Freddie Lindstrom

This article is about the baseball player. For the biathlete, see Fredrik Lindström (biathlete).

Freddie Lindstrom
Third baseman / Outfielder
Born: (1905-11-21)November 21, 1905
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died: October 4, 1981(1981-10-04) (aged 75)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 15, 1924, for the New York Giants
Last MLB appearance
May 15, 1936, for the Brooklyn Dodgers
MLB statistics
Batting average.311
Home runs103
Runs batted in779
Teams
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction1976
Election methodVeterans Committee

Frederick Charles Lindstrom (November 21, 1905 – October 4, 1981) was an American professional baseball third baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Brooklyn Dodgers from 1924 until 1936. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976.

Lindstrom debuted in MLB for the Giants in 1924. In 1930, Giants manager John McGraw ranked Lindstrom ninth among the top 20 players of the previous quarter century.[1] Babe Ruth picked him as his NL all-star third baseman over Pie Traynor for the decade leading up to the first inter-league All-Star Game in 1933.[2] Modern-day statistics guru Bill James, who rates Lindstrom No. 43 on his all-time third basemen list, placed him among the top three under-21 players at that position and called the 1927 Giants infield of Lindstrom, Hornsby, Travis Jackson and Bill Terry the decade's best.[3]

In 1931, injuries – including a chronic bad back and broken leg – brought about his switch to the outfield. The Giants traded him to the Pirates before the 1933 season. He also played for the Cubs and Dodgers before he retired after 13 seasons in 1936.[4]

  1. ^ International News Service, New York, May 7, 1930.
  2. ^ Babe Ruth, Christy Walsh Syndicate, July 5, 1933.
  3. ^ New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, Free Press, 2001, p. 127.
  4. ^ Broeg, The Sporting News, March 17, 1973.