Playing career Hobie Landrith

1 playing career

1.1 career
1.2 cincinnati reds
1.3 chicago cubs
1.4 st. louis cardinals
1.5 san francisco giants
1.6 new york mets
1.7 baltimore orioles
1.8 washington senators

playing career
early career

originally decatur, illinois, landrith age 10 14 played firemen s midgets team in detroit amateur baseball federation. 15 18, played class d advanced simon-pure group , catcher northwestern high school in detroit, michigan. @ 15, go briggs stadium , warmup starting pitchers detroit tigers , hank greenberg shape after hank returned military service. landrith discovered cincinnati reds after leading detroit team second-place finish in 1948 national junior amateur federation tournament. year participated in annual east-west all-star game in new york city, being voted city s outstanding amateur player detroit sports guild.

on february 8, 1949, cincinnati reds signed michigan state university star catcher landrith. angered spartans coach john kobs, quoted saying, ought leave these young players alone , give them chance finish college. reds general manager warren giles agreed coach s sentiment, cited not wait longer sign landrith 8 other major league ball clubs interested in signing him. big ten conference made brief effort stop raid of conference of star players, nonetheless, 18-year-old catcher out of detroit agreed four-year contract reds.

at reds spring training camp in late march, murmurs started surface hottest thing in camp. landrith star in sandlots of detroit , @ michigan state university. desperately wanted play professional baseball detroit tigers, crying when father convinced him sign cincinnati. tigers offered landrith two-year minor league deal worth $8,000. however, cincinnati offered him four-year major league contract @ $6,000 per year, totaling $24,000. landrith learned tigers had paid $75,000 bonus catcher frank house, thought tigers had money tied in house never given of chance. landrith played in spring training games reds before being assigned minor league baseball class charleston senators of central league. had .250 batting average 111 total bases in 110 games played.

in january 1950, landrith signed new deal cincinnati reds. on march 10, assigned tulsa oilers of class aa texas league. in opening game tulsa against dallas eagles on april 11 @ cotton bowl, landrith went 1 2 double before breaking left ankle slid home plate.

while landrith still recovering ankle injury, cincinnati reds brought him major leagues , placed him on disabled list. landrith joined reds squad when played exhibition game in detroit, home town, on june 12. worked out team there on out, traveling team on road trips, catching in batting practice , pulling bullpen duty. on july 30, top 3 catchers on reds depth chart recovering ailing injuries. johnny pramesa had sprained ankle sustained day before on july 29, bob scheffing having problems left elbow, , dixie howell s throwing hand had been sore. reds manager luke sewell made decision give landrith first major league start day @ boston braves, singling in first @ bat off braves starter vern bickford , driving in run. landrith played in 3 more games through august 8 before no longer used in games , resumed duty of working solely in practice roles.

landrith signed new contract play reds in late january 1951. attended spring training reds, @ end of march became first player cut roster, being optioned buffalo bisons of class aaa international league. offensively, hobie struggled @ buffalo, putting .191 average in 98 games. suffered injury in august, in mid-september received call majors reds. landrith again played in 4 games, collected 1 or more hits in each game, including 3 runs scored.

landrith again joined reds in grapefruit league spring training in 1952, , again optioned minor leagues in late march more seasoning. time sent class aa tulsa of texas league. time, however, landrith had best season of short professional career yet, hitting .300 batting average 114 hits in 118 games played. batting average enough 13th in texas league. on september 4, landrith rewarded great play being called upon once more join reds squad. time, however, given many more opportunities show made of. landrith started majority of reds final 17 games, hitting .260 4 runs batted in on span, including 4 hit day against boston braves on september 10 , 3 hit day on last game of season against pittsburgh pirates on september 28, both contributing reds victory. though played in 16 games, landrith awarded distinction of being 1 of 3 catchers in entire national league not have been charged passed ball.

cincinnati reds

cincinnati redlegs manager rogers hornsby, said landrith key success of 1953 club.



hobie landrith in final season redlegs catcher in 1955.

on january 25, 1953, landrith signed newest contract play cincinnati upcoming season. going season, manager rogers hornsby optimistic have better club more power overall, citing landrith 1 of new players 1953 reds success. hornsby made clear veteran andy seminick number 1 catcher on depth chart reds, said landrith after witnessing performance reds @ end of 1952 season, praising liked hustle . landrith impressed during spring training, capping off exhibition season 5-rbi day against detroit tigers three-run home run in 10–9 winning effort on april 12. although seminick definite starting catcher reds, landrith opening day catcher on april 13. did not play game until april 29, when despite going 2 4 2 rbi, allowed passed ball against brooklyn dodgers bases loaded , 2 outs in bottom of ninth inning against hitter duke snider, scoring carl furillo third base , losing game 6–5.

landrith emerged number 2 catcher on depth chart behind seminick, splitting many starts between 2 end of may through july. in june , july, started in 26 games seminick s 37. reds hopes of successful season dying , landrith struggling keep batting average above .220, veteran seminick, hitting .219, took on vast majority of reds catching duties august 1 through end of season. landrith ended season .240 batting average go 3 home runs , 16 rbi in 52 games. although never played in major league baseball all-star game, landrith assigned role of being national league all-stars batting practice catcher 1953 all-star game dodgers manager charlie dressen.

at height of anti-communism sentiment in united states, reds officially changed name cincinnati redlegs remove potential confusion between baseball team , communists. 5 catchers entered 1954 redlegs training camp in tampa, landrith , ed bailey favorites seminick, end of march, landrith fighting frank baldwin hold on number 3 spot on catcher depth chart. april 8, however, baldwin optioned minors, leaving landrith in sole possession of reds third , final catcher roster spot. landrith had little offense season, hitting .198 5 home runs , 14 rbi in 48 games. did, however, have 1 dramatic game-winning walk-off home run against new york giants reliever al corwin in bottom of 12th inning on july 19 give reds 1–0 victory. trade talks arose after conclusion of 1954 season. 1 potential deal had landrith along outfielder wally post going brooklyn dodgers second baseman junior gilliam. proposed deal later amended add dodgers pitcher bob milliken , reds hurler fred baczewski. deal later fizzled out, dodgers determined keep gilliam. landrith participated in puerto rican winter leagues after 1954 season, hitting average of .342. mark enough third in league, behind willie mays , roberto clemente.

landrith started 1955 season backup bailey. on april 30, seminick traded philadelphia phillies smoky burgess, became reds starting catcher. bailey optioned san diego padres of pacific coast league, leaving landrith direct backup behind burgess. landrith had multi-home run game of career on second game of doubleheader on may 8 against chicago cubs, hitting home run in 6th inning , walk-off, game-winning home run in bottom of 9th, giving redlegs 4–3 win. on june 27, landrith broke collarbone after being struck foul tip during exhibition game. not return until august 23, 2 full months later. landrith hit .253 4 home runs , 7 rbi in 43 games. had 7th-highest ops (on-base plus slugging) percentage out of nl catchers mark of .755.

chicago cubs

on november 28, 1955, landrith traded chicago cubs centerfielder turned pitcher hal jeffcoat. originally, move sparked eight-year cub veteran jeffcoat announce retirement baseball on november 29 , go insurance business. hal later reconsidered, playing 4 more years of pro ball, nonetheless, landrith officially cub. officially signed contract play chicago upcoming season on february 10, 1956 chicago cubs season|1956]].

throughout spring training, landrith competed harry chiti starting role @ catcher cubs. chiti carried load behind backstop chicago in 1955, playing in 113 games 11 home runs , 41 rbi. coincidence, both landrith , chiti played catchers same high school, northwestern high school in detroit, michigan. landrith third brother of 3 catch northwestern high, , landrith graduated , briefly went michigan state before being signed cincinnati reds, high school successor harry chiti. chiti broke nine-year streak of landrith catching behind plate school.

by opening day, landrith had won starting role cubs chiti. played in major league career-high 111 games, had .222 average go 4 home runs , 32 rbi show it. 1st in national league in gunning down runners attempting steal base 23 , 2nd in league assists catcher. however, landrith 3rd in national league 10 passed balls , led majors in errors committed catcher 14. grounded 2 double plays, having ratio of 181 plate appearances per double play, enough 3rd in majors. landrith had streak of not grounding double play lasted 1 year, may 2, 1956 may 2, 1957.

chicago ended 1956 season atrocious 60-94 record. in september, general manager stan hack set fired @ end of season. bob scheffing hired new gm on october 12, , new cubs regime made clear not satisfied current platoon of landrith , chiti working behind plate combined 50 rbi, implying defensively teams catching left desired. there reportedly deal in works send landrith cincinnati reds in exchange former teammate , fellow catcher smoky burgess, fell through landrith officially dealt new team.

st. louis cardinals

on december 11, 1956, landrith, along jim davis, sam jones, , eddie miksis traded st. louis cardinals wally lamers, jackie collum, ray katt, , tom poholsky. landrith locked in contract 1957 season signing pact cardinals on december 18. when general manager fred hutchinson commented on acquisitions cards had upcoming season, said landrith backup catcher current starter hal smith, coming off successful rookie season.

as planned, landrith started season cardinals number 2 catcher behind hal smith. however, smith suffered split index finger on third game of season on april 21 after foul tip cubs hitter ernie banks hit smith s finger , gave him inch-long cut. required 4 stitches close. landrith took on in 3rd inning , closed game out, played full second game of doubleheader. landrith took on starting catcher of week newly activated walker cooper backup until smith returned action on april 30. in later months of season, landrith started replacing hal whenever against right-handed pitcher. active month july, hit .279 2 home runs , 11 rbi in 21 games cards. had better season overall one-year stint cubs, hitting .243 52 hits , 26 rbi in 75 games.

landrith final cardinals player sign contract upcoming 1958 season. had declined cards first offer, came terms on february 5, 1958 raise in salary estimated $12,000. cardinals needed @ catcher position, because lacked third catcher serve suitable backup hal , landrith after last year s third stringer, walker cooper, retired active playing become minor league manager. role later go newly reacquired ray katt san francisco giants.

by april, catching depth chart st. louis no longer set in stone. hal smith in extended slump during cardinals spring training, landrith opening day starting catcher on april 15 against chicago cubs in 4-0 defeat. after batting .125 in first 3 games, hal smith , ray katt alternated starting @ catcher through may 11 before smith began work way out of hitting funk , once again became team s number 1 catcher. landrith did not see playing time through first 3 months of season, carried of workload behind plate in month of june. although played in same amount of games did in previous season, offensive numbers way down, putting .215 batting average , 13 rbi in 70 games.

san francisco giants

landrith traded san francisco giants along teammates billy muffett , benny valenzuela ernie broglio , marv grissom on october 8, 1958. landrith considered throw-in player 5 player deal. giants announced in late february keeping 2 catchers on roster. bob schmidt had foothold on starting job, battle schmidt s backup came down landrith , albert stieglitz. stieglitz optioned aaa phoenix giants @ beginning of april, removing doubt landrith serve schmidt s backup begin 1959 season. first 2 months, schmidt pulled of duty behind plate giants. however, in june landrith began more starts, , before month out hobie had become giants new number 1 catcher.

on 1 of first starts on june 5 after becoming giants new starting catcher, landrith involved in bizarre play against cincinnati reds runner pete whisenant. whisenant caught in rundown between giants second basmean daryl spencer , third baseman jim davenport, fielders continually playing game of catch in effort tag runner out. unknown whisenant, landrith had rushed way behind home plate, chest protector , all. davenport flipped ball landrith , tagged runner out. giants beat writers combined experience of on 100 years covering club remarked dazzling play had never seen before in professional baseball. landrith had best season of career in 1959. although hit .251 29 rbi , 71 hits in 109 games, giant management pleased landrith s performance season. once considered throw-in player in trade centered on reliever billy muffett giants, club president horace stoneham said lucky deal them, referring landrith. threw out 24 runners attempting steal base, ranked 5th in national league. landrith 5th in assists , 4th in putouts national league catchers.

on february 10, 1960, landrith came contract terms giants upcoming season, reportedly earning between $10,500 , $15,000. on march 2, there special clubhouse meeting players elected landrith giants official player representative, succeeding daryl spencer after traded cardinals. landrith joked won platform of, more pay, shorter hours, fewer umpires , more base-hits. in mid-march, giants manager bill rigney brought in former all-star hitter lefty o doul hitting drills , learning sessions of team s lighter hitters, including landrith. landrith responded next day hitting game-winning home run in 11th inning of spring training game off rookie jim brewer giants beat chicago cubs 7-6.

by late march sports writers penciling in landrith definite opening day starter behind home plate san francisco, on april 3 landrith had freak accident hand in exhibition game against cubs, suffering hair-line fracture on of index finger. hit bat or helmet of cubs hitter lou johnson when lou got out in front of plate after swinging strike out in 4th inning. landrith attempted throw ball second base johnson swung bat, causing injury. frank bowman, trainer giants, expected him miss 10 days , opening day. returned batting practice on april 19 , pinch hit giants on april 22 against cubs, did not return full action until full month later on may 2.

on return game against milwaukee braves, teammates joked had perfect night, went 1 1 single, 2 walks, , successful squeeze play. on may 25, there play @ plate giants 2-1 against philadelphia phillies phillies pitcher 6 0 , 200 pound robin roberts attempted run home off ground ball in third inning. collided landrith, knocking landrith unconscious rolled on onto back. despite being knocked out, held onto ball, saving giants lead. @ end of may, landrith lost starting role bob schmidt. had .208 batting average combined .221 slugging percentage. landrith hit in july , august, hitting .305 on two-month stretch.

on july 19, landrith caught historical debut game of legendary dominican hall of fame pitcher juan marichal. marichal missed being first pitcher since 1898 hurl no-hitter in first major league start. settled being first national league rookie ever throw one-hitter in debut. landrith said of young 21-year-old: kid showed lot of poise. s got control , doesn t scare. on august 16 against cardinals, landrith hit 4 5 3 doubles , 3 rbi, helping giants beat st. louis 7-3. finished season .242 average , 20 rbi in 71 games.

in october, giants toured japan. landrith looking forward first trip orient after missing out on tour after 1958 season st. louis cardinals. had gotten of shots , inoculations, ready make trip japan, , 3 days before cards went japan traded giants. disappointed didn t receive chance play against greats in japan. wanted make trip more else. didn t miss trip, playing behind plate giants against challengers in japan. further united states-japan will, landrith , giants placed flowers @ atomic bomb memorial shrine in hiroshima. after ceremony, giants played final game of 16-game tour of japan, beating japanese all-stars 4 1 before crowd of 12,000. landrith hit .348 series.

landrith signed contract 1961 season on february 11 $80,000. new general manager alvin dark warned veteran regulars there battles spots on depth chart @ every position upcoming season, , catcher position no exception. in february, schmidt , landrith had 2 new competitors thrown foray. tom haller , john orsino considered threats shake depth chart order. haller strongest threat, going getting 10 hits, including 4 home runs, 2 doubles, , 2 triples in first 20 at-bats spring training. tom s impressive play continued through mid-april, earning him opening day starting job on schmidt , landrith. hobie retained spot number 2 catcher, schmidt dropping way first third. landrith played in 3 games in april, made of season debut game against pittsburgh pirates. pirates 1-0 1 out in bottom of 11th when landrith hit game tying home run deep right field off reliever roy face.

haller fell out of favor giants management. team got off fair 7-5 start, once hot bat cooled off considerably, hitting .133 in 30 at-bats. sparked giants go looking elsewhere catcher provide significant offense team, , found in cincinnati on april 27 when traded schmidt, don blasingame, , sherman jones reds catcher , noteworthy slugger ed bailey. bailey took on starting catcher giants, landrith remaining second-string catcher , haller demoted third. landrith s playing time severely limited season, playing in 43 games. got occasional starts in august catch starting pitcher mike mccormick after manager dark thought landrith s catching major factor in mccormick winning 15 games in 1960, all. landrith hit .239 10 rbi in 71 at-bats.

new york mets


landrith first draft choice in 1961 expansion draft casey stengel (pictured).

1961 saw addition of 2 brand new teams national league, houston colt .45s , new york mets. on october 10, 1961, mets , club president george weiss used first pick in 1961 major league baseball expansion draft select landrith second overall. new york manager casey stengel justified choice explaining that, gotta have catcher or re gonna have lot of passed balls. landrith s salary $75,000, required minimum first round picks in draft. when landrith sent contract offer weiss, turned down landrith said @ least $3,000 pay cut. told weiss offer totally unacceptable. weiss sent same contract 3 times, leading landrith giving , signing deal. signed official contract play in inaugural season of new york mets on february 11, 1962 new york mets season|1962]]. landrith slated first-string catcher, young players chris cannizzaro , choo-choo coleman backups. before opening day, landrith had brief scare against chicago white sox on april 4. chicago outfielder floyd robinson fouled off pitch hard swing. in follow-through, bat hit right side of landrith s head, knocking him ground. landrith led off dressing room, in enough shape play in fast approaching regular season.

landrith played @ catcher in new york mets first regular season game on april 11, 1962 against st. louis cardinals, batting 8th in order , going 0 4 in 11-4 loss. cardinals stole 3 bases landrith behind plate. centerfielder curt flood stole 2 bases , second baseman julián javier stole base. landrith charged error, 1 of 3 mets errors on day. stengel gave on landrith after 1 game, giving starting job joe ginsberg. after ginsberg had 0 4 day in mets second game, gave job cannizaro. round robin of catchers played mets season. 7 different catchers used, none playing in more 70 games.

landrith s home run met came @ prime moment on may 12. set pinch hit in bottom of 9th inning mets down 2-1 against milwaukee braves , all-time pitching great warren spahn. when landrith reached batter s box, stengel called time out, going batter s box , whispering in landrith s ear. on first pitch, landrith hit game-winning two-run home run. after game, stengel remarked, told him hit home run. in typical mets form inaugural season, win voided when rod kanehl, pinch runner gil hodges, failed touch third base after home run. third base coach solly hemus gave landrith sign slow down, escorted kanehl third base. if landrith touched third base before kanehl, rod have been called out , braves have gained win on walk-off home run opposing team. after landrith s game-winning blast, had raised average way .421, including one-month stint between april 21 , may 19 hit .391 1.169 ops, excellent hitting, new york mets compounding 1 of worst seasons in history of major league baseball.

baltimore orioles

on june 7, 1962, after mets lost 16th , 17th straight ballgames, stengel broke news landrith had been sold baltimore orioles. news came complete surprise landrith. orioles starting catcher gus triandos injured fractured knuckle, landrith took on starting role games in month of june. in first 2 weeks, landrith batting above .100, although made of first 5 hits, slamming 3 home runs in 3 separate baltimore victories, including walk-off two-run home run on june 22 against boston red sox.

landrith made immediate headlines when involved in scuffle against new york yankees on june 11. rookie oriole outfielder boog powell hospitalized after yankees pitcher bud daley beaned powell in head pitch in top of 4th. in bottom of 4th, baltimore pitcher robin roberts threw fastball on head of yankees star roger maris. maris started walking toward mound, bat in hand. roberts afraid if things got physical break hand. landrith jumped on maris back, clearing benches. no punches thrown in incident, nor suspensions or fines levied american league president joe cronin. orioles won 5-3.

journalists covered mets claimed landrith incapable of throwing out runners attempted steal bases off him. orioles ignored claim, insisting sought after him because indeed throw well. based on new york scouting report, american league teams aggressively tried steal bases against orioles when landrith joined team. in first week, 11 runners tried steal base off landrith. threw out 6 runners, removing stigma not throw. blame high stolen base count against mets promptly shifted away landrith , onto new york mets pitching.

landrith s hot bat cooled off in final 3 months of season. split between mets , orioles, hit .236 5 home runs , 24 rbi in 83 games. threw out 43.9% of runners tried steal base off him, enough 4th among al catchers.

for 1963 season, former giants teammate john orsino slated continue being orioles starter @ catcher, landrith, charlie lau, , dick brown competing roster spots on probable 3 deep catcher depth chart. landrith did make roster, had 1 @ bat in 2 games before being sold washington senators.

washington senators

on may 8, 1963, baltimore orioles sold landrith washington senators reported $20,000, salary estimated around $14,000. struggled senators, hitting .173 home run , 7 rbi in 42 games before breaking hand on foul tip off pitch steve ridzik of new york yankees on august 7. given unconditional release washington on december 6.

landrith rejoined senators on february 15, 1964 coach, possible option return active player should senators trade away 1 of current catchers. however, opportunity never arose. landrith brought playing career close in al-nl benefit game on february 14, 1965 widow of red adams, deceased custodian @ candlestick park, helping raise on $8,000.