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Robert Francis Klaus
San Diego Padres
Infield
Born: December 27, 1937, Spring Grove, IL
Signed: Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent before 1959 season
Major League Teams: Cincinnati Reds 1964; New York Mets 1964-65
Bobby Klaus made his big league debut shortly after the start of the 1964 season and the Reds hoped he could supplement a middle infield consisting of Pete Rose (#120) at second base and Chico Ruiz (#469) or Steve Boros at shortstop. Klaus made 22 starts with the club, struggling mightily, and was traded to the Mets on July 28, 1964 for first baseman Tim Harkness. Klaus fared slightly better with the Mets, making 22 starts with the team in 1964 and a career-high 82 starts in 1965 - all at either second, third or short. He played in his final big league game on October 3, 1965 and finished with a .208 average over 215 games with 123 hits, six home runs and 29 RBIs. Klaus played four more seasons in the minor leagues in the Phillies and Pirates organizations, before ultimately retiring.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #356
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Padres Team Set / Accuracy Index -16
Phillies Connection / 1969 Season
On February 22, 1966, the Mets traded Klaus with Wayne Graham and Jimmie Schaffer to the Phillies for Dick Stuart. Klaus would never earn a promotion to the Phillies, playing three full seasons for the team's top farm club at the time, the San Diego Padres. Klaus finally achieved status as an everyday player, starting almost all of the team's games at second base during those three seasons. Klaus batted .242 over 423 games with the Padres and contributed 127 RBIs. He was one of the club's most durable players during San Diego's final three years having a minor league team. In 1969, the expansion Padres joined the major leagues and the major league Padres had selected Klaus in the 1968 rule 5 draft from the Phillies. His time with the big league version of the Padres was limited however as he was dealt to the Pirates on March 28, 1969, prior to the start of the regular season. Klaus along with Ron Davis (#553) were traded to the Pirates for Chris Cannizzaro (#131) and Tommie Sisk (#152). A Klaus-less Padres club played their first big league game on April 8, 1969.
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders. I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500. This card was the 64th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me less than $1.
The Card / Padres Team Set / Accuracy Index -16
Klaus is wearing a Mets jersey here, and he'd never suit up for the Padres - see below. His ties to San Diego are covered on the back of the card. Klaus became a player/manager for the Padres in 1968 following the Phillies' dismissal of Gene Mauch (#606) and the promotion of Padres' manager Bob Skinner (#369) to take over for Mauch.
Accuracy Index: Klaus loses eight points for the Mets uniform and for being hatless, and then he loses eight more for not playing with the big league Padres in 1969 (-2) or ever (-6).
Phillies Connection / 1969 Season
On February 22, 1966, the Mets traded Klaus with Wayne Graham and Jimmie Schaffer to the Phillies for Dick Stuart. Klaus would never earn a promotion to the Phillies, playing three full seasons for the team's top farm club at the time, the San Diego Padres. Klaus finally achieved status as an everyday player, starting almost all of the team's games at second base during those three seasons. Klaus batted .242 over 423 games with the Padres and contributed 127 RBIs. He was one of the club's most durable players during San Diego's final three years having a minor league team. In 1969, the expansion Padres joined the major leagues and the major league Padres had selected Klaus in the 1968 rule 5 draft from the Phillies. His time with the big league version of the Padres was limited however as he was dealt to the Pirates on March 28, 1969, prior to the start of the regular season. Klaus along with Ron Davis (#553) were traded to the Pirates for Chris Cannizzaro (#131) and Tommie Sisk (#152). A Klaus-less Padres club played their first big league game on April 8, 1969.
In his final season professionally, Klaus batted .201 in 69 games for the Triple-A Columbus Jets, never earning a promotion to the Pirates.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #524
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4): 1964-1966, 1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #19
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 17 in the Beckett online database as of 9/1/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
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First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #524
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4): 1964-1966, 1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #19
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 17 in the Beckett online database as of 9/1/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
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