Gene Ellis "Mickey" Klutts (born September 20, 1954) is an American former professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
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 ...
, 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) from 1976 to 1983 with 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 ...
,
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
, and
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
. An infielder, Klutts was a favorite of manager
Billy Martin
Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...
, for whom he played in both New York and Oakland. He batted .319 with 24
home run
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 ...
s and 80
runs batted in (RBI) with the
Syracuse Chiefs
Syracuse may refer to:
Places Italy
*Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa''
*Province of Syracuse
United States
*Syracuse, New York
**East Syracuse, New York
**North Syracuse, New York
*Syracuse, Indiana
* Syracuse, Kansas
*Syracuse, Miss ...
and shared
International League Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors with
Rich Dauer
Richard Fremont Dauer (born July 27, 1952) is an American baseball former infielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent his entire 10-year MLB playing career with the Baltimore Orioles, winning the 1983 World Series. He was primar ...
and
Joe Lis
Joseph Anthony Lis (August 15, 1946 – October 17, 2010), was an American professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (–), Minnesota Twins (–), Cleveland Indians (–), and Sea ...
in 1976.
Klutts attended
El Rancho High School
El Rancho High School is a public high school located in the city of Pico Rivera, California, United States. It is a part of the El Rancho Unified School District.
History
El Rancho High School opened its doors in September 1952. Whittier High ...
in
Pico Rivera, California.
Mickey Klutts
The Baseball Cube. Accessed September 19, 2007.
References
External links
1954 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Baseball players from California
Fort Lauderdale Yankees players
International League MVP award winners
Johnson City Yankees players
Major League Baseball third basemen
New York Yankees players
Oakland Athletics players
Oneonta Yankees players
People from Pico Rivera, California
Toronto Blue Jays players
Sportspeople from Montebello, California
Syracuse Chiefs players
Tacoma Tigers players
Vancouver Canadians players
West Haven Yankees players
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