Indeed he was. In four consecutive years Klu had 40 or more homeruns and more homeruns than strikeouts. No one else in baseball history has done this more than once or twice (and few have done it at all). After those four years he hurt his back & was never the same again; otherwise, he would have been a certain HOF’er.
Mark@1, Ya know, that’s a great question. MLB probably wouldn’t let him cut off his sleeves. Didn’t Ron Gant go sleeveless one time when he played for the Reds? He had some serious pipes, too.
Being an IU grad, I’m a big fan of the Klu even though I never saw him play. Ted Kluszewski is a hall of famer at Indiana for both baseball and football. He is by far the best player to make the bigs in baseball out of I.U. Klu was also the batting coach of the Big Red Machine.
I always remember seeing his picture painted in Assembly Hall going to see basketball games.
Klu is hands down one of the best Reds 1B of all-time
We could spend days discussing who was best, Perez or Klu
Nobody else is even close and the Reds have had some other very good 1B, like Rielly, Beckley, Driessen, and McCormick.
We haven’t had much since Perez but we have one now, in Votto!
and Pinson here is that list. Players with 30 or more HR with few SO than HR
It’s hard to imagine a list of hitters more dangerous than these. It’s in order or biggest difference between HR and SO
HR SO YEAR
49 31 Lou Gehrig 1934
30 13 Joe DiMaggio 1941 49 35 Ted Kluszewski 1954
32 19 Lefty O’Doul 1929
32 21 Joe DiMaggio 1938
37 27 Ted Williams 1941
30 20 Joe DiMaggio 1939
51 42 Johnny Mize 1947
46 37 Joe DiMaggio 1937
39 30 Joe DiMaggio 1948
39 31 Ken Williams 1922 47 40 Ted Kluszewski 1955 40 34 Ted Kluszewski 1953
36 30 Willard Marshall 1947
30 24 Yogi Berra 1952
39 34 Stan Musial 1948
45 41 Barry Bonds 2004
42 38 Mel Ott 1929
36 32 Andy Pafko 1950 35 31 Ted Kluszewski 1956
49 46 Lou Gehrig 1936
40 37 Johnny Mize 1948
36 34 Al Simmons 1930
31 30 Joe DiMaggio 1940
30 29 Yogi Berra 1956
so I wondered which Reds have more than 650 plate appearances in a season and more than 50 Runs Created Above Average?
RCAA YEAR RCAA PA
1 Frank Robinson 1962 82 701
T2 Pete Rose 1969 66 728
T2 Ted Kluszewski 1954 66 659
4 George Foster 1977 63 689
5 Joe Morgan 1973 62 698
T6 Tony Perez 1970 58 681
T6 Frank Robinson 1964 58 662
8 Joe Morgan 1972 57 680
9 Adam Dunn 2004 52 681
10 Ted Kluszewski 1955 51 686
Pafko didn’t surprise me as much as Williard Marshall
Pafko at least hit HR’s (all the guys didn’t strike out much what separates them is that they also had power). Pafko had 25+ HR 3 seasons and hit over 200 for his career
Marshall on the other hand only had more than 17 HR once and that was his 1947 season
He played 11 seasons and only had 130 HR but he had the one monster HR season and that made the list.
I also didn’t realize that Marshall played for the Reds in 1952-53
What I noticed from Mike’s list were two names of players that were Reds who didn’t make it as Reds…Johnny Mize and Ken Williams.
I wrote about both of them in the “under the radar” the other day.
Ken Williams had two trials with the Reds, but didn’t make it before his monster 1922 season.
Johnny Mize is on their twice (1947 and 1948). The Reds bought him from the Cardinals and returned him without playing for the Reds after tearing a hip muscle.
Mr Redlegs and GRF, I believe it was Glen Braggs. Braggs had the biggest guns I’ve ever seen on a baseball player. He went sleeveless on a day they wore throwbacks as a tribute to the big Klu.
Ahhh, Glen Braggs…is he best known for the time he broke his bat across his own back on a swing & miss or reaching over the fence and bringing Carmelo Martinez’s go ahead homer run back into the ball park in Game 6 of the Championship series in ‘90?
2009 stats: Sarasota 2-1 8 Games 8 Games Started 42.1 IP 4.89 ERA 1.44 WHIP
Carolina 3-2 6 Game 6 Game Started 36 2/3 IP 2.95 ERA 1.09 WHIP
Louisville 2-2 5 Game 5 Game Started 29 IP 2.48 ERA 1.21 WHIP
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Indeed he was. In four consecutive years Klu had 40 or more homeruns and more homeruns than strikeouts. No one else in baseball history has done this more than once or twice (and few have done it at all). After those four years he hurt his back & was never the same again; otherwise, he would have been a certain HOF’er.
Do you think Major League Baseball would allow him to wear his uniform that way today?
Juicer!!
I love the guy, but that’s ridiculous.
Sure Chris, but would you tell Klu that? He’d crush your spleen…
Mark@1, Ya know, that’s a great question. MLB probably wouldn’t let him cut off his sleeves. Didn’t Ron Gant go sleeveless one time when he played for the Reds? He had some serious pipes, too.
Looks like a base clogger to me.
“Alright, Kluszewski. They tell us you’re a hitter – you’re not much of a dresser. We wear caps and sleeves at this level, son! Understood?”
The most amazing thing about Klu was, in his best 4 seasons for the Reds, having more HRs than Ks.
1953 40 HRs 34 Ks
1954 49 HRs 35 Ks
1955 47 HRs 40 Ks
1956 35 HRs 31 Ks
I’ve seen the list of players who have hit 30 or more HRs in a season with fewer Ks, it’s very short. Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio were on it.
My Dad named me after this guy, only he also wanted my middle name to be Kluszewski, but Mom vetoed.
Go Klu!
Ted
Looks more like a 1950s wrestler than a baseball player.
And I think I remember the Ron Gant thing as well.
If he had been more of a free swinger he probably would have hit a few more homeruns — maybe even into record territory, but at least 50 in a season…
Being an IU grad, I’m a big fan of the Klu even though I never saw him play. Ted Kluszewski is a hall of famer at Indiana for both baseball and football. He is by far the best player to make the bigs in baseball out of I.U. Klu was also the batting coach of the Big Red Machine.
I always remember seeing his picture painted in Assembly Hall going to see basketball games.
Klu is hands down one of the best Reds 1B of all-time
We could spend days discussing who was best, Perez or Klu
Nobody else is even close and the Reds have had some other very good 1B, like Rielly, Beckley, Driessen, and McCormick.
We haven’t had much since Perez but we have one now, in Votto!
and Pinson here is that list. Players with 30 or more HR with few SO than HR
It’s hard to imagine a list of hitters more dangerous than these. It’s in order or biggest difference between HR and SO
HR SO YEAR
49 31 Lou Gehrig 1934
30 13 Joe DiMaggio 1941
49 35 Ted Kluszewski 1954
32 19 Lefty O’Doul 1929
32 21 Joe DiMaggio 1938
37 27 Ted Williams 1941
30 20 Joe DiMaggio 1939
51 42 Johnny Mize 1947
46 37 Joe DiMaggio 1937
39 30 Joe DiMaggio 1948
39 31 Ken Williams 1922
47 40 Ted Kluszewski 1955
40 34 Ted Kluszewski 1953
36 30 Willard Marshall 1947
30 24 Yogi Berra 1952
39 34 Stan Musial 1948
45 41 Barry Bonds 2004
42 38 Mel Ott 1929
36 32 Andy Pafko 1950
35 31 Ted Kluszewski 1956
49 46 Lou Gehrig 1936
40 37 Johnny Mize 1948
36 34 Al Simmons 1930
31 30 Joe DiMaggio 1940
30 29 Yogi Berra 1956
I should also add, I bet you can’t name more than 5 Reds who had better seasons than Klu’s 1954 season
He hit .314/.382/.585
those #s are very, very good but to add to that he did that while getting 686 plate appearances that year
Sure, sure, Seymour, Morgan, and Robinson all had better seasons as Reds but after that it gets tough to find a better hitting season from a Red
so I wondered which Reds have more than 650 plate appearances in a season and more than 50 Runs Created Above Average?
RCAA YEAR RCAA PA
1 Frank Robinson 1962 82 701
T2 Pete Rose 1969 66 728
T2 Ted Kluszewski 1954 66 659
4 George Foster 1977 63 689
5 Joe Morgan 1973 62 698
T6 Tony Perez 1970 58 681
T6 Frank Robinson 1964 58 662
8 Joe Morgan 1972 57 680
9 Adam Dunn 2004 52 681
10 Ted Kluszewski 1955 51 686
Great stuff again, Mike. Thanks.
something else I just noticed about that list of players who had 30 or more HR and more HR than SO
Klu was the last player to do it from the past. The only player to do it since Klu did in 1956 is Bonds.
Mike, There was only one name on the list that surprised me, Andy Pafko.
Pafko didn’t surprise me as much as Williard Marshall
Pafko at least hit HR’s (all the guys didn’t strike out much what separates them is that they also had power). Pafko had 25+ HR 3 seasons and hit over 200 for his career
Marshall on the other hand only had more than 17 HR once and that was his 1947 season
He played 11 seasons and only had 130 HR but he had the one monster HR season and that made the list.
I also didn’t realize that Marshall played for the Reds in 1952-53
What I noticed from Mike’s list were two names of players that were Reds who didn’t make it as Reds…Johnny Mize and Ken Williams.
I wrote about both of them in the “under the radar” the other day.
Ken Williams had two trials with the Reds, but didn’t make it before his monster 1922 season.
Johnny Mize is on their twice (1947 and 1948). The Reds bought him from the Cardinals and returned him without playing for the Reds after tearing a hip muscle.
Mr Redlegs and GRF, I believe it was Glen Braggs. Braggs had the biggest guns I’ve ever seen on a baseball player. He went sleeveless on a day they wore throwbacks as a tribute to the big Klu.
Ahhh, Glen Braggs…is he best known for the time he broke his bat across his own back on a swing & miss or reaching over the fence and bringing Carmelo Martinez’s go ahead homer run back into the ball park in Game 6 of the Championship series in ‘90?