey disagreed. He interviewed both Jethroe and Robinson, eventually signing both players, Robinson in 1946 and Jethroe in 1948.
Atlanta Braves predecessor Boston Braves signed outfielder Sam Jethroe in 1950. / JACK HANRAHAN/ERIE TIMES-NEWS via Imagn
Montreal to Milwaukee
Jethroe earned the nickname of The Jet with Montreal because of his blazing speed on the bases. In 1949 the Dodgers timed him running a 5.9 60-yard dash, shaving two-tenths off the world record. The Dodgers set up a race between Jethroe and Olympic silver medalist Barney Ewell. Jethroe won going away.
In his 1.5 seasons in Montreal, he batted .325/.397/.505/.902 and delighted fans with his speed on the bases. in 1949, he drew the attention of New York sports writers by scoring from second standing up on an infield dribbler and set an International League single-season record for stolen bases with 89 steals. But with Duke Snider waiting for a call-up, the Dodgers had no room for him.
Finally Ready?
The Braves had a vacancy and made a headline-grabbing deal with Brooklyn, sending Al Epperly, Dee Phillips, Don Thompson, Clint Conatser, and cash worth between $1.2M and $2.5M in today’s dollars to Brooklyn for Jethroe and Bob Addis.
The following spring Sam Jethroe became the first African-American player in franchise history. Though he wasn’t a home run hitter before reaching the majors, he crushed 18 homers to go with 28 doubles and eight triples and ended the year with a .273/.338/.442/.780 line and a Major-League leading led the majors with 35 stolen bases.
The BBWAA made him an easy winner of the NL Rookie of the Year award, the first in Atlanta Braves Franchise history.
He repeated his success in 1952, once again slugging 18 homers and leading both leagues with 35 stolen bases in 40 attempts while batting .280/.356/.460/.816 with a 125 OPS+.
Off-season surgery meant Jethroe returned to the Braves without his usual strength. New Braves manager Charlie Grimm used a term that exposed his racial prejudice and didn’t hide his disdain for Sam. The club optioned him to Toledo in 1953 and traded him to Pittsburg after the season.
Atlanta Braves Fans Love Mike as Boston Fans Loved Sam
Atlanta Fans expected something special when Money Mikey came to the plate, and he delivered excitement on both sides of the ball every game.
Boston fans loved The Jet from day one; every time the Jet got on base, they chanted go, go, go.
A fan who attended games and watched Jethroe explained what it was like in the ballpark in an email included in Jethroe’s SABR biography.
“A wave of excitement rose from the stands when he stepped to the plate . . .he was our hometown answer to Jackie Robinson–a self-assured threat to steal one or more bases each time he reached first…Boos when he came to bat? Never. We just wanted to see Sammy run.”
Jethroe was a quiet community activist before it was the popular thing to do. When he heard that the clubs planned to hold a Sam Jethroe day, “he asked instead that any money be put into a college scholarship for Negro youths.”
Similarly, Harris’ involvement with charities is well known, and his Catch 23 Foundation focuses on combating the stigma of mental illness, homelessness and promoting diversity and inclusion.
It sounds like these guys would’ve got along really well.
A Too-Short Career
At 32 years old, Sam Jethroe beat an Olympic Silver Medalist in a 75-yard dash, and his 5.9 second, 120-yard sprint equates to a 30.5 feet/second bolt speed. The fastest 90-foot bolt speed last year was 3.66 seconds by 21-year-old Corbin Carroll; Harris checked him at 3.80 for 90 feet.
Jethroe’s defense wasn't a match for that of Harris, he got late jumps on the ball and took awful routes; all caused, it seems, by bad eyesight. Jethroe admitted to never having an eye exam until the middle of the 1951 season.
He was also known for having a noodle arm, but it wasn't always that way. In a pre-season exhibition against the Red Sox at Fenway, he chased a fly ball into the triangle and slammed his throwing shoulder into a concrete wall. Despite a "weak arm", Jethroe, ed the NL in assists by a center fielder in 1950 and 1951, ranked second in outfield assists in 1950, and third in 1951.
The Jet checked in at 6'-1", 170 lbs. at 33 years old. He was faster at 33 than Billy Hamilton in his prime and posted an .816 OPS at 34. Imagine everything we heard about Billy Hamilton being true; double-digit homers, 40+ steals, Gold Glove defense in center, and a .340 OBP with an .800 OPS, but as a switch hitter, and you have today's Sam Jethroe.
That’s A Wrap
Every Atlanta Braves fan knows Michael Harris, but Mikey may not know about Jethroe; his name hasn’t come up in any of the stories about Harris’ season, and Harris hasn't mentioned him in interviews. The Jet's contribution is lost in the noise. Larry Doby might say, hold my beer.
Doby was the second African-American to sign and shared the same battles as Robinson, but his name is often an afterthought. If number two is an afterthought, number four is a trivia question in an Atlanta sports bar. I’m not suggesting everyone be regaled with stories about Jethroe’s illness and injury-shortened career. But Atlanta Braves players should, at the very least, know his name.
Think how Jethroe's career might have turned out, given the same chance to succeed as everyone else and a better standard of healthcare. Then make a note to enjoy the enormous talent in the leagues today.
