Lou Klein

Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1943-1951)

Lou Klein was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1943 to 1951 for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cleveland Guardians, and the Philadelphia Athletics, a span of 9 seasons. In 305 career games, he hit .259 with 269 hits, 16 home runs, and 101 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 799.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .259
HR 16
RBI 101
H 269
OPS .711
PIV 799
Position
Second Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 167 lb
Born
10/22/1918 in New Orleans, LA, USA
Died
6/20/1976 in Metairie, LA, USA
MLB Debut
1943-04-21
Last Game
1951-09-30

Full name: Louis Frank Klein

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Career Batting Statistics

Lou Klein — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
305 1,037 162 269 48 15 16 101 10 105 119 .259 .330 .381 .711 799

Career AVG .259 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .330 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .381 vs. league average .365 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .711 vs. league average .697 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Lou Klein — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1943 SLN NL 154 627 91 180 28 14 7 62 9 50 70 .287 .255 (+12%) .324 (+5%) .346 (+18%) .671 (+12%) 1269.3
1945 SLN NL 19 57 12 13 4 1 1 6 0 14 9 .228 .260 (-13%) .328 (+18%) .354 (+9%) .683 (+13%) 170.2
1946 SLN NL 23 93 12 18 3 0 1 4 1 9 7 .194 .256 (-25%) .328 (-20%) .358 (-28%) .687 (-24%) -340.6
1949 SLN NL 58 114 25 25 6 0 2 12 0 22 20 .219 .262 (-17%) .343 (+3%) .384 (-15%) .727 (-7%) -65.4
1951 CLE AL 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1951 PHA AL 49 144 22 33 7 0 5 17 0 10 12 .229 .260 (-12%) .336 (-17%) .385 (-1%) .721 (-8%) 0.0
Career · 6 seasons 305 1,037 162 269 48 15 16 101 10 105 119 .259 — — — — 1,033

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Lou Klein — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
5 22 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .136

Playoff Batting by Year

Lou Klein — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1943 WS SLN 5 22 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .136

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (305 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Lou Klein — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home171558861351057.242
Away13448176134645.279

Last 10 Games — Batting

Lou Klein — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1951-09-30 PHAMINW 411100110
1951-09-30 PHAMINL 401000000
1951-09-29 PHAMINW 511000100
1951-09-18 PHADETL 000000000
1951-09-08 PHABOSL 100000000
1951-09-07 PHABOSL 100000000
1951-07-27 PHADETW 101100000
1951-07-26 PHASLAL 500000000
1951-07-25 PHASLAL 301000000
1951-07-20 PHACLEL 300000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Lou Klein — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 202 0 460 536 26 152
3B 11 0 7 16 2 0
OF 7 0 19 1 0 1
SS 79 0 84 166 21 29

Season-by-Season Fielding

Lou Klein — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1943 SLN 2B 126 0 301 356 18 99
1943 SLN SS 51 0 55 88 9 19
1945 SLN 2B 2 0 2 0 0 0
1945 SLN 3B 4 0 5 8 1 0
1945 SLN OF 7 0 19 1 0 1
1945 SLN SS 7 0 12 14 2 3
1946 SLN 2B 23 0 58 60 3 18
1949 SLN 2B 9 0 14 13 0 3
1949 SLN 3B 7 0 2 8 1 0
1949 SLN SS 21 0 17 64 10 7
1951 PHA 2B 42 0 85 107 5 32

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Lou Klein — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Second Base 202
Third Base 12
Shortstop 69
Left Field 4
Right Field 3

Award Voting History

Lou Klein — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1943 Most Valuable Player NL 23th 6.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Lou Klein (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Blake DeWitt
    .257 avg, 21 HR
  2. 76
    Mickey Rocco
    .258 avg, 30 HR
  3. 74
    Warren Morris
    .267 avg, 26 HR
  4. 72
    Lou Merloni
    .271 avg, 14 HR
  5. 71
    Dib Williams
    .267 avg, 29 HR
  6. 70
    Ed Stevens
    .252 avg, 28 HR

Lou Klein: the record in brief

April 21, 1943 and September 30, 1951 bracket Lou Klein's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. By club, Klein's seasons break down as the St. Louis Cardinals (1943 through 1949), the Cleveland Indians (1951), and the Philadelphia Athletics (1951). The bio lists Klein as a second baseman who batted and threw right-handed. Klein is listed at 5'11" and 167 pounds. The birth record reads October 22, 1918, in New Orleans, LA, USA. Klein died on June 20, 1976, in Metairie, LA, USA. The bio lists the given name Louis Frank.

Klein finished with 269 hits from 1,037 at bats in 305 games, which works out to .259, along with 16 home runs and 101 RBI. Klein got on base at a .330 rate and slugged .381 (.711 OPS). The .259 career average is close to the .259 the league hit across the same seasons. No season topped the 180 hits of 1943.

Frequently Asked Questions about Lou Klein

What years did Lou Klein play?
Lou Klein played in Major League Baseball from 1943 to 1951.
Was Lou Klein a pitcher?
No. Lou Klein was a position player (Second Baseman).
How many home runs did Lou Klein hit?
Lou Klein hit 16 career home runs with 269 hits.
What was Lou Klein's career batting average?
Lou Klein batted .259 over his career, with 269 hits in 1,037 at bats.
How many RBI did Lou Klein have?
Lou Klein drove in 101 runs in his career.
Is Lou Klein in the Hall of Fame?
No. Lou Klein has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.