Jim Sundberg
Encyclopedia
James Howard Sundberg is a former professional
baseball
catcher
known for being one of the best defensive catchers of his era. He played for a number of Major League
teams, most significantly the Texas Rangers
and Kansas City Royals
, with whom we won a World Championship. He batted and threw right-handed.
. While attending the University of Iowa he joined The Delta Upsilon
Fraternity. On January 10, 1973
, he was selected by Texas Rangers in the 1st round of the secondary free agent
draft. In 1974
, he made the rare jump from Class A level baseball to the major leagues with the Rangers. As a rookie, Sundberg was selected to be a reserve in the 1974 All-Star Game
and finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year balloting (teammate Mike Hargrove
won the award). Sundberg had 101 assists
in 1975
, becoming the first American League catcher to have more than 100 assists in a season since the end of the Second World War.
Sundberg established himself as one of the top defensive catchers in the American League
by winning six consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 1976
to 1981
. In December 1983, after ten years with the Rangers, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers
. After playing one season with the Brewers, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals. Sundberg's veteran experience helped bolster the Royals'
young pitching staff, and the team's combined earned run average
improved to second best in the American League. The Royals went on to win the 1985 World Series
. In Game Six of that series, Sundberg scored the dramatic ninth inning
winning run
by sliding into home plate
, skillfully avoiding the tag
of St. Louis Cardinals catcher Darrell Porter
. In 1986
, Sundberg helped the Royals pitching staff lead the league in earned run average, however they fell to third place in the American League's Western Division.
Sundberg was traded to the Chicago Cubs in 1987
, before being traded back to Texas where he ended his career at the end of the 1989
season.
, accumulating 1,493 hits
in 6,021 at bats for a .248 career batting average along with 95 home runs, 624 runs batted in and an on base percentage
of .327. His .993 career fielding average was 8 points higher than the league average over the span of his playing career. Sundberg led American League catchers six times in fielding percentage, putouts and assists. He completed 145 double play
s in 1962 games in his career, and holds the major league record for the best ratio of double plays to errors
of any catcher in major league history behind the plate for at least 1000 games.
Sundberg was the first catcher to win 6 American League Gold Gloves, although Bob Boone
won 5 in the American League and two more in the National League. His 1976 Gold Glove was the first by any Ranger player. He caught 130 shutouts in his career, ranking him fifth all-time among catchers. Sundberg played more games as a catcher than any other player in Rangers history (1512). At the time of his retirement, Sundberg had caught more major league games than any man in history except his contemporary Bob Boone
. He still ranks fifth today. Richard Kendall of the Society for American Baseball Research
devised an unscientific study that ranked Sundberg as the third most dominating fielding catcher in major league history.
Galesburg High School
has named their main baseball field after Sundberg. As of October 2008 he is employed by the Texas Rangers as Senior Executive Vice-President of Public Relations.
Professional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
known for being one of the best defensive catchers of his era. He played for a number of Major League
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
teams, most significantly the Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
and Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
, with whom we won a World Championship. He batted and threw right-handed.
Playing career
Sundberg graduated from the University of IowaUniversity of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
. While attending the University of Iowa he joined The Delta Upsilon
Delta Upsilon
Delta Upsilon is the sixth oldest international, all-male, college Greek-letter organization, and is the oldest non-secret fraternity in North America...
Fraternity. On January 10, 1973
1973 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing sixth in the American League West with a record of 57 wins and 105 losses.- Offseason :* October 27, 1972: Jim Panther was traded by the Rangers to the Atlanta Braves for Rico Carty....
, he was selected by Texas Rangers in the 1st round of the secondary free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
draft. In 1974
1974 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing second in the American League West with a record of 84 wins and 76 losses . It would be only the second time in franchise history that the club finished over .500 and the first since the club relocated to Arlington, Texas...
, he made the rare jump from Class A level baseball to the major leagues with the Rangers. As a rookie, Sundberg was selected to be a reserve in the 1974 All-Star Game
1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1974 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 45th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 23, 1974, at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
and finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year balloting (teammate Mike Hargrove
Mike Hargrove
Dudley Michael Hargrove is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. He is currently employed as an advisor with the Cleveland Indians....
won the award). Sundberg had 101 assists
Assist (baseball)
In baseball, an assist is a defensive statistic, baseball being one of the few sports in which the defensive team controls the ball. An assist is awarded to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball prior to the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional...
in 1975
1975 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing 3rd in the American League West with a record of 79 wins and 83 losses.- Offseason :...
, becoming the first American League catcher to have more than 100 assists in a season since the end of the Second World War.
Sundberg established himself as one of the top defensive catchers in the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
by winning six consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 1976
1976 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing 4th in the American League West with a record of 76 wins and 86 losses.- Offseason :* November 12, 1975: Dave Nelson was traded by the Rangers to the Kansas City Royals for Nelson Briles....
to 1981
1981 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers 1981 season involved the Rangers finishing 2nd in the American League West with a record of 57 wins and 48 losses. The season was suspended for 50 days due to the infamous 1981 players strike and the league chose as its playoff teams, the division winners from the first and second...
. In December 1983, after ten years with the Rangers, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers
1984 Milwaukee Brewers season
The 1984 Milwaukee Brewers season involved the Brewers' finishing 7th in the American League East with a record of 67 wins and 94 losses.- Offseason :...
. After playing one season with the Brewers, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals. Sundberg's veteran experience helped bolster the Royals'
1985 Kansas City Royals season
The 1985 Kansas City Royals season ended with the Royals' first world championship win over their intrastate rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Royals won the Western Division of the American League for the second consecutive season and the sixth time in ten years...
young pitching staff, and the team's combined earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
improved to second best in the American League. The Royals went on to win the 1985 World Series
1985 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 19, 1985 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri-Game 2:Sunday, October 20, 1985 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri...
. In Game Six of that series, Sundberg scored the dramatic ninth inning
Inning
Inning is a municipality in the district of Erding in Bavaria in Germany....
winning run
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
by sliding into home plate
Home Plate
Home Plate is the fifth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1975 .-Track listing:#"What Do You Want the Boy to Do?" – 3:19#"Good Enough" – 2:56#"Run Like a Thief" – 3:02...
, skillfully avoiding the tag
Tag out
In baseball, a tag out, sometimes just called a tag, is a play in which a baserunner is out because he is touched by the fielder's hand or glove holding a live ball while the runner is in jeopardy...
of St. Louis Cardinals catcher Darrell Porter
Darrell Porter
Darrell Ray Porter was a former American professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers. He was known for his excellent defensive skills and power hitting...
. In 1986
1986 Kansas City Royals season
The Kansas City Royals season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Royals finishing 3rd in the American League West with a record of 76 wins and 86 losses.-Notable transactions:...
, Sundberg helped the Royals pitching staff lead the league in earned run average, however they fell to third place in the American League's Western Division.
Sundberg was traded to the Chicago Cubs in 1987
1987 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs season was a season in American baseball. The team finished last in the six-team National League East with a record of 76-85, 18½ games behind the division and pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals.- Spring training :...
, before being traded back to Texas where he ended his career at the end of the 1989
1989 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers 1989 season involved the Rangers finishing fourth in the American League West with a record of 83 wins and 79 losses.-Offseason:* October 11, 1988: Guy Hoffman was released by the Rangers....
season.
Career statistics
In an sixteen-year major league career, Sundberg played in 1,962 gamesGames played
Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...
, accumulating 1,493 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
in 6,021 at bats for a .248 career batting average along with 95 home runs, 624 runs batted in and an on base percentage
On base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes...
of .327. His .993 career fielding average was 8 points higher than the league average over the span of his playing career. Sundberg led American League catchers six times in fielding percentage, putouts and assists. He completed 145 double play
Double play
In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....
s in 1962 games in his career, and holds the major league record for the best ratio of double plays to errors
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
of any catcher in major league history behind the plate for at least 1000 games.
Sundberg was the first catcher to win 6 American League Gold Gloves, although Bob Boone
Bob Boone
Robert Raymond Boone is a former catcher and manager in Major League Baseball who was a four-time All-Star. Born in San Diego, California, Bob Boone is the son of a major league player, the late third baseman Ray Boone, and the father of two major leaguers: former second baseman Bret Boone and...
won 5 in the American League and two more in the National League. His 1976 Gold Glove was the first by any Ranger player. He caught 130 shutouts in his career, ranking him fifth all-time among catchers. Sundberg played more games as a catcher than any other player in Rangers history (1512). At the time of his retirement, Sundberg had caught more major league games than any man in history except his contemporary Bob Boone
Bob Boone
Robert Raymond Boone is a former catcher and manager in Major League Baseball who was a four-time All-Star. Born in San Diego, California, Bob Boone is the son of a major league player, the late third baseman Ray Boone, and the father of two major leaguers: former second baseman Bret Boone and...
. He still ranks fifth today. Richard Kendall of the Society for American Baseball Research
Society for American Baseball Research
The Society for American Baseball Research was established in Cooperstown, New York, in August 1971 by Bob Davids of Washington, D.C. The Society's mission is to foster the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball, while generating interest in the game...
devised an unscientific study that ranked Sundberg as the third most dominating fielding catcher in major league history.
Galesburg High School
Galesburg High School
Galesburg High School is a public high school in Galesburg, Illinois. Galesburg High School was established in 1861 in downtown Galesburg. It has since moved to Fremont Street on the west side of town...
has named their main baseball field after Sundberg. As of October 2008 he is employed by the Texas Rangers as Senior Executive Vice-President of Public Relations.
Highlights
- Spent his 1984 All-Star season playing for the Milwaukee BrewersMilwaukee BrewersThe Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
when he was traded by the Rangers to Milwaukee for Ned YostNed YostEdgar Frederick "Ned" Yost III is a former Major League Baseball catcher and current manager of the Kansas City Royals. He is the former manager of the Milwaukee Brewers.-Playing career:...
and Dan Scarpetta - 3-time All-Star (1974, 1978, 1984)
- 6-time Gold Glove winner (1976–81)
- Top 10 in sacrifice hitSacrifice hitIn baseball, a sacrifice bunt is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball in a manner that allows a runner on base to advance to another base. The batter is almost always sacrificed but sometimes reaches base due to an error or fielder's choice...
s, three times (1974, 1975, 1977) - Caught Bert BlylevenBert BlylevenBert Blyleven is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from to , and was best known for his curveball. Blyleven was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011...
's no-hitterNo-hitterA no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
on September 22, 19771977 Texas Rangers seasonThe 1977 Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing second in the American League West with a record of 94 wins and 68 losses.- Offseason :On December 10, 1976, shortstop Danny Thompson died of leukemia...
.