- Luke Hamlin
Infobox MLB retired
name=Luke Hamlin
position=Pitcher
bgcolor1=black
bgcolor2=black
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
bats=Left
throws=Right
birthdate=July 3 ,1904
deathdate=death date and age|1978|2|18|1904|7|3
debutdate=September 18
debutyear= 1933
debutteam=Detroit Tigers
finaldate=September 26
finalyear=1944
finalteam= Philadelphia Athletics
stat1label=Pitching record
stat1value=73-76
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=3.77
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=563
teams=
*Detroit Tigers (1933-1934)
* Brooklyn Dodgers (1937-1941)
*Pittsburgh Pirates (1942)
* Philadelphia Athletics (1944)
highlights=Lewis Dennison "Luke" Hamlin (July 3, 1904 - February 18, 1978), nicknamed "Hot Potato," was a right-handed pitcher in
Major League Baseball for 9 years with theDetroit Tigers (1933-34),Brooklyn Dodgers (1937-41),Pittsburgh Pirates (1942), andPhiladelphia Athletics (1944).Born in
Ferris Center, Michigan , Hamlin won the nickname "Hot Potato" because of his tendency to juggle the ball while getting ready to pitch. [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Luke_Hamlin_1906] He pitched two years with the Tigers, going 3-3 in 23 games for the Bengals.After two years out of the major leagues, Hamlin returned in 1937 with the Dodgers, where he played five seasons from 1927-1941. His best year was 1939 when he went 20-13 and had 10 complete games in 269-2/3 innings pitched. Hamlin's 20 wins was 4th best in the National League, his
WHIP was 1.146 (3rd in the NL), and he also finished #10 in the National League Most Valuable Player voting in 1939. He had another strong year in 1940 with a 3.06earned run average for anAdjusted ERA+ of 131 (4th best in the NL). He was also #1 in the National League in 1940 with a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.68.Hamlin's performance declined after 1940, as his ERA jumped from 3.06 to 4.24 in 1941. Dodgers manager
Leo Durocher lost faith in "Hot Potato," who had blown a number of leads over the 1941 season. When Dodgers bossLarry MacPhail sent a messenger between games of a doulbe header telling Durocher to start Hamlin in the second game, Durocher erupted in anger. But Durocher complied with the boss's order and started Hamlin, who gave up 4 runs before gettng an out and lasted only 2 innings. (G. Richard, "The MacPhails: Baseball's First Family of the Front Office" (2000), p. 48) [http://books.google.com/books?id=kbqJuGymK8MC&pg=RA1-PA48&lpg=RA1-PA48&dq=%22luke+hamlin%22+durocher&source=web&ots=556Smp7n_i&sig=JGrvsQ3MZqiwrKJT3qqJEbN5KZk] After seeing an old political campaign poster for the Abe Lincoln-Hannibal Hamlin ticket, Durocher once quipped: "It proves Lincoln was a great man; he could even win with Hamlin." [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Luke_Hamlin_1906]Hamlin died in 1978 at age 73 in
Clare, Michigan .External links
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hamlilu01.shtml Baseball-Reference.com]
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Luke_Hamlin_1906 BaseballLibrary.com][Category:Brooklyn Dodgers players]
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