{{Short description|American baseball player (1908–1977)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Frankie Pytlak |image=Pytlak Goudey card.jpg |position=Catcher |bats=Right |throws=Right |birth_date={{birth date|1908|7|30}} |birth_place=Buffalo, New York, U.S. |death_date={{death date and age|1977|5|8|1908|7|30}} |death_place=Buffalo, New York, U.S. |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=April 22 |debutyear=1932 |debutteam=Cleveland Indians |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=April 25 |finalyear=1946 |finalteam=Boston Red Sox |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Batting average |stat1value=.282 |stat2label=Home runs |stat2value=7 |stat3label=Runs batted in |stat3value=272 |teams= * Cleveland Indians ({{baseball year|1932}}–{{baseball year|1940}}) * Boston Red Sox ({{baseball year|1941}}, {{baseball year|1945}}–{{baseball year|1946}}) |highlights= }} '''Frank Anthony Pytlak''' (July 30, 1908 – May 8, 1977), nicknamed '''"Rabbit"''',<ref>{{cite web | url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/frankie-pytlak | title=Frankie Pytlak – Society for American Baseball Research }}</ref> was an American professional baseball player.<ref name="Frankie Pytlak at Baseball Reference">[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pytlafr01.shtml Frankie Pytlak at Baseball Reference]</ref> 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.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=OjIDAAAAMBAJ&dq=frankie+pytlak+baseball+digest&pg=PA20 ''Where Are They Now?'', by William Hickey, Baseball Digest, May 1965, Vol. 24, No. 4], {{ISSN|0005-609X}}</ref>

==Playing career== Pytlak was born in Buffalo, New York. He made his major league debut with the Cleveland Indians on April 22, 1932, before being sent back down to the minor leagues with the Toledo Mud Hens.<ref name="Frankie Pytlak at Baseball Reference"/> In 1933 he was back with the Indians as a reserve catcher, playing behind Roy Spencer.<ref name="Frankie Pytlak at Baseball Reference"/> From 1934 to 1936, Pytlak played mostly as a reserve although, he did lead Indians catchers in games caught in the 1934 season.<ref name="Frankie Pytlak at Baseball Reference"/> He became the Indians starting catcher in 1937, posting a .315 batting average in 125 games.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CLE/1937.shtml 1937 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Reference]</ref>

On August 20, {{Baseball year|1938}}, 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 {{convert|708|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} Terminal Tower by Indians' third baseman Ken Keltner.<ref name="When Baseballs Fell From On High, Henry Helf Rose To The Occasion">{{cite magazine |last=Anderson |first=Bruce |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1985/03/11/620572/when-baseballs-fell-from-on-high-henry-helf-rose-to-the-occasion |title=When Baseballs Fell From On High, Henry Helf Rose To The Occasion |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=March 11, 1985 |accessdate=January 8, 2016}}</ref> The {{convert|708|ft|m|adj=on}} drop broke the 555-foot, 30-year-old record set by Washington Senator catcher Gabby Street at the Washington Monument.<ref>{{Sabrbio|99338e60|Ken Keltner|Jim Nitz|20 July 2010}}</ref> The baseballs were estimated to have been traveling at 138 miles per hour when caught.<ref name="When Baseballs Fell From On High, Henry Helf Rose To The Occasion"/>

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.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CLE/CLE193810021.shtml October 2, 1938 Tigers Indians box score at Baseball Reference]</ref> 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.<ref name="Frankie Pytlak at Baseball in Wartime">{{Cite web |url=https://baseballinwartime.blogspot.com/2010/06/remembering-frankie-pytlak.html |title=Frankie Pytlak at Baseball in Wartime |access-date=2010-07-21 |archive-date=2011-07-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708025054/http://baseballinwartime.blogspot.com/2010/06/remembering-frankie-pytlak.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Catching Feud May Speed Up Indian's Drive |agency=United Press |work=The Sunday Morning Star |page=26 |date=16 April 1939 |accessdate=9 November 2010 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=X84mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bwIGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3804,1960044&dq=pytlak+hemsley&hl=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=1jEDAAAAMBAJ&dq=frankie+pytlak+baseball+digest&pg=PA83 ''Rollie Hemsley Left His Imprint on Baseball'', by Hal Lebovitz, Baseball Digest, November 1972, Vol. 31, No. 11], {{ISSN|0005-609X}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Sabrbio|a80307f0|Mickey Cochrane|Charlie Bevis|20 July 2010}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Frankie Pytlak at Baseball in Wartime"/> He also played for the Military All-Stars at Cleveland on July 7, 1942.<ref name="Frankie Pytlak at Baseball in Wartime"/> Early in 1943, Pytlak was transferred to the navy recruiting station in Buffalo, where he served for the remainder of the war.<ref name="Frankie Pytlak at Baseball in Wartime"/>

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.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/1945.shtml 1945 Boston Red Sox season] at ''Baseball Reference''</ref> The following year he was used sparingly, appearing in only four games and was released in August 1946.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/1946.shtml 1946 Boston Red Sox season] at ''Baseball Reference''</ref>

==Career statistics== In a twelve-year major league career, Pytlak played in 795 games 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.<ref name="Frankie Pytlak at Baseball Reference"/> He had a batting average over .300 for three consecutive seasons between 1936 and 1938.<ref name="Frankie Pytlak at Baseball Reference"/> 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.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1933-fielding-leaders.shtml 1933 American League Fielding Leaders at Baseball Reference]</ref><ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/caught_stealing_perc_season.shtml Single Season Records for Caught Stealing Percentage at Baseball Reference]</ref> In 1937, he led American League catchers with 80 assists and 40 baserunners caught stealing.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1937-fielding-leaders.shtml 1937 American League Fielding Leaders at Baseball Reference]</ref> Pytlak led the American League in hit by pitch (5) in 1934.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1934-batting-leaders.shtml 1934 American League Batting Leaders at Baseball Reference]</ref> 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.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/fielding_perc_c_career.shtml Career Leaders for Fielding Percentage at Baseball Reference]</ref>

==Managing career and retirement== [[File:Frank Pytlak grave.jpg|right|thumb|The grave of Frank Pytlak at St. Stanislaus Cemetery, Cheektowaga, New York]] Pytlak managed the Providence Grays of the Class B New England League for a year before he quit organized baseball and coached high school baseball for some time.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=pytlak001fra#standard_managing Frankie Pytlak minor league manager record at Baseball Reference]</ref> Later in life, he worked at a sporting goods store in Buffalo.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=SjIDAAAAMBAJ&dq=frankie+pytlak+baseball+digest&pg=PA64 ''Whatever Became of...?'', by Al Smith, Baseball Digest, November 1971, Vol. 30, No. 11], {{ISSN|0005-609X}}</ref>

Pytlak died in Buffalo, New York on May 8, 1977.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://thedeadballera.com/Obits/Obits_P/Pytlak.Frank.Obit.html |title=Frankie Pytlak New York Times Obituary at thedeadballera.com |access-date=2010-07-21 |archive-date=2010-10-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101021043925/http://thedeadballera.com/Obits/Obits_P/Pytlak.Frank.Obit.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was 68 years old and is buried at the St. Stanislaus Cemetery.<ref name="Frankie Pytlak at Baseball in Wartime"/>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{baseballstats|br=p/pytlafr01|brm=pytlak001fra|mlb=120820|espn=26515}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pytlak, Frankie}} Category:1908 births Category:1977 deaths Category:Major League Baseball catchers Category:Cleveland Indians players Category:Boston Red Sox players Category:Minor league baseball managers Category:Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Category:Hagerstown Hubs players Category:Erie Sailors players Category:Toledo Mud Hens players Category:Baseball players from Buffalo, New York Category:United States Navy sailors Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II Category:20th-century American sportsmen