| Clyde Kluttz | |
|---|---|
| Catcher | |
| Born:(1917-12-12)December 12, 1917 Rockwell, North Carolina, U.S. | |
| Died: May 12, 1979(1979-05-12) (aged 61) Salisbury, North Carolina, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 20, 1942, for the Boston Braves | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 27, 1952, for the Washington Senators | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .268 |
| Home runs | 19 |
| Runs batted in | 212 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Clyde Franklin Kluttz (December 12, 1917 – May 12, 1979) was an American professionalbaseball player,scout and front-office executive. InMajor League Baseball, Kluttz was acatcher for theBoston Braves (1942–45),New York Giants (1945–46),St. Louis Cardinals (1946),Pittsburgh Pirates (1947–48),St. Louis Browns (1951) andWashington Senators (1951–52). He threw and battedright-handed, stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 193 pounds (88 kg).
Born in nearbyRockwell, he was a longtime resident ofSalisbury, North Carolina, where he attendedCatawba College. His 17-year playing career began in 1938. Kluttz appeared in 52 regular season games as a member of the1946 world champion Cardinals—and was the starting catcher on October 3 for the flag-clinching Game 2 of thepostseason playoff against theBrooklyn Dodgers[1]—but he did not play in the1946 World Series.
In nine Major League seasons, Kluttz played in 656 games, and had 1,903 at-bats, 172 runs, 510 hits, 90 doubles, 8 triples, 19 home runs, 212 RBI, 5 stolen bases, 132 walks, .268 batting average, .318 on-base percentage, .354 slugging percentage, 673 total bases and 30 sacrifice hits.
Kluttz was a longtimescout after his playing days ended, working with theKansas City Athletics andNew York Yankees. He was credited with signingBaseball Hall of FamerCatfish Hunter, a fellow North Carolinian, for the Athletics in 1964, and, 11 years later, while serving as the Yankees' scouting director (1974–75), he played a key role in convincing free agent Hunter to join the Yankees.[2]
Kluttz resigned from the Yankees and was reunited with friend and Athletics colleagueHank Peters as director of player development with theBaltimore Orioles on 7 January 1976.[3] He was instrumental in theOrioles acquiringRick Dempsey,Scott McGregor andTippy Martinez from theYankees in a five-for-five trade deadline blockbuster five months later on 15 June. The three players became part of a nucleus that enabled the Orioles to continue as perennial contenders for the next decade.[4] Kluttz served in that capacity from 1976 until his 1979 death, in Salisbury, at age 61 from kidney and heart ailments.[5][6]
· Baseball Almanac