Mike Hunt

Arthur Leland Hunt
(Old Baggy Pants)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 196 lb.

• Born October 12, 1907 in Santa Clara, CA USA
• Died November 25, 1996 in Federal Way, WA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Mike Hunt was a power-hitting minor league outfielder who played in 1927 and from 1929 to 1939. In his 12-year career, mostly spent in the Pacific Coast League, he hit .317 with 206 home runs.

Hunt began his career in 1927, playing in 10 games for the Pocatello Bannocks of the Utah-Idaho League and hitting .190. In his next season, 1929, he played for the California State League's San Bernardino Padres (89 G, .360 BA, 2 HR) and the Arizona State League's Tucson Cowboys (31 G, .328 BA, four HR), hitting a combined .348 with six home runs and 116 hits in 89 games. He tied with L. B. Tomlinson for the CSL lead in doubles with 17 and finished third in the league in hits, with 76.

He split 1930 between the Globe Bears of the AZSL and the Mission Reds and San Francisco Seals of the PCL, hitting a combined .340 with 23 home runs and 13 triples in 123 games. With San Francisco in 1931, Hunt hit .303 with five home runs and 14 doubles in 76 games. He upped his totals in 1932, hitting .316 with 14 home runs in 151 games for the Seals.

The 25-year-old split his 1933 season between four teams - San Francisco, Mission and the Oakland Oaks of the PCL and the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association - hitting .300 with six home runs in 62 games. Fully in the PCL in 1934, Hunt walloped 30 home runs for the first of three times, hitting .346 with 223 hits and 42 doubles in 175 games, in a season split between the Seals and the Seattle Indians - the team with whom he'd spend the rest of his career. He finished behind Frank Demaree in home runs (DeMaree paced Hunt by 15) and total bases (Hunt's 365 trailed DeMaree's 463 by nearly 100) and was third in slugging percentage (behind Demaree and Smead Jolley).

1935 was another solid year for Hunt, who hit .330 with 25 home runs, 45 doubles and 211 hits in 163 games. He was 6th in the 1935 PCL in doubles and 4th in homers (trailing Gene Lillard, Joe DiMaggio and Jolley). In 1936, he hit .316 with 30 home runs, 50 doubles and 212 hits in 169 games, finishing first in total bases (364), tying Freddie Muller for the league lead in homers, finishing second in doubles to Steve Mesner and third in slugging percentage behind Muller and Joe Marty.

He hit .312 with a career-high 39 home runs in 1937, also whacking 43 doubles and 202 hits in 172 games. He paced the loop in home runs (13 ahead of Muller), slugging percentage (.569) and total bases (368). He tied Nino Bongiovanni for 7th in doubles. In 1938, Hunt's numbers began to taper off - he hit .291 with 13 home runs in 157 games. After hitting .259 with 15 home runs in 121 games in 1939, Hunt's playing career was over.

All told, Mike Hunt hit .317 with 206 home runs, 329 doubles and 1,674 hits in 1,468 games. He posted a .516 slugging percentage.