| Ray Katt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born:(1927-05-09)May 9, 1927 New Braunfels, Texas, U.S. | |
| Died: October 19, 1999(1999-10-19) (aged 72) New Braunfels, Texas, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 16, 1952, for the New York Giants | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 21, 1959, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .232 |
| Home runs | 32 |
| Runs batted in | 120 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Raymond Frederick Katt (May 9, 1927 – October 19, 1999) was an American professionalbaseball player andcoach. He played as acatcher inMajor League Baseball during the 1950s, and later became the longtime and highly successful head baseball coach ofTexas Lutheran University. A lifelong resident ofNew Braunfels, Texas, Katt stood 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) (183 cm) tall, weighed 200 pounds (91 kg), and threw and batted right-handed in his playing days. He attendedTexas A&M University.
Katt spent his entire Major League playing career with theNew York Giants and theSt. Louis Cardinals, spending two separate terms with each club. Katt originally signed with the Giants and after two brief trials with them in1952–53, he became the club's semi-regular backstop during its final championship season in New York in1954. Playing in 86 games, he split catching duties with veteranWes Westrum,hitting .255 with ninehome runs and 33runs batted in.
That year, he set a Major League record with fourpassed balls in one inning, catchingknuckleballerHoyt Wilhelm.[1] The record was later tied byGino Petralli of theTexas Rangers in 1987, catching knuckleballerCharlie Hough, and byRyan Lavarnway of theBoston Red Sox in 2013, catching knuckleballerSteve Wright in Wright's first big-league start.[1]
Westrum took over the catching during the1954 World Series, won by the Giants in four consecutive games, and Katt did not appear. However, in1955, he became the club's regular receiver, playing in 124 games and compiling a career-high 326at bats, but his batting average plummeted to .215 and he spent the rest of his MLB career as a back-up.
He was first traded to the Cardinals on June 14, 1956, in a nine-player trade that included notablesAlvin Dark andRed Schoendienst, and batted a creditable .259 in part-time duty for the Redbirds through the end of the 1956 season. During the winter, though, St. Louis shipped him to theChicago Cubs, who in turn peddled him back to the Giants on the eve of the1957 regular season. Katt was a member of the final New York Giants club before it transferred toSan Francisco, batting 165 times in 72 games in 1957. He was traded back to the Cardinals in April1958, and closed out his active MLB career with them as a third-string catcher in 1958 and a playing coach in1959. In all or parts of eight major league seasons (1952–59), Katt appeared in 417 games, and batted .232 with 32 home runs and 120 runs batted in for 1,071 at bats.
Katt was a bullpen coach for the Cardinals from 1959 through June 15, 1960, and first-base coach for theCleveland Indians in 1962. In between, hemanaged theTriple-APortland Beavers for the final eight weeks of the 1961 season.
He then returned to Texas — first as a high school baseball coach in New Braunfels, and then as head baseball coach at Texas Lutheran, where he served for 22 seasons (1971–92), the team compiling a record of 502–362–2.Katt-Isbel Field, home of the college's baseball team, is named in his honor.
Katt died at age 72 fromlymphoma in New Braunfels.