Luke Daniel Hamlin (July 3, 1904 – February 18, 1978) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1933–34),

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

(1937–41),

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

(1942), and

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

(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. 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 1937 to 1941. His best year was 1939 when he went 20–13 and had 10 complete games in innings pitched. Hamlin's 20 wins was 4th best in the National League, his

WHIP A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

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 3.06

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

for an

Adjusted ERA+ Adjusted ERA+, often simply abbreviated to ERA+ or ERA plus, is a pitching statistic in baseball. It adjusts a pitcher's earned run average (ERA) according to the pitcher's ballpark (in case the ballpark favors batters or pitchers) and the ERA of ...

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 Leo Ernest Durocher (French spelling Léo Ernest Durocher) (; July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991), nicknamed "Leo the Lip" and "Lippy", was an American professional baseball player, manager (baseball), manager and coach (baseball), coach. He playe ...

lost faith in "Hot Potato", who had blown a number of leads over the 1941 season. When Dodgers boss

Larry MacPhail Leland Stanford "Larry" MacPhail Sr. (February 3, 1890 – October 1, 1975) was an American lawyer and an executive in Major League Baseball. He served as a high-ranking executive, including club president and general manager, with the Cincinn ...

sent a messenger between games of a double 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 getting an out and lasted only 2 innings. After seeing an old political campaign poster for the

Abe Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1 ...

–

Hannibal Hamlin Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809 – July 4, 1891) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 15th vice president of the United States from 1861 to 1865, during President Abraham Lincoln's first term. He was the first Republican ...

ticket, Durocher once quipped: "It proves Lincoln was a great man; he could even win with Hamlin." Hamlin died in 1978 at age 73 in

Clare, Michigan Clare is a city mostly in Clare County in the U.S. State of Michigan. A small portion of the city extends south into Isabella County. The population was 3,254 at the 2020 census. Clare was settled as early as 1870 and contains two listings on ...

References

External links

Luke Hamlin
at Baseball Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamlin, Luke 1904 births 1978 deaths Baseball players from Michigan Major League Baseball pitchers Brooklyn Dodgers players Detroit Tigers players Pittsburgh Pirates players Philadelphia Athletics players Minor league baseball managers Hanover Raiders players Fort Smith Twins players Evansville Hubs players Beaumont Exporters players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Leesburg Dodgers players Lakeland Pilots players Saginaw Bears players