Lloyd Hittle

Lloyd Eldon Hittle
(Red)

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10½", Weight 164 lb.
• High School Lodi (CA) High School
• Debut June 12, 1949
• Final Game June 11, 1950
• Born February 21, 1924 in Acampo, CA USA
• Died March 3, 2012 in Lodi, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Lloyd Hittle spent four years in military service in the United States Army during World War II. On his release from his military duties, Hittle spent four more seasons in the minor leagues before getting his initial shot at the big leagues in 1949. He did not have a losing season from 1946 to 1949. In 1947, his second year in pro ball, the right-hander was 20-7 in the California League for the Stockton Ports, mixed in with a league-leading 2.24 ERA while pitching 236 innings. This performance undoubtedly helped his team to the League Championship as well as the playoff title and earned him a spot on the All-Star team. His 20 wins were also second-best for the year.

Lloyd didn't lose a thing over the winter, coming right back in 1948 with a 18-10 record for the Bremerton Bluejackets of the class B Western International League, helping his club to a close second-place finish, 2 1/2 games back and leading the WIL in both strikeouts with 229 and a hard-to-hit 2.29 ERA, and also putting another All-Star badge on his jersey.

Lloyd started 1949 with the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League and was throwing well with a 5-4 record. On May 24th the Oaks traded Hittle, to the Washington Senators for Milo Candini. Lloyd made his debut with the Senators on June 12th, and wound up the season at 5-7 with a 4.21 ERA while pitching 109 innings. Lloyd was back with the Senators in 1950, fell to a 2-4 count with a 4.98 ERA and in mid-June was sent down to the Chattanooga Lookouts. This was it for Lloyd in the Show. Hittle rolled 7-11 as a big league record, with five of his victories over the Chicago White Sox, two of them shutouts, and had a 4.43 ERA in 47 appearances.

Hittle had started with four seasons in the minors and that was the way he finished. Unable to get things quite together, he did have one more decent season when he went 11-10 with a 2.98 ERA for the 1952 Oakland Oaks. After a rough start with the Hollywood Stars in 1954, he pitched his last pro game and ended up with a minor league career of 74-58 and a 3.27 ERA while pitching 1,218 innings.

After baseball, Hittle became a telephone repairman for the Pacific Telephone Company. He died in 2012 at age 88.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• BR Minors page