Ronald Bernard Klimkowski (March 1, 1944 – November 13, 2009) was a baseball player born in Jersey City,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He was a right-handed

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), ...

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 ...

and junkball specialist. He played for the

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

(–, ) and the Oakland Athletics () during his career. Klimkowski attended college at

Morehead State University Morehead State University (MSU) is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky. The university began as Morehead Normal School, which opened its doors in 1887. The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a two-year residential ...

for only one year. He was the first graduate of Clarke High School in Westbury, New York, to play in the major leagues.

Career

Before the 1964 season, Ron Klimkowski was signed by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. On August 8, 1967, he was sent by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees to complete an earlier deal made on August 3, 1967. The Boston Red Sox traded Pete Magrini to the New York Yankees for

Elston Howard Elston Gene Howard (February 23, 1929 – December 14, 1980) was an American professional baseball player who was a catcher and a left fielder. During a 14-year baseball career, he played in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball from 1948 t ...

. Klimkowski was traded to the New York Yankees by the Boston Red Sox to complete the trade. Klimkowski made his major league debut on September 15, 1969. On that day, the Detroit Tigers were playing against the New York Yankees at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

with 5,734 people attending the game. Klimkowski was called to replace Tom Shopay pitching and batting 9th at the top of the seventh inning. He pitched three full innings. At the bottom of the ninth inning, Dave McDonald was called to

pinch hit In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Americ ...

for Klimkowski batting 9th. At the end of the game, the New York Yankees lost the game 2–1. He was traded with Rob Gardner from the Yankees to the Athletics for

Felipe Alou Felipe Rojas Alou (born May 12, 1935) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, first baseman, and manager. He managed the Montreal Expos (1992–2001) and the San Francisco Giants (2003–2006). The first Dominican to play regularly in the ...

on April 9, 1971. On May 22, 1972, he was released by the Oakland Athletics and on the same day was signed again with the New York Yankees. Klimkowski played his last Major League Baseball game on September 22, 1972.

Death

He died of heart failure at

Plainview Hospital Plainview Hospital is an acute care community hospital with 219 beds located on 888 Old Country Road in Plainview, New York. This Level II trauma center is one of the 22 member hospitals that make up Northwell Health. Prior to merging with Northwel ...

Plainview, New York Plainview is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located near the North Shore of Long Island in the town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population of the CDP was 27,100. The Plainview post office has t ...

on November 13, 2009 at the age of 65.Emi Endo
Former Yankees pitcher Ron Klimkowski dies at 65
'' Newsday''. Retrieved 2009-11-20.

References

External links

RetrosheetRon Klimkowski
at Baseball-Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Klimkowski, Ron 1944 births 2009 deaths Baseball players from Jersey City, New Jersey Binghamton Triplets players Florida Instructional League Red Sox players Florida Instructional League Yankees players Iowa Cubs players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball pitchers Morehead State Eagles baseball players New York Yankees players Oakland Athletics players Syracuse Chiefs players Waterloo Hawks (baseball) players West Haven Yankees players Winston-Salem Red Sox players