Happy 73rd Birthday Jim Sundberg!
Texas HoF player, epic defensive catcher and Rangers FO executive.

This is the second 73rd birthday this week. Something about old Rangers ...


Jim Sundberg Profile
Player History, Analysis as an Historic Player and Post-Playing Career

Jim Sundberg played 16 ML seasons almost exclusively as a catcher, 11½ of them for Texas, during the first 2 decades of the Texas franchise, from 1974-83 and mid-1988-89. He was, by all accounts, one of the top defensive catchers of his era, and perhaps all time. He had 3 All-Star appearances and earned 6 consecutive Gold Glove awards with the Rangers. In the years between his 2 stints with the Rangers, Sundberg helped to make the KC pitching staff into the staff with the best team ERA in the AL, and won a WS with KC. After his playing career was over, Sundberg became a Rangers broadcaster, catching coordinator, and then a Rangers executive under Tom Hicks and through the early period of the current Rangers Baseball Express LLC ownership group under President Nolan Ryan, until retirement in 2014 season. All told, Sundberg spent more than 30 years with the Rangers. He was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame as a player, with the inaugural class in 2003.

Background and Draft

Jim Sundberg was born and grew up in Galesburg, IL, a town whose main claim to fame is as the home of poet Carl Sandburg. Sundberg is apparently the only ML baseball player to graduate from Galesburg HS. The HS has named their main baseball field after Sundberg.

Sundberg was selected by Oakland out of HS on Jun 5, 1969, in the 6th round of the FA draft free-agent draft, but when the University of Iowa offered Sundberg a scholarship, Sundberg declined Oakland's offer and went to Iowa.

Sundberg was a significant part of the 1972 Hawkeye baseball team that won the Big Ten Conference title and made it to the College World Series -- Iowa's only appearance in the College WS to date. Eight Hawkeyes signed professional contracts from that team. Sundberg garnered All-Big-Ten and All-American honors. He later credited Iowa head coach Duane Banks (1970-97), who was himself a former catcher, with teaching him the skills that were necessary for him to achieve his college success, as well as getting a fast start in professional baseball.

Sundberg's selection by the Rangers was almost thwarted by a scout. The Rangers had selected Sundberg in the 8th round of the FA draft on Jun 6, 1972, but he declined to sign at that time. In an interview after his retirement, Sundberg explained: "'After the College World Series, I was drafted by the Texas Rangers. The scout came in and said, 'You can't hit. You can't catch. You throw everything into center field, but I'll give you a chance.' At that time, the goal of a scout was to make the player feel as bad as possible so that they could get them to sign for as little as possible. It's changed a lot since then." Sundberg simply declined the offer and went on to explain, "I went and played that summer in Peoria, Illinois, ended up being the MVP of the league, and the Rangers drafted me again that winter. The same scout came out and his tune had changed." [Iowa Magazine below] On Jan 10, 1973, Sundberg was selected by the Rangers as the teams' 2nd pick in the 1st round of the secondary FA draft, and this time he signed with the Rangers.

Texas 1974-83: All ML Baseball

In 1973, Sundberg played one partial year in AA Pittsfield, MA, and that was essentially his entire MiL experience. In another interview after his retirement, Sundberg explained: "I played in an extended Instructional League in the fall of 1973 and from what I understand, that's when Billy Martin saw me and made a decision that I would be his catcher. I found that out when I got to Spring Training the next year." [BallNine below]

So, on Apr 4, 1974, at the age of 22, Sundberg made the relatively rare jump to the MLs after 1 year in the MiLs. Of course, that type of jump was not uncommon for Billy Martin with the 1973-74 Rangers, as he pulled up two other fledgling minor leaguers that year. "In 1974 though, the players on the Rangers would have done anything for him [Martin]. A lot of things went right for the Rangers that year. Jeff Burroughs was MVP, Billy was Manager of the Year, Fergie was Comeback Player of the Year, Mike Hargrove was Rookie of the Year and we just had a lot of things going well for us. We finished second behind Oakland and it was a fun season. But the next season things just took a turn. Billy got difficult to work with and became very harsh with his players and eventually was fired." [BallNine below]

As an aside for early Texas team history, Sundberg also gave a very nice description in that interview of the "Ten Cent Beer Night" game and riot in Cleveland during that period. "It had started the week before down in Texas. We had a little skirmish with the Indians in Arlington. Then a week later Cleveland had a big promotional night, which was the first game in Cleveland for a new homestand. The game just got out of hand. There were people streaking on the field the whole game, there was stuff being thrown on the field. Finally, mayhem broke out in the bottom of the ninth. ... When the fans got out into right field, I got a little fearful of what could happen. There were some pretty big boys out there that had certain ideas of wanting to beat up somebody and you could see that. Fortunately, we stayed together, and the Cleveland Indians players actually helped us. We all stayed together and worked our way back to the dugout. Luckily, nobody got hurt." [BallNine below]

While the early-to-mid 1970's Rangers were infamous for moving promising young players up with little or no time in the MiLs, the quick promotion proved to have no ill-effect on Sunberg's career. As a rookie in 1974, Sundberg was selected as a reserve in the All-Star Game and finished 4th in AL RoY voting. Sundberg's Rangers teammate, Mike Hargrove, who Martin also pulled up that year out of the MiLs, won the award.

As early as 1975, Sundberg had 101 assists, becoming the first AL catcher to have more than 100 assists in a season since the end of WW2. But Sundberg had a litany of annual defensive records throughout his career. For a few years, he also hit decently. From 1977-81, his BA was in the .270s to .290s, although he never hit for power. Nevertheless, his OPS was in the .700s throughout that period. He seems to have been a good situational hitter, and finished in the top 10 for AL sacrifice hits 3 times. He was selected to his 2nd AL All-Star roster in 1978 as a starter.

Defensively, Sundberg was a marvel. He won AL Gold Glove awards for 6 consecutive years from 1976-81. He finished 2nd-to-4th in defensive WAR for all AL position players from 1975-78, and finished in the top 10, 3 other times. From 1975-81, he was 1st each year in AL Assists by Catcher, and either 1st or 2nd in the AL in both Defensive Games Played as a Catcher and Put-Outs as Catcher. He was 1st in the AL in Double Plays Turned as Catcher in 1974, 1976-78 and 1982, and 1st in Caught Stealing as Catcher in the AL in 1976, 1978 and 1981. He was 1st in AL Fielding Percentage at Catcher from 1976-79 and no less than 4th in 12 years of his 16-year career.

Milwaukee, KC, the Cubs and Last-Stop Texas Again

By 1983, however, Sundberg's BA had slumped to .202 and his defensive metrics had been off for 2 years. So on Dec 8, 1983, Texas traded Sundberg to Milwaukee, where he had another strong year in 1984, with a .264 BA and was selected to his 3rd All-Star Game. On Jan 18, 1985, Sundberg was traded to KC as part on a complex multi-player 4-team trade among the Brewers, KC, Texas and NYM.

It was in KC that Sundberg's talent as a pitch caller really shown through. In 1985, the Royals had a promising pitching staff of young arms, but were lacking experience. By the end of the 1985 season, with Sundberg playing everyday catcher, the team's combined ERA improved to 2nd best in the AL, and KC edged the Angels by 1 game to win the 1985 ALW and get into the post-season. In addition to impeccable catching, Sundberg even helped with a couple of post-season offensive plays. In Game 7 of the 1985 ALCS against Toronto, Sundberg drove in 4 runs to help KC win the pennant. And in Game 6 of the WS, Sundberg bunted his way on base, and later scored the dramatic 9th inning winning run by sliding into home plate, somehow avoiding the tag of Cardinals catcher Darrell Porter. So Sundberg got, and earned, a WS win in KC.

In 1986, Sundberg again caught a KC pitching staff leading the AL in ERA, but the team fell to 3rd place in the ALW for lack of hitting. And Sundberg, himself had a down year.

On Mar 30, 1987, KC traded Sundberg to the Cubs. Sundberg spent 1½ years in Chicago. On July 15, 1988, the Cubs released Sundberg.

On July 21, 1988, Sundberg signed as a FA with the Rangers, both as a primary catcher and to help mentor the Rangers' young upcoming new catchers. Sundberg retired after the 1989 season at the age of 38.

Historic Analysis, Career Statistics and Awards

Sundberg's career is significant in terms of his defense only, as he was not an offensive weapon. Defensive metrics are awkward and difficult to work with. The most general modern statistic, BR defensive WAR, is controversial in the senses that it applies to the defense of all position players, but appears to be optimized to the criteria and skill set of infielders; is highly dependent on the length of the career over which it is accumulated; and does not apply well, if at all, to historic ML players playing under different rules and conditions (BR uses a 1953 initial qualification date for certain catcher statistical categories). Sundberg accumulated 25.3 dWAR in his 16-year career (1.58 seasonal average), which is 19th in all of ML baseball history for any position player. Sundberg is the 4th catcher on the dWAR list, behind only: Ivan Rodriguez (8th overall), who accumulated 29.6 dWAR over his 21-year career (1.40 seasonal average); Yadier Molina (14th overall), who accumulated 28.0 dWAR over his 19-year career (1.47 seasonal average); and Bob Boone (17th overall), who accumulated 25.8 dWAR, 0.5 dWAR more than Sundberg, over his 19-year career (1.36 seasonal average). Of course, length of career is itself a significant attribute for consideration of historic careers, but seasonal averages provide some insight into the level of the quality of play during each year of the career.

In so far as the Texas Rangers dWAR, Sundberg is 3rd in Rangers history, behind Yadier Molina (14th overall) as just described (28.0 dWAR over a 19-year career for a 1.47 seasonal average); and just behind Adrian Beltre (15th overall), who accumulated 27.0 dWAR in a 21-year career (1.28 seasonal average).

Richard Kendall of SABR devised a study for the most "dominating" defensive catchers of all time, by ranking their standing in 4 different key defensive categories specifically for catchers for the years they played, based solely on annual rankings, thereby ranking each player through their contemporaries and adapting by default to the rules, equipment and conditions under which they played historically. Sundberg finished 3rd on Kendall's list of the most dominating defensive catchers in ML history, behind Bill Killefer and Johnny Edwards. [Encyclopedia of BB Catchers below]

In terms of the opinion of sports historians and writers, SABR conducted a survey for each decade of the game's history in 1980, collecting votes from historians and sports writers. Sundberg was selected as the best AL catcher overall for the decade of the 1970s, despite his relatively weak offense. [SABR below]

In terms of more complex defensive statistics, BR's "Total Zone Runs as Catcher" ("Total Fielding Runs for Catcher above Average") is intended to provide a theoretical measure of total runs saved in order to ascertain player value. Sundberg is 3rd in career total (114), behind only Ivan Rodriguez (165) and Yadier Molina (163). (Total Zone Runs is based on innings played rather than seasons, so it is not meaningfully subject to simple averaging by season.) Sundberg was 1st in that category for 8 of his 16 seasons, and generally never fell below 3rd, until his later years.

Sundberg was the first catcher to win 6 AL Gold Glove awards, although that statistic is a bit misleading, since Sundberg's slightly older contemporary, Bob Boone, had previously won 5 AL Gold Gloves and added 2 more in the NL. Sundberg's 1976 Gold Glove award was the first won by any Rangers player. In terms of pitch-calling, Sundberg caught 130 shutouts in his career, 5th all-time among catchers. Sundberg played more games as a catcher than any other player in Rangers history (1,512 for the Rangers). At the time of his retirement, Sundberg had caught more ML games than any player in history, once again, other than his contemporary, Bob Boone. Sundberg ranks 5th overall today in total ML games caught (1,962).

Sundberg was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame as a player, as part of the inaugural group in 2003, along with Nolan Ryan and Charlie Hough.

After Retirement: Broadcasting, Business, Coaching and Rangers FO Positions

Immediately after retiring as a player, Sundberg became a TV color analyst and announcer for the Rangers, teamed with Steve Busby. After that, Sundberg spent 6-7 years in the private sector, starting a company that manufactured and produced sports training products for teaching youth sports. During this time, Sundberg and his wife co-authored How to Win at Sports Parenting: Maximizing the Sports Experience for You and Your Child, addressing value-building in children, based on their experiences with raising their 3 children in the DFW area.

Sundberg then went back into baseball with the Rangers, first as the team's MiL catching coordinator from 2002-04. In 2004, Sundberg joined the Rangers FO as an Executive VP of Communications and Public Relations. On his website, Sundberg is particularly proud of "establishing the first family and faith ticket promotions at the ballpark" and incorporating faith-based organizations into the Texas Rangers community. Sundberg was promoted to Executive VP of Communications and Public Relations in 2007 under outgoing President Jeff Cogen. On his website Sundberg claims to have been instrumental in Tom Hicks' decision to hire Nolan Ryan as President in early 2008. In any event, it does appear that Ryan and Sundberg worked closely together as a team while they were both in the Rangers FO. In Oct 2008, Ryan appointed Sundberg Senior Executive Vice President, apparently focusing primarily on business aspects involving branding decisions and marketing. Sundberg was also President of the Texas Rangers Foundation from 2009-13.

Sundberg retired from Rangers in 2014, within a year after Ryan left the organization.

After battling prostate cancer and recovering his health in 2018, Sundberg established a faith- and positivity-oriented "Legacy Matters" website, and has written two books to help people make a positive impact and leave "a positive legacy" through their lives, based on interpretation of "legacy" in Psalm 145:4 -- 50 Day Legacy Playbook (a 50-day devotional) and Land of Legacy (mentioned in interview, but apparently unpublished as of this date).


Players: Jim Sundberg (BR)
Bullpen Front Page: Jim Sundberg (BR)
Jim Sundberg (Wikipedia)
Jim Sundberg Trades and Transactions (BB Almanac)
Jerry Gregory, The Best Fielders of the 1970s (SABR 1980)
The History of All-Star Jim Sundberg (JimSundberg.com)
Richard Kendall, Dominating Catchers (Encyclopedia of BB Catchers)
Rangers VP Sundberg ending long career with club (ESPN AP 2014)
Galesburg’s Sundberg retiring from Rangers (Galesburg Register-Mail 2014)
Iowa Celebrates 50th Anniversary of College World Series Team (Iowa Magazine 2022)
Texas Rangers: Rangers Hall of Famers (MLB.com)
TR Sullivan, Cancer survivor Sundberg aims to help others (MLB.com 2017)
It’s Always Sunny, Jim Sundberg (BallNine 2020)