Red Sox have Pete Daley backup White for five seasons
My first prototypical backup catcher was when I followed the Red Sox in 1953. The Red Sox had a young All-Star catcher in Sammy White who took the bulk of the catching chores. Veterans Del Wilber and Mickey Owens took on the tools of ignorance on a limited basis until Pete Daley arrived in 1955.
Daley was a right-hand hitter who hit .245 as White’s primary backup in his five seasons. Daley was certainly a downgrade when he took over for White for the second game of a doubleheader or when an injury respite was needed.
Daley had an occasional sting in his bat and could handle defensive chores without embarrassing himself. Physically Daley was not a blocky type backstop, and his arm from my dim memories could best be classified as average. Simplistically stated a player who would keep it steady on a short-term basis.
After five seasons, Daley was traded to the Athletics – then in Kansas City – and became a selection in the expansion draft Washington team after the 1960 season. After one season (.192), Daley was gone from MLB.