#596 Don Landrum

This post wraps up another trade, so I'd like to once again toss a little thanks in the direction of Bob Bard and to remind you that you can find his want list here. Onward!

Fun facts about Don Landrum:

-Bob was from Santa Rosa, CA and signed with the Phillies in 1954 out of Mt. Diablo High School.

-It took him only four years to get from Class D Mattoon to AAA Miami, where he hit .294 to earn a late-season look in Philadelphia.

-The Phils sent Landrum back to the minors for three more seasons before trading him to St. Louis late in the 1960 campaign.

-He appeared in 41 games with the Cards between 1960-1961, but broke through as a semi-regular in 1962. Splitting the year between St. Louis and the Cubs, he hit a career-high .286 in 115 games. He also walked 34 times to boost his on-base percentage to .370, and stole 11 bases in 13 tries.

-After slumping to .242 the following year and spending much of 1964 at AAA Salt Lake City, Don bounced back in 1965. He hit only .226 but played in a career-high 131 games, allowing him to compile 20 doubles, six home runs, and 34 RBI.

-On August 19, 1965, he hit the only walkoff home run of his career, a two-out, two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the Reds.

-A largely unproductive stint with the Giants (.186 in 72 games) ended his major league tenure the following year. In parts of eight seasons, he hit .234 with a .307 on-base percentage, 12 home runs, and 75 RBI.

-Don faced Hall of Famer Don Drysdale more than any other pitcher, and had surprising success. In 51 plate appearances he batted .302 and reached base at a .400 clip. He notched a double, triple, and home run (the first longball of his career) and drove in three runs against the Dodgers great!

-Landrum would return to California, where he managed an office furniture business. He passed away in January of 2003 at age 66.

-According to his obituary, he enjoyed playing pinochle, rooting for the Giants and 49ers, and collecting baseball cards. Sounds like a pretty cool guy to me.