Chuck Klein
Virtually forgotten by most baseball fans, Chuck Klein was a line-drive pull-hitter who took great advantage of his years in Philadelphia's Baker Bowl, which had favorable (to say the least) dimensions for a left-handed hitter. He won a batting title, a triple crown, and blasted four home runs in one game, but Klein rarely played for winning teams. His phenomenal success in his home park made some experts question his talent, but he ultimately overcame that stigma when he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980.
Played For
Philadelphia Phillies (1928-1933)
Chicago Cubs (1934-1936)
Philadelphia Phillies (1936-1939)
Pittsburgh Pirates (1939)
Philadelphia Phillies (1940-1944)
All-Time Rankings
Chuck Klein ranks #33 among the Top 50 all-time at RF. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1933
It's tempting to choose 1930 when Klein rapped out 250 hits and hit .386, or 1929 when he piled up 145 RBI, or 1931 when he scored 121 runs and had double-figures in doubles, triples and homers, or 1932 when he had 50 doubles, 38 homers and 20 steals and led the NL in slugging. But we'll take 1933, when he paced the league in batting (.368), OBP (.422) and slugging (.602), while also winning the triple crown (28 homers and 128 RBI). Klein led the loop with 44 doubles, 223 hits, 365 total bases and 79 extra-base hits.
Factoids
The Philadelphia Phillies had a .364 winning percentage in the seasons Klein was on the team, finishing a cumulative 614 games out of first place.
Where He Played
Right field, except in 1931 and 1934, when he played left.
Born
Charles Herbert Klein was born on October 7, 1904, in Indianapolis, IN.
Died
March 28, 1958, Indianapolis, IN
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
Primary Position: OF
Primary Team: PHI
Major League Debut
July 30, 1928
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1928
Al Lopez
Bill Dickey
Chuck Klein
Rollie Hemsley
Pepper Martin
Mel Harder
Carl Hubbell
George Earnshaw
Clint Brown
Uniform Numbers
#3 (1932-1933, 1942), #6 (1934), #4 (1935-1936 Cubs), #32 (1936 Phillies), #36 (1936-1937 Phillies), #1 (1938), #26 (1939 Phillies, 1944), #14 (1939 Pirates), #29 (1940-1941), #8 (1943)
Similar Players
Earl Averill, Larry Walker
Related Players
Ethan Allen and Curt Davis, two hard-hitting outfielders whom Klein was traded for in 1936.
| Hall of Fame Voting |
| Year |
Election |
Votes |
Pct |
| 1948 |
BBWAA |
3 |
2.5% |
1949 |
BBWAA |
9 |
5.9% |
1950 |
BBWAA |
14 |
8.3% |
1951 |
BBWAA |
15 |
6.6% |
1952 |
BBWAA |
19 |
8.1% |
1954 |
BBWAA |
11 |
4.4% |
1955 |
BBWAA |
25 |
10.0% |
1956 |
BBWAA |
44 |
22.8% |
1958 |
BBWAA |
36 |
13.5% |
1960 |
BBWAA |
37 |
13.8% |
1962 |
BBWAA |
18 |
11.3% |
1964 |
BBWAA |
56 |
27.9% |
1964 |
Run Off |
18 |
8.0% |
1980 |
Veterans |
|
% |
|
Post-Season Appearances
1935 World Series
Post-Season Notes
Klein played in five of the Cubs six games against the Detroit Tigers in the '35 World Series. He hit a solo-home run in Game Five at Wrigley Field, helping Lon Warneke to a 3-1 win.
Awards and Honors
1932 NL MVP
1933 NL Triple Crown
Feats
Clubbed four homers in one game, July 10, 1936; collected at least 200 hits in five straight season, 1929-1933; led the NL in total bases in four consecutive seasons, 1930-1933; hit five homers in a three-game stretch twice, and hit six in four games in 1929.
Batting Feats
- July 1, 1931: Cycle...
- May 26, 1936: Cycle...
- July 10, 1936: 4 HR... Klein's fourth home run came in the 10th inning and gave the Phils a 9-6 lead that stood up... The Phillies had re-acquired Klein in a trade from the Cubs just six weeks earlier... Klein did not hit his four homers in Baker Bowl, as is often mistakenly assumed.
Notes
Was the Most Valuable Player of the National League in 1932; All-Star in 1933 and 1934. Klein was second in NL MVP voting in both 1931 and 1933, but since there was no award in 1930, he missed out on a possible second MVP honor... Klein is one of the few players to lead his league in both home runs and stolen bases during his career. He led the NL in steals in 1932, and in homers in 1933.
Hitting Streaks
26 games (1930)
26 games (1930)
26 games (1930)
22 games (1931)
21 games (1939)
20 games (1929)
Transactions
November 21, 1933: Traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Chicago Cubs for Ted Kleinhans, Mark Koenig, Harvey Hendrick, and $65,000 cash; May 21, 1936: Traded by the Chicago Cubs with Fabian Kowalik to the Philadelphia Phillies for Ethan Allen and Curt Davis.
Klein was involved in one of the biggest transactions of his time, when he was dealt to the Chicago Cubs in November of 1932 for $65,000 and three players. At the time, some baseball experts suggested that deals involving so much money should be outlawed, claiming that all the great players would be gobbled up by the rich teams. Some things never change.
All-Star Selections
1933 NL
1934 NL
Replaced
Cy Williams
Replaced By
Stan Benjamin
Best Strength as a Player
Hitting for extra-base power.
Largest Weakness as a Player
He was like a comet that streaked across the sky.
Other stories on the Web about Chuck Klein
Chuck Klein's Unsung 1930 Season ⇒
Learn More about Chuck Klein
Search Amazon.com for Books about Chuck Klein ⇒
Search for Chuck Klein at Google ⇒
View a map of his hometown at Mapquest ⇒
