Robert Harold Klinger (June 4, 1908 – August 19, 1977) was a professional baseball player who was a right-handed
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 ...
in
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), ...
over parts of eight seasons from 1938 through 1947. He played for the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
and 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 ...
. In 265 career appearances he compiled a 66–61 record along with 23
saves, with a 3.68
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 ...
and 357
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. His cousin
Charlie Hollocher
Charles Jacob Hollocher (June 11, 1896 – August 14, 1940) was a professional baseball player who was a shortstop in Major League Baseball.
Biography
Born in St. Louis, Hollocher was a shortstop for the Chicago Cubs from 1918 to 1924. His cous ...
was also a Major League Baseball player.
Path to the majors
Klinger played in the minor leagues for nine years (1929–1937) at levels from Class C through Class AA. Starting in 1931 he was with teams within the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
' farm system; in 1937 he reached the
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
with the
Sacramento Solons
The Sacramento Solons were a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods (1903, 1905, 1909–1914, 1918–1960, 1974–1976). The current Sacramento River Cats began pl ...
. Although he compiled a 19–13 record with the Solons, the Cardinals did not protect him in that year's
Rule 5 draft, and he was selected by the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
.
Pittsburgh Pirates
In 1938, Klinger got a win in his first major league appearance; on
Opening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...
he pitched the final two innings as the Pirates scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning to defeat the Cardinals, 4–3. For the season, his record was 12–5 with a 2.99 ERA. The next two seasons were more challenging for Klinger; in 1939 his record was 14–17 with a 4.36 ERA, followed in 1940 with an 8–13 record and 5.39 ERA.
In 1941, Klinger appeared more as a reliever, starting only nine games while making 35 appearances – his record was 9–4 with a 3.93 ERA. Klinger's record fell to 8–11 in 1942 with a 3.24 ERA, then improved to 11–8 for 1943 with a 2.72 ERA. In 1944, he was drafted into the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
and missed both the 1944 and 1945 seasons due to his military service.
Klinger entered the 1946 season with the Pirates, but did not appear in any games before being released on May 7.
Overall during his years with the Pirates, Klinger compiled a record of 62–58 along with nine saves and a 3.74 ERA, while appearing in 209 games (129 of them starts) and hitting for a .201 average.
Boston Red Sox
Two days after being released by Pittsburgh, Klinger was signed by Boston,
where he served primarily as a
relief pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...
. During the 1946 regular season, he made 28 appearances with just 1 start – a
no decision
A no decision (sometimes written no-decision) is one of either of two sports statistics scenarios; one in baseball and softball, and the other in boxing and related combat sports.
Baseball and softball
A starting pitcher who leaves a game with ...
in his first appearance – and had a league-leading 9 saves, with a 3–2 record and a 2.37 ERA. That year, the Red Sox ran away with 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 ...
crown by twelve games over the
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
with a 104–50 record, and were heavy favorites in the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
against the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
, however the series went the full seven games.
In game seven, Klinger was involved in a famous play known as the "
mad dash". The Red Sox had tied the score at 3–3 in the top half of the eighth inning, and Klinger came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth – starter
Dave Ferriss
David Meadow Ferriss (December 5, 1921 – November 24, 2016) was an American Major League Baseball player who pitched for the Boston Red Sox from 1945 through 1950. Ferriss was given the nickname 'Boo' as the result of a childhood inability to p ...
had been replaced by reliever
Joe Dobson
__NOTOC__
Joseph Gordon Dobson (January 20, 1917 – June 23, 1994) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians (1939–40), Boston Red Sox (1941–43; 1946â ...
in the fifth inning, and Dobson had been lifted for
pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...
George Metkovich
George Michael "Catfish" Metkovich (October 8, 1920 — May 17, 1995) was an American outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox (1943–46), Cleveland Indians (1947), Chicago White Sox (1949), Pittsburgh Pir ...
during the Red Sox rally in the eighth.
Enos Slaughter
Enos Bradsher Slaughter (April 27, 1916 – August 12, 2002), nicknamed "Country", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He played for 19 seasons on four major league teams from 1938 to 1942 and 1946 to 1959. He is noted prima ...
led off the bottom half of the inning with a single off of Klinger. After a failed
bunt Bunt may refer to:
* Bunt (community), an elite social group from Karnataka, India
* Bunt (baseball), a batting technique in baseball
* Bunt (sail), a part of a ship's sail
* Bunt Island, island in Antarctica
* The Bunt, nickname of the Bunting ...
attempt by
Whitey Kurowski
George John Kurowski (April 19, 1918 – December 9, 1999) was a third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals (– 49).
Kurowski's childhood nickname came from his already white hair.
Childhoo ...
and a flyout to left field by
Del Rice
Delbert Rice Jr. (October 27, 1922 – January 26, 1983) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played for 17 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1961, most notably for the St. Louis Cardinals. ...
, Slaughter found himself still on first base with two outs. With outfielder
Harry Walker
Harry William Walker (October 22, 1918 – August 8, 1999) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. Known by the nickname "Harry the Hat", he played as a center fielder in Major League Baseball between 1940 and 1955, ...
at the plate with a two balls and one strike count, the Cardinals called for a
hit and run
In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions.
Additional obligation
In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...
.
With Slaughter running, Walker lined Klinger's pitch to left-center field.
Leon Culberson
Delbert Leon Culberson (August 6, 1919 – September 17, 1989) was an American professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1943 to 1948 for the Boston Red Sox and the Washington Senators. Listed a ...
fielded the ball, and threw a relay to shortstop
Johnny Pesky
John Michael Pesky (born John Michael Paveskovich; February 27, 1919 – August 13, 2012), nicknamed "The Needle" and "Mr. Red Sox", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He was a shortstop and third baseman during a t ...
. Slaughter rounded third base heading for home, running through the stop sign from his
third base coach
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisi ...
. What exactly happened when Pesky turned around is still a matter of contention, but catcher
Roy Partee
Roy Robert Partee (September 7, 1917 – December 27, 2000) was a Major League Baseball catcher. Listed at , , Partee was nicknamed the "Little Round Man." He is likely best remembered as the man behind the plate for Enos Slaughter's "mad dash" i ...
caught a delayed throw up the line, allowing Slaughter to score what proved to be the winning run.
Klinger issued an
intentional walk
In baseball, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping by ''IBB'', is a walk issued to a batter by a pitcher with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the ...
to the next batter, then was relieved by
Earl Johnson who got a ground out to retire the Cardinals. When the Red Sox were unable to score in the top of the ninth (despite their first two batters getting on base), Klinger was charged with the loss. It was his only appearance in the series – 5 batters faced, innings pitched, and 1 earned run – and the only postseason series of his career.
During the 1947 season, Klinger again made 28 appearances; he registered 5 saves, and had a 1–1 record with a 3.86 ERA. He was released during the final week of the season,
drawing a close to his MLB career. In his two seasons with Boston he had 14 saves, a record of 4–3, and a 3.00 ERA while appearing in 56 games (55 of them in relief) and hitting for a .240 average.
Overall, Klinger was a better than average hitting pitcher in his career, batting .204 (71-for-348) with 28 runs, 5 doubles, 21 RBI, 20 walks and 18 sacrifice hits. Defensively, he compiled a .980
fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...
with only 6 errors in 301
total chances
In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...
in 1089
innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...
.
Later career
During the next three seasons (1948–1950), Klinger, now in his forties, played for four different minor league teams, mostly at the Class AAA level. His final team was the
Jersey City Giants {{about, the baseball team, the football team, American Association (American football)
The Jersey City Giants was the name of a high-level American minor league baseball franchise that played in Jersey City, New Jersey, as the top farm system a ...
of the
International League
The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...
. Klinger died in an automobile accident in
Villa Ridge, Missouri, at the age of 69.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball annual saves leaders
The following is a list of annual leaders in saves in Major League Baseball (MLB), with separate lists for the American League and the National League. The list includes several professional leagues and associations that were never part of MLB.
...
*
List of Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day starting pitchers
References
External links
Photo*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klinger, Bob
1908 births
1977 deaths
Sportspeople from St. Louis County, Missouri
Major League Baseball pitchers
Baseball players from Missouri
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Boston Red Sox players
Road incident deaths in Missouri