Louis Stephen Klimchock (born October 15, 1939) is an American former

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 ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

. He played parts of 12 seasons 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 the

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

, Washington Senators,

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

. Primarily a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

and second baseman, Klimchock batted

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

. He was listed as tall and . A native of

Hostetter, Pennsylvania Hostetter is a census-designated place located in Unity Township, Westmoreland County in the state of Pennsylvania, United States. It is located near Pennsylvania Route 981 Pennsylvania Route 981 (PA 981) is a state highway which runs acros ...

, Klimchock graduated from

Latrobe High School , motto_translation = Strength and stability , established = , status = Open , type = Government comprehensive secondary school , gender = Co-educational , educational_authority = Tasmanian Department of Education ...

. His 15-season pro career began in 1957 and included two stellar seasons in minor league baseball: 1958, when he batted .389 with 25

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

in the Class C Pioneer League, and 1963, when he hit .352 with 19 long balls in only 81

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 ...

in the Triple-A

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 ...

. In his most successful MLB campaign, Klimchock batted .287 in 90 games for the 1969 Indians. He also spent part of that season in the Pacific Coast League. In fact, Klimchock's dozen years of MLB service (1958–66; 1968–70) were all partial seasons, punctuated by time spent in the minor leagues. During his MLB tenure he played in 318 games and had 669 at bats, 64 runs, 155 hits, 21 doubles, 3 triples, 13 home runs, 69 RBI, 31 walks, .232 batting average, .264 on-base percentage, .330 slugging percentage, 221 total bases, 4 sacrifice hits, 6 sacrifice flies and 5 intentional walks. Klimchock's grandson,

Mitch Nay Mitchell Ellis Nay (born September 20, 1993) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He was drafted out of high school by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round (58th overall) of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. Career ...

, also a third baseman, was the 58th pick in the

2012 Major League Baseball Draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto R ...

who, as of 2022, was a member of the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

' organization.

References

External links

1939 births Living people Atlanta Crackers players Baseball players from Pennsylvania Cleveland Indians players Dallas Rangers players Denver Bears players Grand Island A's players Jacksonville Suns players Kansas City Athletics players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball infielders Milwaukee Braves players New York Mets players People from Latrobe, Pennsylvania People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Pocatello Athletics players Portland Beavers players Shreveport Sports players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players {{US-baseball-infielder-stub