Hobie Landrith

Hobert Neal Landrith (March 16, 1930 – April 6, 2023) was an American professional baseball player.

Landrith was discovered by the Cincinnati Reds after leading his Detroit team to a second-place finish in the 1948 National Junior Amateur Federation Tournament.

That year he also participated in the annual East-West all-star game in New York City, being voted the city's most outstanding amateur player by the Detroit Sports Guild.

Landrith attended Michigan State University, where he played one season before turning professional.

On February 8, 1949, the Cincinnati Reds signed Landrith.

This angered Spartans coach John Kobs, who was quoted as saying, "They ought to leave these young players alone and give them a chance to finish college."

Reds general manager Warren Giles agreed with the coach's sentiment, but cited that he could not wait any longer to sign Landrith as eight other major league ball clubs were all interested in signing him.

The Big Ten Conference made a brief effort to stop the "raid" of the conference of their star players, but nonetheless, the 18-year-old catcher out of Detroit agreed to a four-year contract with the Reds.

At the Reds spring training camp in late March, murmurs started to surface that he was the "hottest thing" in camp.

Landrith was a star in the sandlots of Detroit and at Michigan State University.

He desperately wanted to play professional baseball with the Detroit Tigers, crying when his father convinced him to sign with Cincinnati.

The Tigers offered Landrith a two-year minor league deal worth $8,000.

However, Cincinnati offered him a four-year major league contract at $6,000 per year, totaling $24,000.

Landrith learned that the Tigers had paid a $75,000 bonus to catcher Frank House, so he thought the Tigers had too much money tied up in House that he would never be given much of a chance.

Landrith played in spring training games for the Reds before being assigned to the minor league baseball Class A Charleston Senators of the Central League.

He had a .250 batting average with 111 total bases in 110 games played.

He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1950 through 1963 for the Cincinnati Reds/Redlegs, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, and Washington Senators.

He batted left-handed, threw right-handed, stood 5 ft tall and weighed 170 lb.

For most of his career, Landrith was a second- or third-string catcher.

In January 1950, Landrith signed a new deal with the Cincinnati Reds.

On March 10, he was assigned to the Tulsa Oilers of the Class AA Texas League.

In the opening game for Tulsa against the Dallas Eagles on April 11 at the Cotton Bowl, Landrith went 1-for-2 with a double before breaking his left ankle as he slid into home plate.

While Landrith was still recovering from his ankle injury, the Cincinnati Reds brought him up the Major Leagues and placed him on the disabled list.

Landrith joined the Reds squad when they played an exhibition game in Detroit, his hometown, on June 12.

He worked out with the team from there on out, traveling with the team on all road trips, catching in batting practice and pulling bullpen duty.

On July 30, the top three catchers on the Reds' depth chart were all recovering from ailing injuries.

Johnny Pramesa had a sprained ankle sustained the day before on July 29, Bob Scheffing was having problems with his left elbow, and Dixie Howell's throwing hand had been sore.

Reds Manager Luke Sewell made the decision to finally give Landrith his first major league start that day at the Boston Braves, singling in his first at bat off Braves starter Vern Bickford and driving in a run.

Landrith played in three more games through August 8 before he was no longer used in games and resumed his duty of working solely in practice roles.

Landrith signed his new contract to play with the Reds in late January 1951.

He attended spring training with the Reds, but at the end of March became the first player cut from the roster, being optioned to the Buffalo Bisons of the Class AAA International League.

He was a backup catcher for Andy Seminick and Smoky Burgess in Cincinnati, and later a regular with the Cubs in 1956.

The following two years he backed up All-Stars Hal Smith and Walker Cooper with the Cardinals.

He then had a three-season campaign in San Francisco, including his most successful season in 1959.

He was the first pick of the New York Mets in the 1961 expansion draft.

Landrith closed out his career with short stints with the Mets, Orioles, and expansion Senators.

In a career that spanned 14 seasons, Landrith had a career .233 batting average with 34 home runs, 203 runs batted in, and 450 hits in 772 games played.

Originally from Decatur, Illinois, Landrith from age 10 to 14 played for the "Firemen's Midgets" team in the Detroit Amateur Baseball Federation.

From 15 to 18, he played with a Class D advanced simon-pure group and as a catcher for Northwestern High School in Detroit, Michigan.

At 15, he went to Briggs Stadium and helped warmup starting pitchers for the Detroit Tigers and get Hank Greenberg into shape after he returned from military service.