All-Time Indians: Duke Sims

A back-up catcher for Johnny Romano, Joe Azcue and Ray Fosse, Duke Sims stuck around Cleveland for most of the 1960’s, becoming one of the most used and most productive catchers in team history.

Sims was originally signed as an amateur in 1959 and six seasons in the minors with the Indians before making his debut late in September of 1964 at the age of 23. He had batted just .244/.321/.399 in AAA with Portland, but as the team’s third catcher behind Romano and Azcue, he got into two games and went 0/6. After this, he went back to Portland for the first half of 1965 and played much better (.318/.443/.598) earning a call up in June.

Azcue took over the starting role from Romano this year and beginning in mid-June, Sims was his back-up. It wasn’t a particularly impressive campaign with Sims batting just .178 with six home runs, but he would improve every year of his career with the Indians. Sims would again back-up Azcue in 1966, but neither were real sluggers and Sims played often in his stead. Although he missed much of June and all of July, Sims still managed to hit six home runs and knock in 19 in 52 games. While he was used in a similar capacity to the season before, Sims had much improved as a hitter and batted .263 in 15 more at bats than the season before.

As the slow progression of Sims’ career continued, he had his first season without any minor league play in 1967 as he again raised his playing time (88 games) and his production (12 home runs, 37 RBI). This was Sims first year leading the team in games played as catcher and he outproduced Azcue for the first time as well. While the Indians weren’t very successful as a team during this era, they were famed for their incredible starting pitching staff including Sam McDowell, Luis Tiant and Sonny Siebert. Working with this staff, Sims helped his pitchers to an ERA of 3.33 in 1967 and 2.79 in 1968. A great game caller, Sims never had a catcher ERA above 4.00 with the Indians and even after Tiant and Siebert were gone in 1970, he kept his pitchers to an impressive 3.60 ERA.

Maintaining his role as starting catcher and adding some games at first and in the outfield to increase his playing time, Sims played in 122 games in 1968 and batted .249 with 11 home runs and 44 RBI. In addition to a career high in games, Sims 21 doubles marked the only season in his career that he hit more than 11. Many things combined to make 1969 the greatest season for pitchers since the deadball era, but it certainly didn’t hurt the Indians that they had the big three on the mound and Sims behind the plate. Focusing on defense, Sims was the starter for his third and final season, batting .236 in 114 games.

After going to the All-Star game in 1968, Azcue was traded along with Siebert in a terrible deal to the Red Sox in 1969, but it wasn’t done to give Sims more playing time. Fosse had made his debut in 1967, but didn’t play much until 1969 and even then, he played poorly and got into only 37 games. It wasn’t until 1970 that Fosse broke out and he did so in such fashion that he quickly pushed Sims back to the bench, playing just 36 games behind the plate, 36 in the outfield and 29 at first. While Fosse would be the one to go to the All-Star game and win the Gold Glove for his work behind the plate, Sims put together the best season of his career, batting .264/.360/.499 with 12 doubles, 23 home runs and 56 RBI. Not only were the home runs and RBI career bests, but he would only hit 24 more home runs during the rest of his four years in Major League Baseball.

Those years would not be spent in Cleveland. With Fosse the obvious starter (due to a lack of MRI machines in 1970), Sims was dealt to the Dodgers in the Winter of 1970 for right handed pitchers Alan Foster and Ray Lamb. None of the three players did much for their new teams although Lamb did have decent seasons in 1971 and 1972. Sims would play a season and a half in Los Angeles before being released and picked up by Detroit and would be released by the Tigers before the end of 1973. While he then signed with the Yankees, he played just nine games across two seasons and was finally dealt to Texas where he finished his career with 39 games in 1974.

Possibly the hardest working player who gets the least amount of credit, Sims was essentially a back-up catcher for his entire career, playing in 843 games across 11 seasons. With the Indians, only 12 catchers have caught more games and some of these, like Harry Bemis, Luke Sewell and Frankie Pytlak were not even the hitter that Sims was and only Jim Hegan and Steve O’Neill can claim his level of success with a starting rotation.