Joe Sparks
Joseph Everett Sparks
Born: March 15, 1938
McComas, WV US
Primary Position: Third base
All Position(s) Played: 1B, 2B, OF, SS
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 175
Career: 1956-1973
Joe Sparks compiled a career batting average of .273 with 103 home runs and 678 RBI in his 1475-game career with the Hastings Giants, Michigan City White Caps, Danville Leafs, Eugene Emeralds, Springfield Giants, El Paso Sun Kings, Tacoma Giants, Lynchburg White Sox, Evansville White Sox, Columbus White Sox and Iowa Oaks. He began playing during the 1956 season and last took the field during the 1973 campaign.
Click on column headings to sort.
Batting:
| Year | Level | Lg | Team | GP | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | TB | DP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | D | NESL | Hastings Giants | 59 | 220 | 220 | 56 | 8 | 1 | 1 | .255 | .255 | .314 | .568 | 69 | |||||||||||
| 1957 | D | MIDW | Michigan City White Caps | 126 | 483 | 423 | 57 | 100 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 46 | 12 | 50 | 79 | .236 | .316 | .307 | .623 | 130 | 1 | 5 | 4 | |||
| 1958 | B | CARL | Danville Leafs | 136 | 552 | 485 | 58 | 121 | 14 | 2 | 14 | 86 | 4 | 51 | 90 | .249 | .327 | .373 | .700 | 181 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1959 | B | NORW | Eugene Emeralds | 131 | 502 | 445 | 56 | 115 | 22 | 8 | 17 | 73 | 5 | 46 | 65 | .258 | .325 | .458 | .784 | 204 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 1960 | B | NORW | Eugene Emeralds | 114 | 431 | 370 | 61 | 114 | 10 | 2 | 11 | 67 | 8 | 4 | 47 | 38 | .308 | .385 | .435 | .820 | 161 | 3 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 1960 | A | EL | Springfield Giants | 11 | 32 | 25 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | .200 | .312 | .360 | .672 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 1961 | A | EL | Springfield Giants | 111 | 381 | 328 | 58 | 101 | 23 | 2 | 5 | 49 | 0 | 43 | 42 | .308 | .394 | .436 | .830 | 143 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 1962 | AA | TL | El Paso Sun Kings | 55 | 198 | 171 | 31 | 47 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 25 | 1 | 26 | 21 | .275 | .369 | .509 | .877 | 87 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 1963 | AA | TL | El Paso Sun Kings | 79 | 357 | 329 | 62 | 99 | 27 | 3 | 6 | 44 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 47 | .301 | .350 | .456 | .806 | 150 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1963 | AAA | PCL | Tacoma Giants | 55 | 205 | 190 | 19 | 49 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 26 | .258 | .288 | .353 | .640 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 1964 | AAA | PCL | Tacoma Giants | 117 | 310 | 282 | 24 | 64 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 51 | .227 | .287 | .284 | .570 | 80 | 0 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 1966 | A | CARL | Lynchburg White Sox | 139 | 576 | 499 | 66 | 143 | 27 | 4 | 11 | 70 | 10 | 9 | 67 | 57 | .287 | .372 | .423 | .795 | 211 | 2 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1967 | A | CARL | Lynchburg White Sox | 129 | 521 | 441 | 66 | 125 | 23 | 9 | 6 | 71 | 7 | 3 | 69 | 42 | .283 | .377 | .417 | .794 | 184 | 0 | 6 | 5 | ||
| 1968 | AA | SOUL | Evansville White Sox | 86 | 247 | 226 | 19 | 61 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 47 | .270 | .322 | .372 | .694 | 84 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 1969 | AA | SOUL | Columbus White Sox | 126 | 457 | 405 | 45 | 124 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 62 | 2 | 1 | 41 | 32 | .306 | .370 | .407 | .777 | 165 | 3 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 1973 | AAA | AA2 | Iowa Oaks | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Totals | 1475 | 5476 | 4843 | 625 | 1324 | 220 | 36 | 103 | 678 | 54 | 17 | 521 | 642 | .273 | .344 | .397 | .741 | 1925 | 7 | 24 | 42 | 46 | 9 |
Fielding:
| Year | Level | Lg | Team | Pos | GP | PO | A | E | DP | Fld% | RF/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | D | MIDW | Michigan City White Caps | 3B | 124 | 111 | 260 | 37 | 21 | .909 | 2.992 |
| 1958 | B | CARL | Danville Leafs | 3B | 128 | 117 | 226 | 34 | 16 | .910 | 2.680 |
| 1959 | B | NORW | Eugene Emeralds | 3B | 127 | 96 | 218 | 29 | 19 | .915 | 2.472 |
| 1960 | B | NORW | Eugene Emeralds | 3B | 109 | 87 | 179 | 27 | 15 | .908 | 2.440 |
| 1961 | A | EL | Springfield Giants | 2B | 90 | 169 | 210 | 23 | 48 | .943 | 4.211 |
| 1962 | AA | TL | El Paso Sun Kings | 3B | 41 | 32 | 64 | 12 | 3 | .889 | 2.341 |
| 1962 | AA | TL | El Paso Sun Kings | 2B | 15 | 25 | 41 | 1 | 10 | .985 | 4.400 |
| 1963 | AA | TL | El Paso Sun Kings | 2B | 78 | 177 | 221 | 17 | 51 | .959 | 5.103 |
| 1963 | AAA | PCL | Tacoma Giants | 2B | 25 | 61 | 81 | 2 | 18 | .986 | 5.680 |
| 1963 | AAA | PCL | Tacoma Giants | 3B | 17 | 12 | 27 | 3 | 1 | .929 | 2.294 |
| 1963 | AAA | PCL | Tacoma Giants | OF | 11 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .889 | 1.455 |
| 1964 | AAA | PCL | Tacoma Giants | 3B | 41 | 26 | 93 | 8 | 9 | .937 | 2.902 |
| 1964 | AAA | PCL | Tacoma Giants | 2B | 32 | 67 | 62 | 2 | 12 | .985 | 4.031 |
| 1964 | AAA | PCL | Tacoma Giants | OF | 13 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | .846 |
| 1964 | AAA | PCL | Tacoma Giants | 1B | 11 | 51 | 3 | 2 | 3 | .964 | 4.909 |
| 1966 | A | CARL | Lynchburg White Sox | 3B | 90 | 82 | 214 | 10 | 23 | .967 | 3.289 |
| 1966 | A | CARL | Lynchburg White Sox | SS | 49 | 66 | 152 | 14 | 31 | .940 | 4.449 |
| 1967 | A | CARL | Lynchburg White Sox | 2B | 56 | 118 | 160 | 11 | 27 | .962 | 4.964 |
| 1967 | A | CARL | Lynchburg White Sox | 3B | 46 | 38 | 80 | 6 | 5 | .952 | 2.565 |
| 1967 | A | CARL | Lynchburg White Sox | SS | 33 | 53 | 124 | 7 | 23 | .962 | 5.364 |
| 1968 | AA | SOUL | Evansville White Sox | 3B | 33 | 25 | 42 | 8 | 6 | .893 | 2.030 |
| 1968 | AA | SOUL | Evansville White Sox | 2B | 30 | 44 | 77 | 5 | 12 | .960 | 4.033 |
| 1968 | AA | SOUL | Evansville White Sox | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | .000 |
| 1969 | AA | SOUL | Columbus White Sox | 2B | 95 | 209 | 285 | 17 | 72 | .967 | 5.200 |
| 1969 | AA | SOUL | Columbus White Sox | 3B | 4 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | .900 | 2.250 |
| 1969 | AA | SOUL | Columbus White Sox | 1B | 3 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 7.000 |
| 1969 | AA | SOUL | Columbus White Sox | OF | 16 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .971 | 2.125 |
| 1973 | AAA | AA2 | Iowa Oaks | 3B | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | .857 | 6.000 |
| Totals | 1319 | 1748 | 2834 | 281 | 425 | .942 | 3.474 |
Minor League Service:
| Year | Level | League | Team | Affiliation | First Appearance | Final Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | D | Nebraska State League | Hastings Giants | NY1 | ||
| 1957 | D | Midwest League | Michigan City White Caps | NY1 | ||
| 1958 | B | Carolina League | Danville Leafs | SFN | ||
| 1959 | B | Northwest League | Eugene Emeralds | SFN | ||
| 1960 | B | Northwest League | Eugene Emeralds | SFN | ||
| 1960 | A | Eastern League | Springfield Giants | SFN | ||
| 1961 | A | Eastern League | Springfield Giants | SFN | ||
| 1962 | AA | Texas League | El Paso Sun Kings | SFN | ||
| 1963 | AA | Texas League | El Paso Sun Kings | SFN | ||
| 1963 | AAA | Pacific Coast League | Tacoma Giants | SFN | ||
| 1964 | AAA | Pacific Coast League | Tacoma Giants | SFN | ||
| 1966 | A | Carolina League | Lynchburg White Sox | CHA | ||
| 1967 | A | Carolina League | Lynchburg White Sox | CHA | ||
| 1968 | AA | Southern League | Evansville White Sox | CHA | ||
| 1969 | AA | Southern League | Columbus White Sox | CHA | ||
| 1973 | AAA | American Association 2 | Iowa Oaks | CHA |
Persons data from the Chadwick Baseball Bureau are Copyright Chadwick Baseball Bureau, and are made available under the Open Data Commons Attribution License.
