Hobie Landrith, the first-ever draft pick of the Mets, has passed away at 93, according to Richard Goldstein of The New York Times.
Landrith was never an All-Star, but had a 14-year career at the major league level as a member of seven different franchises. His claim to fame was being the first pick of the Mets’ franchise in the National League expansion draft in 1961, as he was selected off the Giants’ roster. The Mets and the Houston Colt .45s (now the Astros) were the two teams that were added to the National League, participating in that draft.
The reason the Mets selected the then-31-year-old Landrith was quite simple, according to the team’s manager Casey Stengel:
“You gotta have a catcher or you’d have a lot of passed balls.”
Landrith played in 23 games for the Mets in 1962 before being traded to the Orioles in June of that season. Over his career, Landrith batted .233 with 34 home runs and 203 RBI.
Per The Times, Landrith once told baseball history website This Great Game that he knew he wasn’t in the majors for his bat.
“I was in the major leagues more because I was a good defensive catcher, and the fact that I was good at handling pitchers,” he said. “I always thought I was a fairly decent hitter, but I realized I wasn’t in the big leagues for my bat.”
After retiring from baseball in 1965, Landrith was the director of sales for Volkswagen dealerships in northern California, before later retiring for good.
