Hobie Landrith - Playing Style

Playing Style

Although he was not very large for his position, standing at 5 feet, 10 inches, and only 170 pounds, he made his presence known on the field with his loud voice. Barely a month after his first call-up to the majors with the Cincinnati Reds, he made national news for being a "Holler Guy", bringing to the league what was referred to as "a brand of on-the-field chatter which hasn't been heard since the days of Leo (Gabby) Hartnett." His shrill "holler" was heard throughout the whole ballpark.

Aside from being the loudest catcher in the Majors, Landrith also had a philosophy of talking things over with his pitcher face to face on the mound, early and often. It is normal for catchers to occasionally call a timeout and go the mound to talk with his pitcher, especially in crucial situations, but Hobie took this facet of the game to new extremes. It was not unusual for Hobie to make many as five visits to the mound in an inning. He once visited the mound ten times in a single inning to chat with Giants pitcher Sam Jones. Landrith was once described as a "legendary chatterbox". He was inspired to have his frequent consultations at the mound by Birdie Tebbetts and Yogi Berra. He insisted that he did not commit this practice to stall for time, but because he believed "there should be a closer relationship between pitcher and catcher. I run out to the mound to eliminate any indecision on the pitcher's part and mine. Some batsmen have to be pitched to very carefully."