Major League Playing Career
A native of Clearbrook, Minnesota, Westrum was a stalwart defensive player for the New York Giants (1947–57) and, in his prime, a powerful right-handed hitter, although he had trouble making contact and hit for a low .217 career batting average. He began his major league career as the Giants' reserve catcher, playing behind Walker Cooper. When Cooper was traded in 1949, Westrum shared the catching duties with Ray Mueller for the remainder of the season. He became the full time catcher for the Giants in 1950, leading National League catchers with a .999 fielding percentage, 31 baserunners caught stealing, a 54.4% caught stealing percentage and 71 assists, and finished second to Roy Campanella with 608 putouts.
Westrum was a key player for the Giants’ during the 1951 pennant race, hitting 20 home runs with 70 runs batted in, and led National League catchers in baserunners caught stealing. The Giants were 13 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers on August 12, when they proceeded to win 14 games in a row. The Giants ended the season tied with the Dodgers, and their season was climaxed by Bobby Thomson’s Shot Heard 'Round the World, a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 5–4 win of the third and final playoff game. Afterwards, the Giants would lose to the New York Yankees in the 1951 World Series.
His 1952 season was plagued by injuries and he only managed to hit for a .220 batting average in 114 games, although he still managed to finish second to Del Rice among catchers in assists. Westrum remained the Giants' starting catcher throughout the 1954 season, catching all four games in the 1954 World Series against the Cleveland Indians. Injuries continued to take their toll, and by 1955, Ray Katt had replaced him as the starting catcher. When the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958, he was offered a role as a third-string catcher or as a coach. He decided to retire as a player at the age of 34, and accepted the coaching job.
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