Ernie Lombardi

Lore & Background

Lombardi was born and raised in Oakland, California. He attended McClymonds High School, the same school from which baseball star Frank Robinson and basketball star Bill Russell later graduated. He started his professional baseball career for his hometown Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League. He hit over .350 with power in 1929 and 1930 and had a strong arm. His talents were soon noticed by the Brooklyn Robins, who purchased his contract for $50,000. Lombardi played his rookie season for the Robins in 1931 and hit .297. However, Brooklyn had too many quality catchers at the time and Robins' manager Wilbert Robinson contemplated using the strong-armed Lombardi as a pitcher. Instead, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds shortly before the start of spring training for the 1932 season. Lombardi flourished in his first year for Cincinnati, batting .303 with 11 home runs and 68 runs batted in. In 1935, he hit .343, but was not selected as an All-Star until 1936, when he hit .333 that season. In 1937, he hit .334 and made the All-Star team. In 1938, he was selected as an All-Star again, and hit a league-leading .342 with 19 home runs, drove in 95 runs, and won the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player Award. Lombardi became one of the Reds' most productive and popular players. He was the catcher for left-hander Johnny Vander Meer's back-to-back no-hitters, accomplished on June 11 and June 15, 1938. He was again an All-Star the next two seasons, and his hitting skills and leadership helped the Reds to the National League pennant in 1939 and 1940, and the World Series title in 1940. In 1942, the Boston Braves purchased Lombardi's contract, and he became an All-Star and led the NL and Braves that season with a .330 batting average. His final All-Star selection was during the 1943 season, by which time Boston had traded him to the New York Giants. He enjoyed three productive if unspectacular seasons with the Giants before seeing his playing time diminish over the next two seasons. Lombardi retired after the 1947 season, having compiled a .306 career batting average, 1,792 hits, 277 doubles, 27 triples, 190 home runs, 990 RBI, 601 runs and 430 walks. Lombardi began the 1948 season with the Sacramento Solons. In May 1948, Sacramento sold Lombardi back to the Oakland Oaks. In 1953, Lombardi had been battling depression and agreed to go to a sanatorium. While on hi

In Their Own Story

The lights hummed over Crosley Field as the night air grew cool. Ernie stepped into the batter's box, adjusting his cap and gripping the wooden handle of his bat. The crowd roared, a sea of red caps bobbing in anticipation. He didn't need to say anything; the helmet on his head spoke volumes about resilience. As the pitcher wound up, Lombardi crouched slightly, eyes locked on the incoming sphere, ready to send it deep into the right-field stands.

Reader's Guide

Lombardi was an All-Star for seven seasons, he hit over .300 for ten seasons and finished his major league career with a .306 batting average despite infields playing very deep for the sloth-like baserunner. He is listed at 6'3" and 230 lbs, but he probably approached 300 lbs towards the end of his career. He was also known as a gentle giant, and this made him hugely popular among Cincinnati fans. Baseball writer Bill James called Lombardi "the slowest man to ever play major league baseball well." Lombardi, who is measured 6 feet 3 inches and weighed 230 pounds, had limited running speed. During his Major League career, he recorded 261 grounded-into double plays. Aside from being the leader in grounding into double plays during four seasons, he also holds the MLB record for grounding into a double play once in every 25.3 plate appearances. An opposing manager once jokingly said that Lombardi was so slow, he ran like he was carrying a piano and the man who was tuning it. Defenses would often position all four infielders in the outfield when Lombardi came to the plate. Despite this, he became an outstanding catcher on the basis of his strong, accurate arm and his ability to "call" a game. During the fourth game of the 1939 World Series, in the 10th inning, with the score tied and runners on first and third, Joe DiMaggio singled. One run scored, then Reds outfielder Ival Goodman fumbled the ball. Yankees right fielder Charlie Keller beat the throw to catcher Lombardi and inadvertently hit "The Schnozz" in his groin. Unfortunately for the Reds and Lombardi, he had failed to wear his protective cup and Lombardi was in pain and dazed. DiMaggio raced around the bases and scored while the ball was just a few feet away from the afflicted Lombardi. The press was hugely critical of the sensitive catcher because of this and it came to be known as "Lombardi's Big Snooze". Bill James, in his Historical Baseball Abstract, says that "Lombardi was now the Bill Buckner of the 1930s, even more innocent than Buckner, and Buckner has plenty of people who should be holding up their hands to share his disgrace." James called Lombardi's selection as the Series goat "absurd." James noted the Yankees were already ahead three games to none and that DiMaggio's run merely made the final score 7–4 instead of 6–4.

Did You Know?

• Lombardi was the catcher for Johnny Vander Meer's back-to-back no-hitters on June 11 and June 15, 1938.
• He won the National League MVP in 1938 after hitting .342 with 19 home runs and 95 RBI.
• Lombardi is one of only three NL catchers to win a batting title (as of 2017).
• He accidentally cut his throat while shaving in 1953 but survived after blood transfusions.