| Gus Triandos | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born:(1930-07-30)July 30, 1930 San Francisco, California, U.S. | |
| Died: March 28, 2013(2013-03-28) (aged 82) San Jose, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 3, 1953, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 15, 1965, for the Houston Astros | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .244 |
| Home runs | 167 |
| Runs batted in | 608 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Gus Triandos (July 30, 1930 – March 28, 2013) was an American professionalbaseball player andscout. He played inMajor League Baseball as acatcher and afirst baseman, most prominently as a member of theBaltimore Orioles where he was a four-timeAll-Star player. He also played for theNew York Yankees and theDetroit Tigers of theAmerican League (AL) and thePhiladelphia Phillies andHouston Astros of theNational League (NL).[1] In 1981, he was inducted into theBaltimore Orioles Hall of Fame.[2] Triandos is notable for being the first catcher in MLB history to catch a no-hitter in both the American League and the National League, catching a no-hitter byHoyt Wilhelm in 1958 while on the Orioles in the AL andJim Bunning's perfect game while on the Phillies in the NL.
Born inSan Francisco, California, Triandos attendedMission High School and was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateurfree agent in1948.[3] He joined the Yankees' major league roster briefly as a 22-year-old in1953, but was sent back to theminor leagues in1954. Triandos was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in1954 where he played mostly as a first baseman for his first two years with the team, before becoming the Orioles' regular catcher in1957.[4] As the Orioles' catcher, he used an outsizedcatcher's mitt designed by managerPaul Richards to handle the unpredictableknuckleball ofHoyt Wilhelm.[5] Triandos was behind the plate when Wilhelm threw ano hitter against theNew York Yankees on September 20,1958, the first no-hitter in Baltimore Orioles history,[6] and also scored the only run of the game when he hit a home run in the eighthinning.[7]
Although perhaps the slowest runner in the league, Triandos once hit an inside-the-park home run.[8] As of 2021, he also holds the record for the most consecutive games without being caught stealing, 1,206. That accounts for his entire career, in which he had exactly one stolen base.[9] That stolen base came on September 28, 1958, in the 9thinning of the last game of the season, atYankee Stadium, off rookie pitcherZach Monroe and catcherDarrell Johnson.[10][11] Triandos had his best year in 1958, when he hit 16home runs by mid-season to earn the starting catcher's role for theAmerican League in the1958 All-Star Game, breakingYogi Berra's eight-year stranglehold on the position.[12][13] He ended the season leading all American League catchers inputouts with 698, and tied Berra's American League record of 30 home runs by a catcher.[5][14] In1959, he hit 20 home runs by mid-season and was again selected to be the starting catcher for the American League in the1959 All-Star Game, However, a hand injury meant that he only had 25 home runs for the entire season.[5][15]
In1962, he hit .169 in 63 games and was traded to the Detroit Tigers at the end of the year.[3] With the Tigers in1963, he shared catching duties withBill Freehan and led American League catchers with a .996fielding percentage.[5][16] The following winter, he was traded along withJim Bunning to the Philadelphia Phillies, where he again shared catching duties, this time withClay Dalrymple. As the Phillies' catcher, Triandos caughtBunning's perfect game against theNew York Mets on June 21,1964, thus becoming the first catcher in Major League history to catch no hitters in both the American and National Leagues.[5] His contract was purchased by the Houston Astros from the Philadelphia Phillies on June 14,1965. He played in his final major league game at the age of 34 before being released by the Astros on August 20, 1965.[3]
In his 13-year major league career, Triandos played in 1,206games, accumulating 954hits in 3,907at bats for a .244 careerbatting average along with 167 home runs, 608runs batted in and a .322on-base percentage.[1] He ended his career with a .987 fielding percentage in 992 games as a catcher and, a .988 fielding percentage in 168 games as a first baseman.[1] Triandos led American League catchers twice inassists and in baserunnerscaught stealing.[1] In 1957, he threw out 66.7% of the base runners trying to steal a base, the third highest single-season ratio in Major League history.[17] Over his career, Triandos threw out 46.62% of thebase runners who tried tosteal a base on him, ranking him 6th on the all-time list.[18] Triandos was elected to theAmerican League All-Star team for three consecutive years, in1957,1958 and1959.[1] His 142 home runs hit as an Oriole player ranks him 13th highest in the team's history.[19] In 1961, the reigning American League stolen base champion,Luis Aparicio, rated Triandos just belowEarl Battey as the toughest catcher on which to attempt a stolen base.[20]
Triandos's family origins are fromKoroni,Messenia, Greece.[21] He was one of four children of Peter Triandos and Helen Mourgos, Greek immigrants to the U.S. He and wife Evelyn had three children, son Gary Triandos and daughters Lori Luna and Tracey Hook.[22] Triandos served as a scout for theLos Angeles Dodgers from 1973 to 1975. In later years, he lived in San Jose, California. Triandos Drive inTimonium, Maryland is named in honor of the popular catcher.[23]
Inthe second episode ofthe third season of Baltimore-basedHBO showThe Wire, Triandos is referenced and discussed about by the characterHerc, who talks about how Triandos was tasked with the tough job of catching forknuckleball pitcherHoyt Wilhelm for five years and how Triandos remarked that catching for Wilhelm "nearly ruined me." The reference to Triandos arose when Herc told Carver that if he had to engage in sexual intercourse with any man it would have to be Triandos.[24]