Continued from Post #2523

As Yogi Berra famously quipped, “baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.” Sherm Lollar, on the other hand, was not known for his quotes or sense of humor. “A contemporary article called Lollar “a Charley Gehringer type,” adding, ‘He appears a colorless, dispassionate individual, on and off the field, but he gets his job done effectively. If Lollar hits as well as Gehringer did, no one will care if he doesn’t say a word all season.” Charlie Gehringer, not to be confused with Gehrig, was nicknamed ‘The Mechanical Man,’ who played for the Detroit Tigers from 1924-1942, won the American League batting title in 1939 with a .371 average to earn the AL MVP, was a 6x All-Star, stolen base leader in 1929, and World Series champion in 1939. Yet, like Lollar was not quite good enough for the Hall of Fame. 

The significance of a great catcher can’t be emphasized enough, this is why I find it hard to believe that there are relatively few in the “Hall of Fame.” Others feel this way, as well, take for example this article by Leigh Allan, written on Jul 21, 2023:

“There’s always a catch (-er, that is) And as he goes, so goes the team (usually, anyway).”

“It’s not a rule that in order to have sustained success a team has to have a really good catcher. Sure does help though.” 

“The White Sox provide a good example. During the amazing 17-year stretch of winning records from 1951 to 1967, they had Sherm Lollar behind the plate most of the time, from 1952-63. Lollar was a veteran when the Sox got him, but he stepped it up to Gold Glove levels when manager Paul Richards told him to depart from his natural quietness and become a vocal team leader.”

“Of course, being the White Sox, having a great catcher didn’t always work (witness the so-so records with Carlton Fisk), but the rah-rah bit did. A.J. Pierzynski had a solid defensive year in 2005, but it’s the vocal part we all remember helping the Sox to a World Series win — their first trip to the Series since 1959, when Lollar helped the way.”

“The reason Lollar only had one World Series trip was the dominance of the Yankees at that time, a team that had a number of Hall-of-Famers, a key among them Yogi Berra. And the Yankees most often were facing the Dodgers — Brooklyn variety — and the terrific Roy Campanella.” 

“Come forward to the ’70s and there was the Big Red Machine with Johnny Bench, perhaps the greatest catcher of them all, leading the way. On the American League side, the A’s dominated, with Ray Fosse calling the pitches.” 

“If you prefer more recent impact, there was early Yadier Molina getting two championships with the Cardinals, the San Francisco string of ring collecting from 2010-14 with Buster Posey, and even the Royals consecutive World Series appearances with Salvador Pérez. And it sure helped the Phillies to have J.R. Realmuto last year.”

“Great catching doesn’t necessarily lead to championships — if it did, Iván Rodríguez would have a ring on each finger. Including thumbs. But even Rick Hahn (Senior VP/GM of the White Sox) can recognize the importance of catchers, hence the $73 million contract for Yasmani Grandal (that played out OK for a little while, but then knees and age took their toll and the contract no longer seems like such a good idea). 

“Great shortstopping is the next-most important aspect, with the catchers named above playing with Luis Aparicio, Phil Rizzuto, Pee Wee Reese, Barry Larkin, Bert Campaneris, Brandon Crawford (or Sox buddy Juan Uribe), and Alcides Escobar (OK, not an all-time great, but an All-Star and Gold Glove winner in 2015). But their catchers led the way.”

“(Yeah, yeah — when the White Sox had Fisk behind the plate, they mostly had an outstanding Ozzie Guillén at short, to no avail. But that’s just the Sox.) WHY ALL THIS BORING HISTORY BLATHER, OLD TIMER?”

“Funny you should ask, you young whippersnappers. It’s because unless Hahn is nuts, the White Sox are about to be trading veterans for prospects. A lot has been guessed about which veterans will go, but less about which prospects to seek, of which the most important to look at are catchers.” 

“Grandal has become a liability behind the plate, and will be a free agent anyway. (In fact, he moved on to the Pittsburg Pirates for the 2024 season). Seby Zavala has improved but will always be below-average defensively, besides which the Sox don’t hit well enough to carry the hole in his bat, as Houston can do with Martin Maldonado. And Carlos Pérez hasn’t been on any top prospect lists for a reason.” 

“The problem is finding good catching prospects, which are so rare that teams tend to hold on to them desperately. However, there is a possible solution. PRAY TELL, WHAT SOLUTION?” 

“There are actually two teams who each have two slots among the Top 10 catchers on MLB.com prospect lists.” 

“One is the Angels, but they aren’t likely to be big buyers by the trade deadline. It’s the other one that’s interesting — and a perfect fit for the White Sox.” 

“The Dodgers already have the marvelous Will Smith behind the plate, with team control to 2026, but they have also have the top-rated catching prospect in Diego Cartaya and the No. 8, Dalton Rushing. Cartaya is in that top spot despite struggling at the plate in Tulsa this season, so obviously scouts really like what they see.” 

“Further, the Dodgers are a natural landing spot for L.A. native Lucas Giolito, their bullpen has been awful, and losing Gavin Lux to injury for the season after Trea Turner left in free agency has left big holes in the middle infield. The White Sox just happen to have what they need. SO LET’S MAKE A DEAL, RIGHT?”

The article ends with a mock conversation between General Managers that leads nowhere, but the information in the story is valuable. It caught my eye because Sherm Lollar was the main point. I am also including a favorable story from essayist Peter Smith, another big fan of Sherm Lollar titled Growing Up Sherm Lollar Was My Joe Mauer: 

“White Sox catcher Sherm Lollar made the All-Star team in 1958. Smith still has his baseball card.” (I have all of his baseball cards in my collection): 

“I am holding my 1958 Sherman Lollar Sport Magazine All-Star baseball card. ‘Sherm Lollar, Catcher, American League.’ He’s wearing an uncomfortable smile-as if he doesn’t think himself worthy of being an All-Star. Or maybe someone left the cold cuts from the clubhouse lunch table out a little too long and they turned on him.”

“If I hold the card just right and squint through my reading glasses hard enough, I can still see the halo around Sherm’s head where I used to worship him.”

“Nine All-Star selections. Three gold gloves. To me, he was Joe Mauer long before there was a Mauer — a lion in an unexpanded American League, and a simpler time.”

“I turn the card over and read from the back.” 

“Sherm’s great strength lies in his ability to handle pitchers,” some overworked, down at the heels public relations man wrote on the back of the card. “His experience of the hitter’s weakness is invaluable to members of the Sox staff.” 

“Alas poor Lollar had a well known hitter’s weakness all his own. He was slow afoot and tended to ground into inning ending, rally killing double plays.” 

“Even Joe Mauer goofs up and hits into a double play now and then.” 

“I see Mauer ground one to start a double play and I flash back to Lollar running to first as hard as he can, still out by fifteen feet.” 

“‘It’s his knee tendons,’ my father would say sadly. He’d shake his head, ‘All those years catching.’ 

“It may have been Lollar’s lack of speed that cemented the bond between us. I, too, was a lead-footed catcher. I, too hit into far too many double plays.” 

“‘It’s my knee tendons,’ I took to telling my Little League coaches. I’d shake my head. ‘All these years catching…'” 

“Tonight, when Joe Mauer takes the All-Star field, I’ll be in my groove on the sofa. And Sherm Lollar’s 1958 Sport Magazine All-Star card will be propped up at the base of the lamp on the end table.” 

“‘Do a couple of old catchers and their knee tendons proud, Joe,” Sherm and I will be thinking. ‘Swing for the fences. And no double plays.'”

From https://www.mprnews.org/story/2010/07/12/growing-up-sherm-lollar-was-my-joe-mauer

Joe Mauer was a catcher with the Minnesota Twins from 2004 to 2018. He was a 6x All-Star, AL MVP in 2009, 3x Gold Glove winner, 5x Silver Slugger winner, 3x AL batting champion and retired with a .306 lifetime average. He was just inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2024 on the very first ballot. Mauer was superior to Sherm Lollar in nearly every category, including a fielding percentage of .995 at catcher and .996 at first base. Like Berra, he was also able to stay with the same team. Mauer played 15-years in the Majors, while Berra and Lollar caught for 3 additional years. Certainly, Mauer got the benefit of better, lighter equipment, as well as superior technology than Berra or Lollar. 

For a complete list of Hall of Fame catchers see Post #2513.

I have compiled nearly 300 Sherm Lollar-related items, plus some duplicates in my extensive collection, including baseball cards, press photos, articles, clippings, pins, advertisements, signed balls, game programs, scorecards, endorsed gloves, catching equipment, a rare game-worn #10 jersey from 1955, cups, ticket stubs, playing cards, a cancer foundation medallion, and even game pieces from Trivial Pursuit, Cadaco, and APBA Baseball. These items are in notebooks and displayed on the walls of my office. I have about $5,500 dollars invested through the years and will continue to scour E-bay and other sources. A glossy picture of Berra and Lollar together is one of my favorites. I’m in the process of looking for a museum in Chicago, Fayetteville, Arkansas, or Pittsburg, Kansas that may be interested. 

Sherm Lollar would have never put himself out there like Yogi Berra. The iconic picture of the 1956 World Series and Don Larsen’s unmatched perfect game, shows Yogi leaping into Larsen’s arms following Dale Mitchell’s called third strike to end the game. Sherm was simply too big and too reserved to ever leap into someone’s arms. 

I’ve reached the end of this series, but plan on researching other sources, and adding to what is already on-line. I may even consider, with some professional editing, publishing it in book form. 

Happy 100th Sherm!