John Robert Kline (January 27, 1929 – October 26, 2021) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

. A

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

, his 12-year career included one season 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), ...

as a member of the Washington Senators. Kline threw and batted right-handed and was listed as tall and .

Biography

Kline was born in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

. His career began in 1947 at the Class C level of minor league baseball. By 1950, he was part of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

' organization. In 1954 he was the All-Star shortstop of the Double-A

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cl ...

, and at the end of that season he was selected by Washington in the Rule 5 draft. He was the starting shortstop for the home side in the annual Presidential Opener at

Griffith Stadium Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW. The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Bounda ...

on April 11, 1955; he was hitless in two

at-bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

against

Lou Kretlow Louis Henry Kretlow (June 27, 1921 – September 12, 2007) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in the Major Leagues (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers (1946; 1948–49), St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles (1950, 1953, 1954–55 ...

of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

and left the game for a

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 ...

in the sixth inning. He then started four more games at shortstop for Washington, but by April 20, he was still looking for his first

MLB 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), ...

hit, having gone 0-for-13. After a spell on the bench, Kline's playing time increased in May and June, and by June 7, he had raised his

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

to .263, his high-water mark for the year. He fell into another drought at the plate, however, and started only one game for the Senators after July 17.

Retrosheet Retrosheet is a nonprofit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores from every major ...

1955 WAS A Batting Log for Bobby Kline
/ref> He finished his one major league season with a .221 batting average in 77

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

and 140 at-bats, with nine career

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

; his 31 hits included 5 doubles. He started 44 games at shortstop (second to

José Valdivielso José Martinez de Valdivielso (born ''José Martinez de Valdivielso López'', May 22, 1934) is a Cuban-born former professional baseball player. A shortstop, he appeared in 401 games over all or part of five seasons in Major League Baseball, bet ...

) and 3 at second base. At shortstop, he compiled a

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 ...

of .943 with 15 errors in 265

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 February 1956, the Senators traded him back to the Yankees as part of a six-player transaction. Kline retired from the game in 1958, having played 11 seasons in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

for 10 teams. Kline died on October 26, 2021, in St. Petersburg.

References

External links

1929 births 2021 deaths Anniston Rams players Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Baseball players from St. Petersburg, Florida Beaumont Roughnecks players Binghamton Triplets players Birmingham Barons players Denver Bears players Gloversville-Johnstown Glovers players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball shortstops Richmond Virginians (minor league) players St. Petersburg Saints players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players {{US-baseball-shortstop-stub