Terry Lee Landrum (born October 25, 1954) is a former professional baseball player who 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) primarily as an outfielder from 1980 to 1988.
Biography
Landrum was born in
Joplin,
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
. He graduated from
Highland High School in
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Landrum was acquired by the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
on August 31, 1983, the last day for player postseason eligibility. This was the completion of a transaction from months prior when the Orioles sent
Floyd Rayford
Floyd Kinnard "Sugar Bear" Rayford (born July 27, 1957) is a retired professional baseball player who played for seven seasons in the Major leagues. He primarily played third base and catcher during his career, but was a utility man who played f ...
to the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
on June 13. Landrum hit the game-winning home run for the Orioles in the final game of the
1983 American League Championship Series
The 1983 American League Championship Series was played between the Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles from October 5 to 8.
The Orioles won the series three games to one. Although the White Sox took Game 1 by a score of 2–1, the Orio ...
.
He was a very late addition to the Orioles post-season roster, and such an unlikely hero that teammate
John Lowenstein
John Lee Lowenstein (born January 27, 1947) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, and Baltimore Orioles.
Playing caree ...
joked that he was not sure of Landrum's first name.
Landrum also played well in the
1985 National League Championship Series
The 1985 National League Championship Series was played between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers from October 9–16. It was the 17th NLCS and the first played under the new best-of-seven format. In previous years, the NLCS had be ...
and
1985 World Series
The 1985 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1985 season. The 82nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Kansas City Royals and the N ...
for the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
, subbing for an injured
Vince Coleman. He hit well over .300 in the postseason and had a home run in game four of the World Series.
Landrum played winter ball with the
Cardenales de Lara
The Cardenales de Lara ( en, Lara Cardinals) is a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Founded in 1942 and based in Barquisimeto, the ''Cardenales'' have won six domestic titles, including back-to-back in 1998 and 1999, a ...
club of the
Venezuelan League
The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year.
History Early years
Baseball exp ...
during three seasons spanning 1981–1983.
Although a below average hitter in his career, in 607 games compiling a .249
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
with 13
home runs and 111
RBI over 9 seasons, Landrum was an excellent outfielder. In 2330 innings, (including one game at first base) he recorded a .992
fielding percentage, committing only 5 errors in 634
total chances
In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...
. He was a strong hitter in the postseason, compiling a .347 batting average (17-for-49) with 7 runs, 2 home runs and 6 RBI in 19 games.
Landrum also played for the
West Palm Beach Tropics and the
St. Petersburg Pelicans of the
Senior Professional Baseball Association
The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had ei ...
in the 1989 and 1990 seasons, respectively. He played in the
Mexican League
The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country.
The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...
with the
Charros de Jalisco
The Charros de Jalisco ( en, Jalisco Horsemen) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Zapopan, Jalisco. Their home ballpark is Estadio Panamericano, and has a capacity of 16,500 people.
Their initial season was 2 ...
, in 1991.
After baseball, Landrum attended
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
and earned a
physical therapy degree. In 1998, he became a
physical therapist
Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patien ...
, with a practice in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
Sports of the Times; Outfielder, then college valedictorian
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''. Retrieved on February 20, 2016. He was NYU Baseball's hitting coach.
References
External links
, o
Retrosheet
Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landrum, Tito
1954 births
Living people
African-American baseball players
Arkansas Travelers players
Baltimore Orioles players
Baseball players from Missouri
Cardenales de Lara players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Charros de Jalisco players
Los Angeles Dodgers players
Louisville Redbirds players
Major League Baseball left fielders
Major League Baseball right fielders
Miami Miracle players
Nashville Sounds players
New York University alumni
Oklahoma City 89ers players
Orangeburg Cardinals players
American physiotherapists
Rochester Red Wings players
Sportspeople from Joplin, Missouri
Springfield Redbirds players
St. Louis Cardinals players
St. Petersburg Cardinals players
St. Petersburg Pelicans players
Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players
West Palm Beach Tropics players
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople
Eastern Oklahoma Mountaineers baseball players