Charles William Lindstrom (September 7, 1936 - September 29, 2021) was a former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
catcher who played briefly for the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
during the 1958 season. He is also the son of Baseball Hall of Famer
Freddie Lindstrom
Frederick Charles Lindstrom (November 21, 1905 – October 4, 1981) was a National League baseball player with the New York Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Brooklyn Dodgers from 1924 until 1936. He was inducted into the Baseball Hal ...
.
A catcher standing , , batting and throwing right-handed, Lindstrom was signed by the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
as an amateur free agent on June 17, . Fifteen months later, he was in the Major Leagues, coming into the fifth inning of a game September 28, 1958 versus the
Kansas City Athletics
The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...
as a defensive replacement for
Johnny Romano
John Anthony Romano Jr. (August 23, 1934 – February 24, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Chicago White Sox (1958–1959, 1965–1966), Cleveland Indians (1960–1964 ...
. The first pitch from pitcher
Hal Trosky
Harold Arthur Trosky Sr. (born Harold Arthur Trojovsky; November 11, 1912 – June 18, 1979) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Cleveland Indians (1933–1941) and the Chica ...
was fumbled by Lindstrom as a
passed ball
In baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been maintained under his control, and, as a result of this loss of control, the batter or a ru ...
, but he settled down and did not make another error.
In his first at bat in the bottom of the sixth inning, Lindstrom led off with a walk, scoring on a double by
Don Mueller
Donald Frederick Mueller (April 14, 1927 – December 28, 2011) was a professional baseball player who played mainly as a right fielder in Major League Baseball for 12 seasons from 1948 until 1959. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed, and ...
. Then, in the bottom of the seventh, he tripled, driving in
Johnny Callison
John Wesley Callison (March 12, 1939 – October 12, 2006) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 16 seasons and is best known for the 10 years he spent with the Philadelphia Phillies as a right ...
with another run. He was on deck for a third plate appearance when
Sammy Esposito
Samuel Esposito (December 15, 1931 – July 9, 2018) was an American professional baseball third baseman and shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 10 seasons on the Chicago White Sox (1952, 1955–1963) and Kansas City Athletics ...
struck out looking to end the White Sox' last offensive inning in a game they won 11-4. This would be Lindstrom's only Major League game, as he was sent down to the minor leagues the following season, never returning to the Major Leagues.
Lindstrom is one of only four players to hit a triple in their one and only MLB at bat, the others being
Eduardo Rodríguez (1973),
Scott Munninghoff
Scott Andrew Munninghoff (born December 5, 1958) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played briefly in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies during the season. Listed at , , he batted and threw right-hand ...
(1980), and
Eric Cammack
Eric Wade Cammack (born August 14, 1975) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the New York Mets during the season. Listed at , 180 lb., Cammack batted and threw right-handed. A native of Nederland, Texa ...
(2000). And with a triple, a walk, a run, and a run batted in during two plate appearances, Lindstrom had one of the best one-game careers in the history of baseball, along with
John Paciorek
John Francis Paciorek (; born February 11, 1945) is an American former baseball player. He attended high school in Michigan, and was signed by the Houston Colt .45s while playing for the school's baseball team. After a season in the minor leagues ...
.
Lindstrom retired shortly thereafter and went on to a successful 23-year coaching career with
Lincoln College, highlighted by a 29-10 record in and five successive years of 20-win seasons starting with 1972.
Lindstrom died on September 29, 2021, at the age of 85.
See also
*
List of second-generation Major League Baseball players
Dozens of father-and-son combinations have played or managed in Major League Baseball (MLB).
The first was Jack Doscher, son of Herm Doscher, who made his debut in 1903.
Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. became the first father-and-son duo ...
References
External links
*
Merron, Jeff, "The List: Baseball's one-hit wonders", ESPN.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindstrom, Chuck
1936 births
2021 deaths
Baseball coaches from Illinois
Baseball players from Chicago
Charleston ChaSox players
Charleston White Sox players
Chicago White Sox players
Colorado Springs Sky Sox (WL) players
Davenport DavSox players
Lincoln Chiefs players
Major League Baseball catchers
Northwestern Wildcats baseball players
Sportspeople from Chicago
New Trier High School alumni