Expert: Tony Hutchens - 2/7/2001

Question
My question is this, was there a past player by the name of Samuel Bowen?  I think that the name is right.

Thanks, Karen

Answer
Hi Karen,

  According to the "Total Baseball Encyclopedia", there was a person by the name of "Samuel Bowen" who played for three years for the Boston Red Sox from 1977-1980. However,
my gut feeling is that you're inquiring about "Samuel Bowens" who played for seven seasons in the major leagues from  1963-1969. This is the Sam Bowens I remember well. He played for the Orioles from 1963 to 1967 before spending his final two seasons with the Washington Senators. Sam was a starting outfielder in 1964 when he played in 139 games and batted .263 with 22 home runs. However, the rest of his career he was a reserve and never played in more than 89 games in any season. For his career he batted .223 with 45 home runs.