John Calvin Klippstein (October 17, 1927 – October 10, 2003) 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 ...

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 ...

(mostly a

reliever 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, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

), who played 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), ...

(MLB) for a number of teams, over an 18-season career. The most prominent portion of his early career was spent with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

(–). Klippstein’s career stat line included a 101–118 record, with a 4.24

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 ...

(ERA), in 711 games (161 of them as a starter). He had 1,158 strikeouts in

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 ...

. Klippstein was often known for his control problems. Klippstein became a world champion with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, in the

1959 World Series The 1959 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers beating the American League champion Chicago White Sox, 4–2. Each of the three games played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum drew record crowds, Game 5's atte ...

, but played a much more significant role in the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

’ pennant run in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

. He was the son-in-law of (the late) MLB pitcher Dutch Leonard. Klippstein was tied (with

Mike Fornieles : José Miguel Fornieles y Torres (January 18, 1932 – February 11, 1998) was a Major League Baseball pitcher from La Habana, Cuba. The right-hander pitched a one hitter in his major league debut on September 2, . Washington Senators Fornieles s ...

) for the league lead in saves in , with 14. Klippstein died October 10, 2003, while listening to a radio broadcast of the Cubs versus Florida Marlins game of the National League Championship Series.

References

External links

Johnny Klippstein
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Johnny Klippstein
at Baseball Almanac
A Pennant for the Twin Cities: The 1965 Minnesota Twins
at SABR (Baseball Games Project) 1927 births 2003 deaths Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Redlegs players Los Angeles Dodgers players Cleveland Indians players Cincinnati Reds players Philadelphia Phillies players Minnesota Twins players Detroit Tigers players Detroit Tigers scouts Washington Senators (1961–1971) players Baseball players from Washington, D.C. Major League Baseball pitchers Allentown Cardinals players Winston-Salem Cardinals players Lynchburg Cardinals players Omaha Cardinals players Columbus Red Birds players Mobile Bears players Lima Red Birds players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1920s-stub

See also

References

External links