Robert George Kline unior(December 9, 1909 – March 16, 1987) was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played for three teams between the

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

and

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

seasons. Listed at 6' 3", 200 lb., Kline batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Enterprise, Ohio.

Career

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

thrower, Kline started and filled various

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

roles coming out from the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

as a closer,

middle reliever In baseball, a middle reliever or middle relief pitcher, is a relief pitcher who typically pitches during the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings of a standard baseball game. In leagues with no designated hitter, such as in the National League pri ...

, and set-up man. He entered the majors in 1930 with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, playing for them four years before joining the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

(1934) and Washington Senators (1934). While in Boston, he learned to pitch a sinker from roommate

Wilcy Moore William Wilcy "Cy" Moore (May 20, 1897 – March 29, 1963) was a professional baseball right-handed pitcher over parts of six seasons (1927–1933) with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. He led the American League in ERA as a rookie in 192 ...

which helped him to win 11 games in 1932. On October 1, 1933, Kline was the opposing pitcher at Yankee Stadium during the last pitching appearance for

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

. At the end of the season, he was sent by Boston along

Rabbit Warstler Harold Burton "Rabbit" Warstler (September 13, 1903 – May 31, 1964) was a professional baseball infielder. He played all or part of 11 seasons in Major League Baseball as a shortstop and second baseman for the Boston Red Sox (1930–33), Phil ...

and cash to the Athletics in the same transaction that brought

Lefty Grove Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (March 6, 1900 – May 22, 1975) was an American professional baseball pitcher. After having success in the minor leagues during the early 1920s, Grove became a star in Major League Baseball with the American League's P ...

Rube Walberg George Elvin Walberg (July 27, 1896 – October 27, 1978) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics dynasty that ...

and

Max Bishop Max Frederick Bishop (September 5, 1899 – February 24, 1962) was an American professional baseball player, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Philadelphia ...

to the Red Sox. He split the season with Philadelphia and Washington, collecting seven relief wins to lead the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

pitchers. In a five-season career, Kline posted a 30-28 record with 87

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s and a 5.05

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 148 appearances, including 37 starts, eight

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, one

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

, seven saves, and 441⅔ innings of work. Following his playing career, Kline managed the 1946

Marion Cardinals The Marion Cardinls were a minor league baseball team based in Marion, Ohio. From 1944 to 1947, Marion teams played exclusively as members of the Class D (baseball), Class D level Ohio State League, failing to qualify for the playoffs in each seas ...

and 1947

Johnson City Cardinals The Johnson City Cardinals were a Minor League Baseball team based in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1975 through 2020 and played in the Rookie-level Appalachian League. The team won ...

. He died in

Westerville, Ohio Westerville is a city in Franklin and Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, the population was 39,190 at the 2020 census. Westerville is the home of Otterbein University. Westerville was once known a ...

, at age 77.

External links

Baseball Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kline, Bob 1909 births 1987 deaths Baseball players from Ohio Boston Red Sox players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Erie Sailors players Major League Baseball pitchers Marion Cardinals players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Minor league baseball managers People from Van Wert County, Ohio Philadelphia Athletics players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players