#175-176 Tom Haller Tom Haller In Action

Seasoned 60’s backstop at the tail end of his career....held his own for LA but the acquisition of Duke Sims to share the job was the writing on the wall....Haller was subsequently traded to Tigers where he was slated to be second string to Bill Freehan....for a while at least until Duke Sims trailed him to Detroit relegating Haller to 3^rd string....A decade earlier, Haller made a quick rise into the Giant’s catcher vacany....steady performance from 1962 to 1967 for The City....average 18 home runs to compliment a .248 BA....made the all star team his last two year in San Francisco.....more surprising was dealt to the rival Dodgers a first since the clubs moved to the west coast....new ballpark, Haller’s power numbers dropped but his BA rose by 28 points....Was the Dodger’s best hitter in 1968 with 55 points over the team batting average....drove in 53 of the team paltry 470 runs....brother was an umpire....student of baseball knowledgeable, strong defensive skills, efficient game calling....was intended to join Phillies for 1973....did not play and was released at early 1974.....after 5 years absence returned to baseball in various front office posts....Contracted West Nile Virus in 2004, passed away from the disease after a 3 month battle.