Hobie Landrith

From BR Bullpen

Hobert Neal Landrith

Bats Left, Throws Right
Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.
High School Northwestern High School
School Michigan State University
Debut July 30, 1950
Final Game August 7, 1963
Born March 16, 1930 in Decatur, IL USA

[edit] Biographical Information

Hobie Landrith was one of seven brothers who had a monopoly on the catching position at their high school in Detroit, MI. The string of Landriths behind the plate was broken only once over several years by Harry Chiti, who would later become Hobie's teammate with the Chicago Cubs. The nineteen year old Hobie would sign as an amateur free agent with the Cincinnati Reds before the 1949 season and play his first year of organized ball with the Charleston Senators of the class A Central League. He caught in a 110 games and hit for a .250 average his first year out.

Landrith would be with the Cincinnati Reds from 1950 through 1955 and then with the Chicago Cubs in 1956, where he caught a career high 111 games but hit just .221. The St. Louis Cardinals would have him in 1957 and 1958 and the San Francisco Giants would use his talents for three years, 1959 to 1961 and then Hobie was the New York Mets first selection in the expansion draft when Casey Stengel reasoned "that you have to have catchers or you're going to have a lot of passed balls". As an "original" met he hit .289 in 23 games before being traded to Baltimore for the most amazing Met of them all, "Marvelous" Marv Throneberry, but prior to his departure from New York Hobie did connect for the game winning home run in the Mets first victory in franchise history.

Landrith finised out 1962 with the Orioles and started the 1963 season with them but was traded to the Washington Senators on May 8, 1963. This would be Hobie's last round-up as the 33 year old catcher would hit only .175 in 42 games. His 14 year major league career totals show that he appeared in 772 games behind the plate, fielding at a .983 percentage, and had a .233 career batting average with 34 home runs.

In Where Have You Gone, Vince DiMaggio? Edward Kiersh wrote of Hobie, "At every stop, he was a hitless wonder who became the manager's right hand man, and he stayed in the majors fourteen years. When he retired in 1963 he turned down several coaching offers and used his charm and personality in public relations and later as director of sales for 45 Volkswagen dealeships in Northern California." As of last notice Hobie was residing in Sunnyvale, CA.