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Ronald Lee Kline
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher
Born: March 9, 1932, Callery, PA
Signed: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1950 season
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1952, 1955-1959; St. Louis Cardinals 1960; Los Angeles Angels 1961; Detroit Tigers 1961-1962; Washington Senators 1963-1966; Minnesota Twins 1967; Pittsburgh Pirates 1968-1969; San Francisco Giants 1969; Boston Red Sox 1969; Atlanta Braves 1970
Died: June 22, 2002, Callery, PA (age 70)
A veteran of 17 big league seasons and 736 games pitched, Ron Kline enjoyed a career as a dependable reliever for 10 different teams. His longest stint with any one team came at the beginning of his career with the Pirates, his hometown team, where he pitched for eight seasons primarily as a starting pitcher. Kline missed two seasons early in his career due to military service in 1953 and 1954. Despite his record of 14-18, 1956 was probably his best season as he started 39 games and had an ERA of 3.38. It wasn't tracked at the time, but his bWAR for pitchers in 1956 (4.9) was fourth in the National League behind Johnny Antonelli, Bob Friend and Warren Spahn.
As a reliever later in his career, Kline finished in the top ten in saves four times, topping the American League leaders list in 1965 with 29 saves for the Senators. After retiring from baseball, Kline returned to his hometown of Callery, Pennsylvania where he served as the town's mayor for several years.
A veteran of 17 big league seasons and 736 games pitched, Ron Kline enjoyed a career as a dependable reliever for 10 different teams. His longest stint with any one team came at the beginning of his career with the Pirates, his hometown team, where he pitched for eight seasons primarily as a starting pitcher. Kline missed two seasons early in his career due to military service in 1953 and 1954. Despite his record of 14-18, 1956 was probably his best season as he started 39 games and had an ERA of 3.38. It wasn't tracked at the time, but his bWAR for pitchers in 1956 (4.9) was fourth in the National League behind Johnny Antonelli, Bob Friend and Warren Spahn.
As a reliever later in his career, Kline finished in the top ten in saves four times, topping the American League leaders list in 1965 with 29 saves for the Senators. After retiring from baseball, Kline returned to his hometown of Callery, Pennsylvania where he served as the town's mayor for several years.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #238
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Pirates Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
1969 Season
Kline bounced around a little in his penultimate season in the majors. He had returned to the Pirates in 1968, and began the 1969 season once again in their bullpen. After 20 games with the Pirates, Kline was 1-3 with a 5.81 ERA, and he was dealt to the San Francisco Giants for lefty reliever Joe Gibbon (#158). Kline's time with the Giants was brief, and after seven relief appearances he was sold to the Boston Red Sox on July 5th. He'd pitch in 16 games for the Red Sox. Overall, with three different teams, Kline was 1-5 with a 5.36 ERA in 27 games pitched.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1953 Topps #175
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1953, 1956-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1991 Topps Archives 1953 #175
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 60 in the Beckett online database as of 2/12/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
In mid-March last year, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set. That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon. I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.
This is the 161st of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York. My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside. After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far. With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298. The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me $1.25.
The Card / Pirates Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
This is possibly the least flattering baseball card in the entire 1969 Topps set, and the 17-year veteran deserved better for his last contemporaneous baseball card appearance. Identical photos were used for Kline's 1967 and 1968 Topps card, and for his 1969 Topps card, Kline is turning his head slightly away from the camera. He's likely wearing a Senators jersey here. His lengthy big league career doesn't leave room for anything but statistics on the back, and it's the rare 1969 Topps card with no cartoon.
Accuracy Index: Kline drops five points for the Senators jersey and three more points for the lack of a hat.
1969 Season
Kline bounced around a little in his penultimate season in the majors. He had returned to the Pirates in 1968, and began the 1969 season once again in their bullpen. After 20 games with the Pirates, Kline was 1-3 with a 5.81 ERA, and he was dealt to the San Francisco Giants for lefty reliever Joe Gibbon (#158). Kline's time with the Giants was brief, and after seven relief appearances he was sold to the Boston Red Sox on July 5th. He'd pitch in 16 games for the Red Sox. Overall, with three different teams, Kline was 1-5 with a 5.36 ERA in 27 games pitched.
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First Mainstream Card: 1953 Topps #175
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1953, 1956-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1991 Topps Archives 1953 #175
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 60 in the Beckett online database as of 2/12/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1956 Topps Blog / 1965 Topps Blog
1956 Topps Blog / 1965 Topps Blog
#242 Frank Kostro - Minnesota Twins / #244 Indians Rookie Stars
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