Fred Lindstrom HOFer, Why?

[SteveMitchell]

Freddie Lindstrom was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame because his old teammate Frank Frisch was the driving force behind the Veterans Committee for years - or so the story goes. That is attributing a great deal of control to The Old Flash since Freddie Lindstrom was admitted in 1976 - three years after Frisch's death! (One wonders if those grizzled old veterans committee members were so impressed (or intimidated) that they put FF's selections in long after his departure from this life?)

Clearly, among Hall of Fame members, Lindstrom's career was a shorter one which began at the big league level as an 18-year-old in 1924, ending after 13 seasons at age 30. However, he was an instant impact player hitting .333 as the starting third baseman for the National League champion New York Giants in the '24 world series.

Twice Freddie made 231 base hits in a single season (1928 and 1930) posting .358 and .379 batting averages, respectively. He also was a .300 hitter for six straight seasons and over his career was a tough man to strike out - K'ing just 276 times in 6108 plate appearances.

In only his third major league season (1926) Lindstrom ranked 9th in National League Most Valuable Player voting and two years later he finished second with 70 points - 6 behind MVP Sunny Jim Bottomley.

Principally a third baseman (809 of his 1438 major league games), Freddie Lindstrom was one of the game's leading hitters at the hot corner.

Postscript: No "expert" here - just a baseball history fan and Freddie Lindstrom HOF booster; one who was pleased (though honestly surprised) to see his 1976 election.