Len Noren

Leonard Eugene Noren

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 200 lb.
• Born August 6, 1927 in Santa Cruz, CA USA
• Died February 2, 1986 in California USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

First baseman Len Noren played in the minor leagues in 1945 and from 1947 to 1955. He played at a plethora of levels, including one season at AAA and another at the Open designation. He never reached the major leagues.

Noren debuted in 1945 with the Norfolk Tars (16 BB, 10 R in 8 IP) and the Wellsville Yankees (9 for 27, 2B, 3B). In 1947, he hit .281/?/.352 for the Ventura Yankees. Remaining with Ventura in '48, he improved to .292 with 10 triples and a .392 slugging. He tied Tom Upton for 6th in the California League in three-baggers. Len split 1949 between the Victoria Athletics (.316/?/.462 in 70 G) and Binghamton Triplets (22 for 97, 5 2B, 3B, HR).

In 1950, Noren was with the Oakland Oaks for one game but spent most of the season putting up big numbers in the high-flying Arizona-Texas League. He hit .357/.414/.588 with 215 hits, 44 doubles, 10 triples, 25 home runs, 25 steals, 131 runs and 169 RBI for the Phoenix Senators. It was over 40% of his career home run total. He was 4th in average, 3rd in hits, tied Hector Lara for second in doubles, was second to Lara in home runs, placed 6th in steals and tied Donald Mason for the most RBI. He also led league first basemen in fielding percentage (.990) and double plays (144).

In 1951, Noren played for Phoenix again (.359, .510 SLG) as well as for the Albany Senators (20 for 77, 2B, HR). In '52, he was with the San Francisco Seals (.220/.264/.256 in 32 G) and Yakima Bears (.295/.353/.407 in 100 G). Back with Yakima in '53, he hit .327/.359/.412 with 89 runs and was named the Western International League All-Star 1B. He led WIL first basemen in putouts (1,264) and assists (89). In a third season with Yakima, he fell to .289/.304/.392 (the 1954 Baseball Guide lists just 9 walks, an uncharacteristically low total for Noren, who drew a healthy number of walks; one presumes it is a typo). He led WIL first baggers in putouts (1,274) and double plays (132) and also had 87 runs and 106 RBI. He tied for second in RBI, only two behind leader Len Tran.

He was player-manager of the Channel Cities Oilers/Reno Silver Sox in 1955, hitting .313/.380/.410 with 92 runs. The team finished dead last at 40-106 in the California League. He did lead the league's first basemen with 94 assists.

Overall, he hit around .310 in 1,182 games.

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1955	Channel Cities Oilers/Reno Silver Sox	California League	40-106	8th	none		Channel Cities moved to Reno on July 1.

Sources include 1951 and 1953-1956 Baseball Guides