Quick Facts
Biography
Louis Joseph Berberet (November 20, 1929 – April 6, 2004) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers between 1954 and 1960. He was born in Long Beach, California.
A stocky player of 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m), 200 pounds (91 kg), Berberet was a very solid defensive catcher and a decent left-handed hitter. He retired after the 1960 season having a career batting average of .230, with 31 home runs, 153 runs batted in, and an impressive fielding percentage of .992, including three seasons (1954–55, 1957) in which he made no errors. He is one of only four regular catchers to field a perfect 1.000 for a full season.
In a Tigers victory 12-4 over Chicago White Sox on April 24, 1960, he belted a first-inning grand slam off Early Wynn. It was the American League's third of the day, tying the major league record for number of slams on one day in the same league.
Berberet had a stroke in 1993 and died at the age of 74.
