Freddie Lindstrom - Legacy

Legacy

Although many modern-day baseball historians refer to Traynor as the era’s premier fielding third baseman, the Pirate Hall of Famer led the league in errors five times including 37 in 1931 and 27 in both 1932 and 1933. Lindstrom’s high mark was 21 errors in both 1928 and 1930. For the seven comparable seasons that Lindstrom played third base, his fielding percentage tops that of Traynor each year.

McGraw’s list shows no bias for Giants, naming only Hornsby at No. 7 in the Top 10 and the great Christy Mathewson at No. 16. The first five, in order, were Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Willie Keeler, Eddie Collins and Babe Ruth. No other third baseman was cited.

Donald Dewey and Nick Acocella (All Time All Star Baseball Book, Elysian Fields Press, 1992) list Lindstrom as the New York Giants all-time third baseman. The esteemed sportswriter, Red Smith, placed him at third base on an all-time New York all-star team that had no room for the likes of Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider or Mel Ott

John Kieran (Sports of the Times), reported the following: “Arthur Nehf was sitting in the Chicago dugout talking about the Giant hitters. He talked of Roush, Jackson, Terry and Hogan and then remarked decisively that Freddie Lindstrom was the cleverest of them all at the plate and the hardest man to fool in the clutch.”

Lindstrom’s four hits stood as the rookie record until matched by San Francisco’s Buster Posey in the 2010 series.

Along with a 24-game hitting streak in 1930 and a 25-game streak in 1933, Lindstrom also ranks among the all-time top 10 in lifetime strikeouts to batting average ratio, 276 strikeouts to .311 batting average in 6,104 plate appearances. Lloyd Waner, Pie Traynor and Arky Vaughan are also on the list. (Graham Womack, Baseball Past & Present, May 25, 2011.)

Lindstrom led the league in outfield assists in 1932 and putouts in 1933. He came to the Pirates as “a strong defensive player and even better right-handed line drive hitter.” (Dave Finoli and Bill Rainer: The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia, 1933.)

Lindstrom was included in the balloting for the National Baseball Hall of Fame starting in 1949, but he never received more than 4.4% of the vote from the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). Former Giants teammates Terry and Frankie Frisch joined the Veterans Committee in 1967, and aided the elections of several of their former teammates, including Jesse Haines in 1970, Dave Bancroft and Chick Hafey in 1971, Ross Youngs in 1972, George Kelly in 1973, Jim Bottomley in 1974, and Lindstrom in 1976.

Lindstrom's selection, along with some of the other selections made by Terry and Frisch, has been considered one of the weakest in some circles. According to the BBWAA, the Veterans Committee was not selective enough in choosing members. Charges of cronyism were levied against the Veterans Committee. This led to the Veterans Committee having its powers reduced in subsequent years. In 2001, baseball writer Bill James ranked Lindstrom as the worst third baseman in the Hall of Fame.