Frankie Pytlak
Encyclopedia
Frank Anthony Pytlak born in Buffalo, New York
was an American
professional
baseball
player. He played in Major League Baseball
as a catcher
for the Cleveland Indians
(1932-40) and Boston Red Sox
(1941 and 1945-46). He was known as a line drive
hitter and an excellent defensive catcher.
, before being sent back down to the minor leagues
with the Toledo Mud Hens
. In 1933
he was back with the Indians as a reserve catcher, playing behind Roy Spencer. From 1934
to 1936
, Pytlak played mostly as a reserve although, he did lead Indians catchers in games caught in the 1934 season. He became the Indians starting catcher in 1937
, posting a .315 batting average
in 125 games.
On August 20, , as part of a publicity stunt by the Come to Cleveland Committee, Pytlak, along with Indians' rookie catcher, Hank Helf
, successfully caught baseballs dropped from Cleveland's 708 feet (215.8 m) Terminal Tower
by Indians' third baseman Ken Keltner
. The 708 feet (215.8 m) drop broke the 555-foot, 30-year-old record set by Washington Senator catcher Gabby Street
at the Washington Monument
. The baseballs were estimated to have been traveling at 138 miles per hour when caught.
Pytlak was the Indians' catcher on October 2, 1938
, when Bob Feller
set a modern major league record of 18 strikeouts against the Detroit Tigers
. Between September 10, 1938 and September 18, 1940
, Pytlak handled 571 consecutive chances
for the Indians without an error
, erasing the previous major league mark of 452 set by Gabby Hartnett
of the Chicago Cubs
. A rivalry between Pytlak and Rollie Hemsley
for the Indians starting catcher's role erupted during spring training
in 1939
, with Pytlak threatening to quit the team if he wasn't named the team's number one catcher. Pytlak was also resentful of Hemsley when, the latter became known as Bob Feller's personal catcher during the 1938
season. When Pytlak suffered an injury in the 1939 season, Hemsley replaced him as the Indians' starting catcher, and played well enough to keep Pytlak from regaining the number one position. Even so, Indians' pitcher
Johnny Allen
refused to pitch unless Pytlak was the catcher.
Pytlak was traded to the Boston Red Sox in 1941
where he became the starting catcher, replacing Gene Desautels
. He was expecting to be drafted in 1942
, so he contacted Mickey Cochrane
at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center outside Chicago, where Cochrane ran a baseball team for the United States Navy. He joined the athletic division there on April 17, 1942 and spent the summer playing for the Great Lakes team and batted .319 in 40 games. He also played for the Military All-Stars at Cleveland on July 7, 1942. Early in 1943, Pytlak was transferred to the navy recruiting station in Buffalo, where he served for the remainder of the war.
By the time World War II had ended in 1945, Pytlak was 37 years old. He rejoined the Red Sox
and played nine games before the season finished. The following year he was used sparingly, appearing in only four games and was released in August 1946
.
accumulating 677 hits
in 2,399 at bats for a .282 career batting average along with 7 home runs, 272 runs batted in, a .355 on base percentage
and a .363 slugging percentage. He had a batting average over .300 for three consecutive seasons between 1936 and 1938. Pytlak led American League catchers in 1933 with a caught stealing
percentage of 62.7%, the tenth highest single-season average in major league history. In 1937, he led American League catchers with 80 assists
and 40 baserunners caught stealing. Pytlak led the American League in hit by pitch
(5) in 1934. His .991 career fielding percentage
was 9 points above the league average during his career, and at the time of his retirement in 1946, was the highest career average by a catcher in major league baseball history.
of the Class B New England League
for a year before he quit organized baseball and coached high school baseball for some time. Later in life, he worked at a sporting goods store in Buffalo.
Pytlak died in Buffalo, New York on May 8, 1977. He was 68 years old and is buried at the St. Stanislaus Cemetery.
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional
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...
player. He played in Major League Baseball
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...
as a 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...
for the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
(1932-40) and Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
(1941 and 1945-46). He was known as a line drive
Line drive
In baseball, a line drive is a type of batted ball, sharply hit, and on a level trajectory. The threshold between a line drive and a fly ball can be subjective....
hitter and an excellent defensive catcher.
Playing career
Pytlak made his major league debut with the Cleveland Indians on April 22, 19321932 Cleveland Indians season
The Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fourth in the American League with a record of 87-65, 19 games behind the New York Yankees.- Roster :- Starters by position :...
, before being sent back down to the minor leagues
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
with the Toledo Mud Hens
Toledo Mud Hens
The Toledo Mud Hens are a minor league baseball team located in Toledo, Ohio. The Mud Hens play in the International League, and are affiliated with the major league baseball team the Detroit Tigers, based approximately 50 miles to the north of Toledo. The current team is one of several...
. In 1933
1933 Cleveland Indians season
The Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fourth in the American League with a record of 75-76, 23½ games behind the Washington Senators.- Roster :- Starters by position :...
he was back with the Indians as a reserve catcher, playing behind Roy Spencer. From 1934
1934 Cleveland Indians season
The Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team finished third in the American League with a record of 85-69, 16 games behind the Detroit Tigers.- Regular season :...
to 1936
1936 Cleveland Indians season
The Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fifth in the American League with a record of 80-74, 22½ games behind the New York Yankees.- Roster :- Starters by position :...
, Pytlak played mostly as a reserve although, he did lead Indians catchers in games caught in the 1934 season. He became the Indians starting catcher in 1937
1937 Cleveland Indians season
The Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fourth in the American League with a record of 83-71, 19 games behind the New York Yankees.- Regular season :...
, posting a .315 batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
in 125 games.
On August 20, , as part of a publicity stunt by the Come to Cleveland Committee, Pytlak, along with Indians' rookie catcher, Hank Helf
Hank Helf
Henry Hartz Helf was a Major League Baseball catcher who played for three seasons. He played for the Cleveland Indians in 1938 and 1940 and the St. Louis Browns in 1946...
, successfully caught baseballs dropped from Cleveland's 708 feet (215.8 m) Terminal Tower
Terminal Tower
The Terminal Tower is a landmark skyscraper located on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was built during the skyscraper boom of the 1920s and 1930s, and was the second-tallest building in the world when it was completed. The Terminal Tower stood as the tallest building in North America...
by Indians' third baseman Ken Keltner
Ken Keltner
Kenneth Frederick Keltner was an American professional baseball player. He played almost his entire Major League Baseball career as a third baseman with the Cleveland Indians, until his final season when he played 13 games for the Boston Red Sox. He batted and threw right-handed...
. The 708 feet (215.8 m) drop broke the 555-foot, 30-year-old record set by Washington Senator catcher Gabby Street
Gabby Street
Charles Evard “Gabby” Street , also nicknamed "The Old Sarge", was an American catcher, manager, coach and radio broadcaster in Major League Baseball during the first half of the 20th century. As a catcher, he participated in one of the most publicized baseball stunts of the century's first decade....
at the Washington Monument
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
. The baseballs were estimated to have been traveling at 138 miles per hour when caught.
Pytlak was the Indians' catcher on October 2, 1938
1938 Cleveland Indians season
The Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team finished third in the American League with a record of 86-66, 13 games behind the New York Yankees.- Roster :- Starters by position :...
, when Bob Feller
Bob Feller
On December 8, 1941, Feller enlisted in the Navy, volunteering immediately for combat service, becoming the first Major League Baseball player to do so following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7. Feller served as Gun Captain aboard the USS Alabama, and missed four seasons during his service...
set a modern major league record of 18 strikeouts against the Detroit Tigers
1938 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers season was a season in American baseball. The Detroit Tigers compiled a record of 84 wins and 70 losses, good enough for fourth place in the American League...
. Between September 10, 1938 and September 18, 1940
1940 Cleveland Indians season
The Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team finished second in the American League with a record of 89-65, just one game behind the Detroit Tigers.- Regular season :...
, Pytlak handled 571 consecutive chances
Total chances
In baseball statistics, total chances , also called chances offered, represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is calculated as follows: Total Chances = assists + putouts + errors. Chances accepted refers to the total of putouts and assists only. Fielding...
for the Indians without an error
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 ...
, erasing the previous major league mark of 452 set by Gabby Hartnett
Gabby Hartnett
Charles Leo "Gabby" Hartnett was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played almost his entire career in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Chicago Cubs. Until the career of Johnny Bench, Hartnett was considered the greatest catcher in the history of the National League...
of the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
. A rivalry between Pytlak and Rollie Hemsley
Rollie Hemsley
Ralston Burdett Hemsley was a professional baseball catcher. Born in Syracuse, Ohio, he played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball. He was nicknamed "Rollicking Rollie".-Major League career:...
for the Indians starting catcher's role erupted during spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
in 1939
1939 Cleveland Indians season
The Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team finished third in the American League with a record of 86-66, 13 games behind the New York Yankees.- Roster :- Starters by position :...
, with Pytlak threatening to quit the team if he wasn't named the team's number one catcher. Pytlak was also resentful of Hemsley when, the latter became known as Bob Feller's personal catcher during the 1938
1938 Cleveland Indians season
The Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team finished third in the American League with a record of 86-66, 13 games behind the New York Yankees.- Roster :- Starters by position :...
season. When Pytlak suffered an injury in the 1939 season, Hemsley replaced him as the Indians' starting catcher, and played well enough to keep Pytlak from regaining the number one position. Even so, Indians' pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
Johnny Allen
Johnny Allen (baseball)
John Thomas Allen was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, Brooklyn Dodgers, and New York Giants....
refused to pitch unless Pytlak was the catcher.
Pytlak was traded to the Boston Red Sox in 1941
1941 Boston Red Sox season
The 1941 Boston Red Sox season was a season in American baseball. The team finished second in the American League with a record of 84 wins and 70 losses....
where he became the starting catcher, replacing Gene Desautels
Gene Desautels
Eugene Abraham "Red" Desautels was an American professional baseball player. Born in Worcester, Massachusetts to French Canadian parents, he played most of his Major League Baseball career as a backup catcher with four different teams between and . Listed at 5' 11", 170 lb., Desautels batted...
. He was expecting to be drafted in 1942
1942 Boston Red Sox season
The 1942 Boston Red Sox season involved the Red Sox finishing second in the American League with a record of 93 wins and 59 losses.- Offseason :...
, so he contacted Mickey Cochrane
Mickey Cochrane
Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane was a professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers...
at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center outside Chicago, where Cochrane ran a baseball team for the United States Navy. He joined the athletic division there on April 17, 1942 and spent the summer playing for the Great Lakes team and batted .319 in 40 games. He also played for the Military All-Stars at Cleveland on July 7, 1942. Early in 1943, Pytlak was transferred to the navy recruiting station in Buffalo, where he served for the remainder of the war.
By the time World War II had ended in 1945, Pytlak was 37 years old. He rejoined the Red Sox
1942 Boston Red Sox season
The 1942 Boston Red Sox season involved the Red Sox finishing second in the American League with a record of 93 wins and 59 losses.- Offseason :...
and played nine games before the season finished. The following year he was used sparingly, appearing in only four games and was released in August 1946
1946 Boston Red Sox season
During the 1946 Boston Red Sox season, the Red Sox won their sixth American League championship, with a record of 104 wins and 50 losses. In the World Series, the Sox lost in 7 games to the St. Louis Cardinals...
.
Career statistics
In a 12 year career, Pytlak played in 795 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 677 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 2,399 at bats for a .282 career batting average along with 7 home runs, 272 runs batted in, a .355 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...
and a .363 slugging percentage. He had a batting average over .300 for three consecutive seasons between 1936 and 1938. Pytlak led American League catchers in 1933 with a caught stealing
Caught stealing
In baseball, a runner is charged, and the fielders involved are credited, with a time caught stealing when the runner attempts to advance or lead off from one base to another without the ball being batted and then is tagged out by a fielder while making the attempt...
percentage of 62.7%, the tenth highest single-season average in major league history. In 1937, he led American League catchers with 80 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...
and 40 baserunners caught stealing. Pytlak led the American League in hit by pitch
Hit by pitch
In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...
(5) in 1934. His .991 career fielding percentage
Fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...
was 9 points above the league average during his career, and at the time of his retirement in 1946, was the highest career average by a catcher in major league baseball history.
Managing career and retirement
Pytlak managed the Providence GraysProvidence Grays
The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at Messer Field in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National League title twice, in and...
of the Class B New England League
New England League
The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played sporadically in five of the six New England states between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League Baseball clubs in Boston and alongside stronger, higher-classification...
for a year before he quit organized baseball and coached high school baseball for some time. Later in life, he worked at a sporting goods store in Buffalo.
Pytlak died in Buffalo, New York on May 8, 1977. He was 68 years old and is buried at the St. Stanislaus Cemetery.