Steve Kline
Born: 8/22/1972 in Sunbury, PA, USA
MLB Debut: 1997-04-02 | Final Game: 2007-09-25
Bats: B | Throws: L | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 200 lbs
Full name: Steven James Kline
Biography
Steve Kline, born in 1972, was a professional baseball pitcher whose career spanned from 1997 to 2007. He made a name for himself in Major League Baseball during an era characterized by offensive prowess, showcasing his skills as a reliable relief pitcher. Kline played for several teams, including the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants, and he was known for his ability to come through in high-pressure situations, earning a total of 39 saves throughout his career.
With a career record of 34-39 and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.51, Kline demonstrated consistency and durability on the mound. He accumulated 493 strikeouts, highlighting his capability to overpower hitters with his pitching arsenal. Kline's contributions were particularly valuable during the late 1990s and early 2000s, a time when the league was rapidly evolving and offense was at a premium. His effective pitching style and ability to handle late-game situations established him as a key asset to the teams he played for and left a lasting impression in the minds of baseball fans.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | 39 | 796 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 682.3 | 649 | 266 | 60 | 295 | 493 | 3.51 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | CLE | AL | 3 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26.3 | 42 | 17 | 13 | 17 | 5.81 | -1314.3 |
| 1997 | WSN | NL | 1 | 3 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26.3 | 31 | 18 | 10 | 20 | 6.15 | - |
| 1998 | WSN | NL | 3 | 6 | 78 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 71.7 | 62 | 22 | 41 | 76 | 2.76 | - |
| 1999 | WSN | NL | 7 | 4 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69.7 | 56 | 29 | 33 | 69 | 3.75 | - |
| 2000 | WSN | NL | 1 | 5 | 83 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 82.3 | 88 | 32 | 27 | 64 | 3.50 | - |
| 2001 | STL | NL | 3 | 3 | 89 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 75.0 | 53 | 15 | 29 | 54 | 1.80 | - |
| 2002 | STL | NL | 2 | 1 | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 58.3 | 54 | 22 | 21 | 41 | 3.39 | - |
| 2003 | STL | NL | 5 | 5 | 78 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 63.7 | 56 | 27 | 30 | 31 | 3.82 | - |
| 2004 | STL | NL | 2 | 2 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 50.3 | 37 | 10 | 17 | 35 | 1.79 | - |
| 2005 | BAL | AL | 2 | 4 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61.0 | 59 | 29 | 30 | 36 | 4.28 | -2113.0 |
| 2006 | SFG | NL | 4 | 3 | 72 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 51.7 | 53 | 21 | 26 | 33 | 3.66 | - |
| 2007 | SFG | NL | 1 | 2 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 46.0 | 58 | 24 | 18 | 17 | 4.70 | - |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 796 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.143 | 0.143 | 0.214 | 0.357 | 0.0 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | CLE | AL | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1997 | WSN | NL | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1998 | WSN | NL | 78 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1999 | WSN | NL | 82 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2000 | WSN | NL | 83 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2001 | STL | NL | 89 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.500 | 0.0 |
| 2002 | STL | NL | 66 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2003 | STL | NL | 78 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 | 0.0 |
| 2004 | STL | NL | 67 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2005 | BAL | AL | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2006 | SFG | NL | 72 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2007 | SFG | NL | 68 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | NLDS1 | SLN | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2004 | NLCS | SLN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2002 | NLDS2 | SLN | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2002 | NLCS | SLN | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2001 | NLDS2 | SLN | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 9.3 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0.96 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | NLCS | SLN | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 2004 | NLDS1 | SLN | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 2002 | NLCS | SLN | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
| 2002 | NLDS2 | SLN | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 2001 | NLDS2 | SLN | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4.3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.08 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 796 | 1 | 37 | 111 | 7 | 7 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | CLE | P | 20 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1997 | MON | P | 26 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | MON | P | 78 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 1999 | MON | P | 82 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 2 |
| 2000 | MON | P | 83 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| 2001 | SLN | P | 89 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | SLN | P | 66 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | SLN | P | 78 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| 2004 | SLN | P | 67 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | BAL | P | 67 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 1 |
| 2006 | SFN | P | 72 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 2007 | SFN | P | 68 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 796 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | SFN | NL | $1,750,000 |
| 2006 | SFN | NL | $3,000,000 |
| 2005 | BAL | AL | $2,500,000 |
| 2004 | SLN | NL | $1,700,000 |
| 2003 | SLN | NL | $1,800,000 |
| 2002 | SLN | NL | $1,200,000 |
| 2001 | SLN | NL | $750,000 |
| 2000 | MON | NL | $355,000 |
| 1999 | MON | NL | $260,000 |
| 1998 | MON | NL | $173,500 |
| 1997 | CLE | AL | $150,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $13,638,500 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia University | Morgantown | WV | 1993 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 24th | 1.0 | 448 | 0 |