Ralph Wesley Kreitz (November 13, 1885 – July 20, 1941) was a catcher in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed "Red", he played for the Chicago White Sox in 1911. Kreitz was born in Plum Creek, Nebraska, a town that later became known as Lexington. When he was a child, his family moved to Dayton, Ohio, and he lived there for many years. He appeared in a single minor league game in 1905, and he played at least partial seasons in the minor leagues between 1907 and 1910. Kreitz's minor league batting statistics are incomplete, but they do not show any home runs until 1910. In the second inning of a 1908 game with Class B Spokane, it looked like Kreitz had hit a home run, but he was called out because he failed to touch two of the bases. The opposing pitcher threw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

that day. In July 1911, Kreitz had been playing minor league baseball in Dubuque when White Sox owner Charles Comiskey purchased his contract. This was his only major league call-up. He made his debut on August 1, when he got one of his three career major league hits. The White Sox were well equipped at catcher that season; starting catcher Billy Sullivan led the league's catchers in

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 ...

, and the team also had Fred Payne and Bruno Block ahead of Kreitz on its depth chart. Kreitz appeared in a total of seven major league games, the last one coming on October 8 of that season. Early in the 1912 season,

Sacramento Sacts ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

manager Charlie Graham purchased Kreitz's contract from the White Sox. Kreitz spent 1912 and 1913 in 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 Sacts, the

Oakland Oaks Oakland Oaks may refer to one of the following sport teams, listed chronologically: * Oakland Oaks (PCL), a minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1955 *Oakland Oaks (ice hockey), a professional ice hockey t ...

and the

Venice Tigers Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...

. After the conclusion of his playing career, Kreitz was the proprietor of a produce business. Though he did not play professional baseball after the 1913 season, Kreitz died on a baseball field nearly three decades later. An 11-year resident of

Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro ( ) is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many high-technology companies, ...

, he was participating in a 1941 "old-timers' game" in his home state when he hit a ball and collapsed while running to first base. A physician came onto the field and pronounced Kreitz dead shortly thereafter. He was survived by his wife Norma and their three children.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kreitz, Ralph 1885 births 1941 deaths Major League Baseball catchers Chicago White Sox players Baseball players from Nebraska Portland Giants players Seattle Siwashes players Butte Miners players Grays Harbor Grays players Winnipeg Maroons (baseball) players Sacramento Sacts players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Venice Tigers players