Lou List

Paul Michael List
also known as Lew List

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 200 lb.
• High School North Hollywood High School

• Born November 17, 1965 in Los Angeles, CA USA
• Died January 20, 1998 in Honolulu, HI USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Lou List was born as Paul List and spent his first several years in the minors with that name. He played for a decade in the minor leagues before his career and life was cut short by cancer.

List debuted in 1987 with the Salem Angels, going 0 for 18 with 4 walks, 7 strikeouts and two runs. Two years later, he was with the AZL Athletics as a pitcher and went 0-1 with a 6.41 ERA. He allowed only 7 hits in 19 2/3 IP and struck out 36, but also walked 41 as a modern-day Steve Dalkowski. Despite his limited work, he managed to tie Blas Severino for the Arizona League lead in walks.

In 1990, List returned to the outfield. He hit .292/~.443/.542 in 15 games for the AZL Mariners to revive his career. The next season, Paul batted .318/~.389/.503 for the Salem Buccaneers and finished second in the Carolina League in average, ahead of Brian Giles and others and four points behind leader Jeff McNeely. List was also within striking distance of slugging leader Mel Wearing, looking pretty good for a guy who was a pitcher two years prior. He also spent time that year with the Augusta Pirates (.273/~.400/.455 in 12 games) and the Carolina Mudcats (3 for 20, 6 K, one triple in 7 games).

In 1992, List started slowly, hitting .208/~.296/.250 in 9 games for Carolina. He somehow wound up with the Texas Rangers, his fifth franchise in five years in baseball, and batted .352/~.424/.577 in 51 games for the Gastonia Rangers. On July 22nd, Paul's grandfather Lou passed away and Paul changed his name to Lou to honor his grandfather (Ashkenazic Jewish custom celebrates naming someone after a deceased relative and discourages naming after a live one). Moving up to the Tulsa Drillers later in the year, Lou hit .292/~.357/.385 in 34 contests.

After a slow start for Tulsa at age 27 (hitting .200/~.259/.240 in 40 games), List wound up with the Colorado Rockies organization. He hit .292/~.380/.575 in 33 games for the Central Valley Rockies and .300/~.340/.480 in 18 games for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. He was just one step from the majors.

Assigned to the New Haven Ravens in 1994, List hit .251/.341/.395 in 81 games. The veteran outfielder was a fan favorite, as fans would shout, "Louuuuuuuu" when he came to bat or made a play in the field. One local high schooler started a Lou List Fan Club. List was a replacement player for the Rockies during the 1995 strike. In 1995, List batted .278/~.341/.448 in 82 games with New Haven, mostly as their DH.

In 1996, the 30-year-old went 1 for 12 with 6 K's for Colorado Springs and was let go by Colorado, the organization he had spent the longest chunk of his career with. He moved on to the independent Minot Mallards and hit .342/?/.661. His 24 home runs were second in the Prairie League behind Brad Strauss and his 75 RBI were third. He made the league All-Star team at DH.

In October 1996, List was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease. He died on January 20, 1998, from the illness. The Ravens retired his number 7 and on August 7 had "Lou List Night" in his memory. It was the second number ever retired by New Haven, following Jackie Robinson's 42.

Sources: 1988-1997 Baseball Almanacs, The Big Book of Jewish Baseball by Peter Horvitz and Joachim Horvitz, 1991 and 1995 Baseball Guides

Related Sites

• Paul List memorial website