assists in 1932 and putouts in 1933. He came to the Pirates as "a strong defensive player and even better right-handed line drive hitter." The Hall of Fame's Bill Francis posted an undated article titled "Research Sheds New Light on Lindstrom's 1930 Season" that shows he batted .480 that year with runners in scoring position, the highest in Major League history. According to the Society for American Baseball Research’s Records Committee, in a publication authored by SABR Records Committee Chairman Trent McCotter, "In discussions of George Brett’s magical 1980 season, his overall .390 batting average is often mentioned alongside his .469 average with runners in scoring position, which is occasionally cited as the highest such figure in history. However, thanks to Retrosheet, we now know that Brett’s .469 figure had actually been ‘surpassed’ - fifty years earlier in 1930 by Giants’ third baseman Freddie Lindstrom, who went 59-for-123 (.480) with runners in scoring position. Lindstrom hit .379 overall that season." Lindstrom was included in the balloting for the National Baseball Hall of Fame starting in 1949, but never received more than 4.4% of the vote from the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). Former Giants teammates Terry and Frankie Frisch joined the Veterans Committee in 1967, and aided the elections of several of their former teammates, including Jesse Haines in 1970, Dave Bancroft and Chick Hafey in 1971, Ross Youngs in 1972, George Kelly in 1973, Jim Bottomley in 1974, and Lindstrom in 1976. Lindstrom's selection, along with some of the other selections made by Terry and Frisch, has been considered one of the weakest in some circles. According to the BBWAA, the Veterans' Committee was not selective enough in choosing members. Charges of cronyism were levied against the Veterans' Committee. This led to the Veterans Committee having its powers reduced in subsequent years. In 2001, baseball writer Bill James ranked Lindstrom as the worst third baseman in the Hall of Fame. Like a number of selections by the Veterans Committee, Lindstrom's nomination was controversial. With opinions on both sides, legendary baseball writer Red Smith wrote "The present members would be pleased to welcome him into their company." Frank True of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Bob Broeg of The Sporting News, and Lou O'Neill of the Long Island Press were equally complimentary. See also List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle References Further reading External links Freddie