Rest In Peace Bill Freehan

[Charles Martel]

From wikipedia:

William Freehan (November 29, 1941 – August 19, 2021) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire 15-year Major League Baseball career as a catcher with the Detroit Tigers.

The premier catcher in the American League for several years from the 1960s into the early 1970s, he was named an All-Star in each of the 11 seasons in which he caught at least 75 games, and was the MVP runner-up for the champion Tigers in the 1968 World Series, handling a pitching staff which included World Series MVP Mickey Lolich and regular season MVP Denny McLain, who went on to become the first 30-game winner in the majors since 1934.

A five-time Gold Glove Award winner, Freehan held the major league record for highest career fielding percentage (.9933) until 2002, and also the records for career putouts (9,941) and total chances (10,734) from 1975 until the late 1980s; he ranked ninth in major league history in games caught (1,581) at the end of his career. His career totals of 200 home runs and 2,502 total bases placed him behind only Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey among AL catchers when he retired.

• 11× All-Star (1964–1973, 1975)
• World Series champion (1968)
• 5× Gold Glove Award (1965–1969)

 

[The Hock]

I'd forgotten about this player.

Catcher is the hardest position in baseball.

 

[Flint]

I’m a Detroit fan, at least of the Tigers from yesteryear and I think it’s a crime this guy isn’t in the Hall of Fame. He was head and shoulders the best catcher in baseball during the 1960’s. There wasn’t anyone even close.

But because that era had such low offensive numbers Freehan didn’t put together the accumulated stats that compare well with other eras. The catcher position, especially in the American League in the 1960’s was a wasteland as far as decent players.

Consider this, in the 1967 All Star game which went 15 innings, Freehan caught them all. He was considered that much better then the other guys.

He was also a good football player at Michigan, when his baseball career was over he left a good job to go coach Michigan baseball which was embroiled in a scandal. God bless the soul of this great gentleman!

 

[sport historian]

Bill Freehan made what is considered the pivotal play of the 1968 Tiger-Cardinal World Series. In the fifth game, with the Cardinals leading the Series at 3-1 and 3-2 in the top of the fifth, Freehan tagged out Lou Brock at home plate. Brock came in standing up and Freehan blocked the plate. The Tigers rallied to win. In the seventh game, Jim Northrup hit a triple off Bob Gibson in the seventh inning, putting the Tigers ahead 2-0. Freehan followed with a double driving in Northrup. The Tigers beat Gibson 4-1 to win the Series. Mickey Lolich won three games, including Game Seven.