Johnny Klippstein
Born: 10/17/1927 in Washington, DC, USA
Died: 10/10/2003 in Elgin, IL, USA
MLB Debut: 1950-05-03 | Final Game: 1967-05-27
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 173 lbs
Full name: John Calvin Klippstein
Biography
Johnny Klippstein was a professional baseball pitcher who enjoyed a lengthy career spanning from 1950 to 1967. Born in 1927, Klippstein made his debut in an era marked by the transition from the deadball era into a more offensive-friendly environment in Major League Baseball. Over his 17 seasons in the big leagues, he played for several teams, establishing himself as a reliable arm on the mound. Klippstein finished his career with a record of 101 wins and 118 losses, showcasing his resilience and determination throughout a competitive career.
Klippstein recorded an earned run average (ERA) of 4.24 and struck out 1,158 batters, demonstrating his ability to miss bats and contribute significantly to his teams' pitching staffs. He also secured 66 saves, reflecting his effectiveness in high-leverage situations and his versatility as a pitcher. Known for his competitive spirit and work ethic, Klippstein left a lasting impact on the teams he played for, including stints with the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds, and is remembered as a solid contributor during a transformative period in baseball history.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | 118 | 711 | 161 | 37 | 6 | 66 | 1967.7 | 1915 | 927 | 203 | 978 | 1158 | 4.24 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | CHC | NL | 2 | 9 | 33 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 104.7 | 112 | 61 | 64 | 51 | 5.25 | - |
| 1951 | CHC | NL | 6 | 6 | 35 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 123.7 | 125 | 59 | 53 | 56 | 4.29 | - |
| 1952 | CHC | NL | 9 | 14 | 41 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 202.7 | 208 | 100 | 89 | 110 | 4.44 | - |
| 1953 | CHC | NL | 10 | 11 | 48 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 167.7 | 169 | 90 | 107 | 113 | 4.83 | - |
| 1954 | CHC | NL | 4 | 11 | 36 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 148.0 | 155 | 87 | 96 | 69 | 5.29 | - |
| 1955 | CIN | NL | 9 | 10 | 39 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 138.0 | 120 | 52 | 60 | 68 | 3.39 | -0.1 |
| 1956 | CIN | NL | 12 | 11 | 37 | 29 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 211.0 | 219 | 96 | 82 | 86 | 4.09 | -2755.9 |
| 1957 | CIN | NL | 8 | 11 | 46 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 146.0 | 146 | 82 | 68 | 99 | 5.05 | -903.6 |
| 1958 | CIN | NL | 3 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 33.0 | 37 | 18 | 14 | 22 | 4.91 | -510.9 |
| 1958 | LAD | NL | 3 | 5 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 90.0 | 81 | 38 | 44 | 73 | 3.80 | - |
| 1959 | LAD | NL | 4 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 45.7 | 48 | 30 | 33 | 30 | 5.91 | - |
| 1960 | CLE | AL | 5 | 5 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 74.3 | 53 | 24 | 35 | 46 | 2.91 | -612.1 |
| 1961 | WS2 | AL | 2 | 2 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71.7 | 83 | 54 | 43 | 41 | 6.78 | -3143.5 |
| 1962 | CIN | NL | 7 | 6 | 40 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 108.7 | 113 | 54 | 64 | 67 | 4.47 | -2392.2 |
| 1963 | PHI | NL | 5 | 6 | 49 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 112.0 | 80 | 24 | 46 | 86 | 1.93 | 2448.9 |
| 1964 | MIN | AL | 0 | 4 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 45.7 | 44 | 10 | 20 | 39 | 1.97 | 190.6 |
| 1964 | PHI | NL | 2 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22.3 | 22 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 4.03 | -1512.2 |
| 1965 | MIN | AL | 9 | 3 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 76.3 | 59 | 19 | 31 | 59 | 2.24 | -331.9 |
| 1966 | MIN | AL | 1 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 39.7 | 35 | 15 | 20 | 26 | 3.40 | -42.4 |
| 1967 | DET | AL | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.7 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5.40 | 0.0 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 713 | 502 | 28 | 63 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 29 | 0 | 14 | 190 | 0.125 | 0.152 | 0.175 | 0.328 | -1656.5 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | CHC | NL | 35 | 33 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.333 | 0.0 |
| 1951 | CHC | NL | 35 | 37 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0.108 | 0.0 |
| 1952 | CHC | NL | 41 | 63 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 0.175 | -363.5 |
| 1953 | CHC | NL | 48 | 58 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 0.155 | -465.6 |
| 1954 | CHC | NL | 36 | 45 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0.133 | 0.0 |
| 1955 | CIN | NL | 39 | 31 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 0.065 | 0.0 |
| 1956 | CIN | NL | 37 | 71 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 0.099 | -827.5 |
| 1957 | CIN | NL | 46 | 41 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 0.073 | 0.0 |
| 1958 | CIN | NL | 12 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.125 | 0.0 |
| 1958 | LAD | NL | 45 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0.050 | 0.0 |
| 1959 | LAD | NL | 28 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.143 | 0.0 |
| 1960 | CLE | AL | 49 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0.143 | 0.0 |
| 1961 | WS2 | AL | 42 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.143 | 0.0 |
| 1962 | CIN | NL | 40 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 0.125 | 0.0 |
| 1963 | PHI | NL | 49 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0.038 | 0.0 |
| 1964 | MIN | AL | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1964 | PHI | NL | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1965 | MIN | AL | 56 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1966 | MIN | AL | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1967 | DET | AL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | WS | MIN | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1959 | WS | LAN | 1 | 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 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0.00 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | WS | MIN | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0.00 |
| 1959 | WS | LAN | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 711 | 95 | 106 | 324 | 15 | 23 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | CHN | P | 33 | 0 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 3 |
| 1951 | CHN | P | 35 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 0 | 3 |
| 1952 | CHN | P | 41 | 0 | 6 | 43 | 0 | 4 |
| 1953 | CHN | P | 48 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 2 | 1 |
| 1954 | CHN | P | 36 | 21 | 15 | 27 | 0 | 3 |
| 1955 | CIN | P | 39 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 3 | 0 |
| 1956 | CIN | P | 37 | 29 | 10 | 42 | 1 | 3 |
| 1957 | CIN | P | 46 | 18 | 10 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 1958 | CIN | P | 12 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1958 | LAN | P | 45 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 1959 | LAN | P | 28 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 1960 | CLE | P | 49 | 0 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| 1961 | WS2 | P | 42 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 2 |
| 1962 | CIN | P | 40 | 7 | 3 | 22 | 0 | 1 |
| 1963 | PHI | P | 49 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 1964 | MIN | P | 33 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 2 |
| 1964 | PHI | P | 11 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 1965 | MIN | P | 56 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| 1966 | MIN | P | 26 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967 | DET | P | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 711 |