Chuck Lindstrom

Who is Chuck Lindstrom?

Charles William Lindstrom is the son of Baseball Hall of Famer Freddie Lindstrom, and the holder of two all-time Major League Baseball records - though his career lasted a single game.

A catcher standing 5' 11" and weighing 175 lb, batting and throwing right-handed, he was signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent on June 17, 1957. Fifteen months later, he was in the Major Leagues, coming into the fifth inning of a game September 28, 1958 versus the Kansas City Athletics as a defensive replacement for Johnny Romano. The first pitch from pitcher Hal Trosky was fumbled by Lindstrom as a passed ball, but he settled down and did not make another error.

In his first at bat in the bottom of the sixth inning, Lindstrom led off with a walk, scoring on a double by Don Mueller. Then, in the bottom of the seventh, he tripled, driving in Johnny Callison with another run. He was on deck for a third at bat when Sammy Esposito struck out looking to end the White Sox' last offensive inning in a game they won 11-4.

This would be Lindstrom's only Major League game, as he was sent down to the minor leagues the following season, never returning to the Major League. But with a triple, a walk, a run, and a run batted in in two plate appearances, Lindstrom still holds the records for the highest slugging percentage and OPS in major league history over an entire career. Along with John Paciorek, he has the distinction of having had one of the best one-game careers in the history of baseball.