WHY I THINK SHERM LOLLAR SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN
By- Damien
Sherm Lollar was one of the greatest catchers of all time. Defensively, he threw out 50% of attempted base thieves four times and won five fielding titles. Offensively, Lollar had two seasons with 20 or more home runs and had a career batting average of .264. He was the best defensive catcher in history up until his retirement and one of the two or three best hitting catchers in the game for almost all of his career. Hall of Fame catcher and manager Al Lopez is quoted as saying in 1959 that Lollar was badly overlooked and perhaps the best catcher in baseball. Sherm Lollar started his career with the Cleveland Indians in 1946 for 28 games. He played a combined total of 33 games across the next two seasons for the Yankees (and batted .750 with a pair of doubles for a winning cause in the 1947 World Series) and was dealt over to the St. Louis Browns for the 1949 season, and he quickly became a star. He batted .261 in his first season in St. Louis and became a crowd favorite. Lollar batted .280 with 13 home runs in 1950 and hit another 13 homers two years later during his first season in a White Sox uniform. He batted .287 in 1953 but sagged to a .244 mark in 1954. Lollar had a wondrous peak from 1955 through 1959, batting .270 over the five year period with an average of 16 home runs and 75 RBI’s per season. He was last named an all-star in 1960, but fell to being a .252 hitter. Lollar had one last big season in 1961 with a .282 mark, but never again played in over 84 games in a season, the result of a broken thumb suffered in 1962. He batted .259 across 119 games in 1962 and 1963 before retiring. Sherm Lollar was a fine hitter and a stellar defensive catcher. If a catcher can play sufficient defense and keep their pitchers winning, he is doing his job perfectly well. Lollar also won games with good pitch calling and numerous clutch hits.
LIFETIME STATISTICS
Games career: 1,752 season high: 140 in 1959
At Bats career: 5,351 season high: 505 in 1959
Hits career: 1,415 season high: 134 in 1959
Doubles career: 244 season high: 28 in 1956
Triples career: 14 season high: 3 in 1950 and 1959
Home Runs career: 155 season high: 22 in 1959
Runs career: 623 season high: 67 in 1955
Runs Batted In career: 808 season high: 84 in 1958 and 1959
Stolen Bases career: 20 season high: 4 in 1959
Walks career: 671 season high: 68 in 1955
Strikeouts career: 453 season high: 49 in 1959
Batting Average career: .264 season high: .293 in 1956
On Base Percentage career: .357 season high: .391 in 1950
Slugging Percentage career: .402 season high: .454 in 1958
Total Bases career: 2,152 season high: 228 in 1959
Sacrifice Hits career: 47 season high: 7 in 1953
Fielding Percentage career: .992 season high: .998 in 1957 and 1961 led AL C: .995 in 1951 and 1960, .994 in 1953, .993 in 1956, .998 in 1961
Double Plays career: 120 season high: 23 in 1959 led AL C: 12 in 1955 and 1960, 14 in 1959
Putouts career: 7,243 season high: 800 in 1959
Assists career: 705 season high: 68 in 1959
DID YOU KNOW?
-was a nine time all-star
-won three Gold Glove awards, including the first one ever in 1957
-tied the MLB record by getting two hits in an inning twice in the same game on April 23, 1955
-hit 20 or more doubles in a season five times and 19 once
-finished ninth in the AL MVP Award voting in 1958 and 1959, eleventh in 1955, 16th in 1956, 22nd in 1957, and 27th in 1950
-was hit by 115 career pitches
-homered and sacrificed in the 1959 World Series that saw him drive in five runs and score three in six games
-hit five home runs each off of Hall of Famers Whitey Ford and Jim Bunning, three off of Early Wynn, two off of Bob Feller, and one each off of Bob Lemon, Allie Reynolds, and Billy Pierce
-had a .468 career caught stealing percentage and threw out 50% or more attempting base thieves across a season five times
-led the NL with a .677 caught stealing percentage in 1954 and with 27 attempted base thieves thrown out in 1959
-ranks 29th in career games caught, including 110 shutouts caught, which ranks 21st all time
-caught Bob Keegan’s no-hitter on August 20, 1957 and led White Sox pitchers to the lowest ERA in the AL two years later
-also played 28 games at first base, one at third base, and 211 as a pinch hitter
-was once called by manager and former MLB catcher Paul Richards, “a manager in the field”
-was named to the Chicago White Sox all century team in 2000
-is featured as Hall of Fame worthy in a 1992 book entitled The Case for Those Overlooked by the Baseball Hall of Fame
I was actually thinking about whether Sherm Lollar should be in the Hall of Fame. It is very hard to find a good, durable, catcher, and Lollar was certainly that. Being a 7x all-star definitely shows that he was very well-regarded by people in the 1950s. (I don't count years with 2 all-star games as 2 all-star selections)
ReplyDeleteHave you ever read The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading, and Bubble Gum Book? It a baseball card collector cult classic, and there's a good passage on Sherm Lollar talking about his durability." At some point during my adolescence it suddenly crossed my mind that Sherm Lollar had probably always caught for the White Sox, that in fact there always had been a White Sox and Sherm Lollar had always been their catcher."
I have a candidate for you to examine: 1920s and 30s catcher Johnny Bassler. His major league career was short (just 7 years as a regular), but he hit .304, with 437 walks in 811 games, was a good fielder, and drew strong consideration for the MVP award multiple times. He also starred in the Pacific Coast League for many years, and accumulated over 2000 hits for his pro career. I'm not kidding about him being a good candidate.
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