Thomas Robert Lundstedt was born on April 10, 1949 in Davenport, Iowa . Tom grew up in Illinois and played the three major sports in high school and was a good enough basketball player to earn a scholarship to the University of Michigan where he played basketball for 2 years and baseball for three years. Tom was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1967 in the 65th round as a catcher but he chose not to sign. In June of 1970, Lundstedt was again drafted, this time by his home town Chicago Cubs in the first round and 17th pick overall and he was on his way to pro ball. Lundstedt worked his way up through the Cubs minor league system and on August 31, 1973 found himself in a Cubs uniform behind the plate catching future Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins at Three Rivers Stadium. Tom played for the Chicago Cubs in 1973 and 1974. In December of 1974 the switch-hitting 6’4” Lundstedt was traded by the Cubs to the Minnesota Twins for outfielder Mike Adams. Tom ended up splitting the 1975 season between AAA Tacoma and the Twins and ended up only playing 18 games for Minnesota that season. After playing winter ball in Venezuela, Tom had a Minnesota Twins contract waiting for his signature for the 1976 season but the 26-year-old Lundstedt walked away from baseball to open the next chapter in his life.
Are you still baffled by my title of “Big leaguers don’t hitch hike”? If you want to know what that is all about, you will just have to listen to the interview and let Tom tell you that very funny story. Oh, you have to check out that picture that Tom shared with me with he an Tony LaRussa. Today Tom and his bride of 41 years, Char are enjoying life in Door County, Wisconsin. I really enjoyed my time talking with Tom and I hope that you enjoy listening to the interview as much as I did doing it.
If you want to know more about Tom Lundstedt and listen to the interview, just click here.