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“Freddie Lindstrom and the 1924 World Series” Photo Gallery
Today we welcome back contributor Mark Kolier with an interesting essay on a topic we baseball history nerds never tire of discussing: Who belongs in the Hall of Fame and who doesn’t? Mark goes into depth analyzing the case of Freddie Lindstrom, the youngest player to ever appear in a World Series game, who was also the unwitting victim of the infamous “Pebbles Game.” Freddie has the dubious honor of invariably heading the list of questionable Hall of Fame selectees. Unfortunately for Freddie, he doesn’t fare particularly well once Mark shines his baseball spotlight on his career. Oh well, as Mark adds, he was probably a real nice guy, so we’ll let him keep his plaque in the Hall! Anyway, I think you’ll find Mark’s analysis interesting. -GL
HOFer Freddie Lindstrom Ignored the “Pebbles of Defeat”
Somehow he made it into Cooperstown!
When discussing the sometimes-questionable makeup of the Baseball Hall of Fame, I maintain that removing those deemed undeserving accomplishes little and is not worth doing. There are only 278 players enshrined out of more than 23,000 total players – yes, I am including Negro League and stats. Adding or removing 36 players would only move the overall percentage by .0015.
However, that does not preclude me or anyone else from wondering how certain HOFers made it in. Beyond Harold Baines who is less puzzling an inductee than Lloyd Waner and Ray Schalk, I always thought Freddie Lindstrom was an unlucky early-in-his-career player who turned it around to have a dazzling career that led him to be enshrined as a player in Cooperstown. Lindstrom was not voted in by the BBWA, but he was by the Veteran’s Committee in 1976.
How Did Freddie Lindstrom Become a HOFer?
As I have come to love the history and minutiae of baseball, I’ve read a lot about New York Giant’s third baseman Freddie Lindstrom having two bad hop balls bounce over his head into the outfield, (both hit a pebble or dirt clump, not the same one but then again maybe it was the same one), in first the 9th inning and then in the 12th inning of game seven of the 1924 World Series vs. the Washington Nationals (also known as Senators). The Giants were leading in the game 3-1 and would go on to lose the game and the Series with HOFer Walter Johnson heroically closing it out in relief for the Nationals. Freddie Lindstrom was 18 years old and was the youngest player ever to appear in a World Series. 101 years later he remains the youngest player ever to appear in a WS, a record he may never relinquish.
Lindstrom would bounce back, hit .311 for his 13-year career, and It’s often said that third base is a relatively under-represented position in Cooperstown. But then you look at Lindstrom’s career and think, wait, he got in ahead of Ron Santo? Got in over Ken Boyer and Stan Hack? Baseball writer and researcher Bill James wrote: His selection to the Hall of Fame, while it ignores players like Ken Boyer, Ron Santo, Ed Yost and Stan Hack, was a bad joke. Bill James has never been one to mince words. And in the case of Freddie Lindstrom, I agree with him 100%!
In thinking about players who were great players at third base, but are not Hall-of-Famers, my mind immediately jumps to one of my favorite all-time New York Mets, David Wright. Wright has been on the ballot for two years presently but stands little chance of being inducted. Most feel that his career, while great, was just too short. Then there’s Freddie Lindstrom. Comparing Lindstrom with David Wright did not work out well for Freddie.
Freddie vs. David Wright…Not Good For Freddie!
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To be fair, there was no Gold Glove nor Silver Slugger award when Lindstrom played. The first All-Star game in 1933 occurred nine years into Lindstrom’s career. That year Lindstrom did have his second-best bWAR season at 4.5 but was not an All-Star in his first season in Pittsburgh after being traded by his former mentor and supporter John McGraw. The story goes that McGraw had decided to step down as Giants manager after 31 seasons and instead of choosing Lindstrom he chose future HOFer Bill Terry (and Terry is the last National Leaguer to bat .400), as his successor. Lindstrom was shocked and disappointed and asked to be moved and was accommodated. To his credit, Lindstrom was the first third baseman in the 20th century to hit 20 home runs in a season which he did in the liveliest-ball-ever 1930 season.
Freddie vs. Evan Longoria…Also Not Good!
Even Evan Longoria has a better Hall-of-Fame case than Lindstrom.
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Unless you are fan of batting average over EVERYTHING it’s not close between Lindstrom and Longoria.
Buddy Bell No Help for Freddie Either!
In addition to Longoria, there’s also Buddy Bell.
What can’t be viewed in these comparisons is that Buddy Bell was a vastly superior fielder to Freddie Lindstrom who was slightly above average for his career defensively. That and his longer career explain the giant bWAR difference between them. It’s a little closer but for me Buddy Bell was still better.
So, how did Freddie Lindstrom get into the Hall-of-Fame? More than anything else his son Andy heavily lobbied for his father’s election into Cooperstown. I guess he was a nice guy too. I think Andy was a lot better at lobbying than even he realized!
Mark Kolier
Mark Kolier, along with his son Gordon, co-hosts a baseball podcast called ‘Almost Cooperstown.’ He also has written baseball-related articles that can be accessed on Medium.com and Substack.com. Mark can be reached on x @almostcoop and almostcooperstown@gmail.com
Photo Credits: All from Google search
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