Theodore Bernard Kluszewski (September 10, 1924 – March 29, 1988), also known as "Big Klu", was an American professional baseball player known for his bulging biceps and mammoth home runs in the 1950s decade. He played from 1947 through 1961 with four teams in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent 11 of his 15 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds as a
Kluszewski was a four-time National League (NL) All-Star who hit at least .300 seven times and 40-or-more home runs in three consecutive seasons. He retired with a .298 lifetime batting average, 279 home runs and 1,028 RBI in 1,718 games.
Kluszewski ranks among the all-time Reds leaders in home runs (sixth), slugging percentage (sixth), on-base plus slugging percentage (eighth) and RBI (ninth). His .642 slugging percentage, 1.049 OPS and home run rate of one per 11.4 at-bats in the 1954 season have been team records for seven decades.
On August 25, 1959, Kluszewski returned to his South Side Chicago roots when the White Sox acquired him from the Pittsburgh Pirates in return for pitcher Robert Sagers and outfielder Harry Simpson. The veteran hit .297 in 31 games and helped the "Go-Go White Sox" clinch the American League pennant. In six games versus the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, Kluszewski hit .391 with three home runs and drove in 10 runs, which remain a record for a six-game series.
In 1962, he was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.
Early life and athletic success
Kluszewski was born of Polish descent in Summit, Illinois, 14 miles west of Comiskey Park in Chicago, where he played with the White Sox in the 1959 and 1960 seasons. He was a star football and baseball player at Argo Community High School. He went on to Indiana University in Bloomington, where he also played both sports. In 1945, he was part of the Hoosiers football powerhouse that finished with a 9-0-1 record. The same year he hit .443 with their baseball team.
Minor league career
Due to wartime travel restrictions, the Cincinnati Reds, who normally held spring training in Tampa, Florida, were forced to train at Indiana University from to . As a student-athlete at the college, Kluszewski drew the attention of Reds groundskeeper Matty Schwab, who saw him launch several balls over an embankment near the baseball diamond, a 500-plus-foot distance that none of the Reds players were able to reach at the plate. Team scouts were similarly impressed, but Kluszewski, who also was a standout tight end on the Hoosiers football squad, was reluctant to sign a contract because he did not want to jeopardize his collegiate eligibility. Instead, he waited until after graduation in .
After Kluszewski produced .325 and .377 batting averages in two minor league seasons, it was only a matter of time for his big promotion.
Trademark fashion statement
Not long after the , Kluszewski became a regular early in the 1948 season, his immense strength already was the talk of major league baseball. Asked to name five of the strongest players in baseball, Hall of Fame manager Leo Durocher conspicuously left the big first baseman off his list. "(Why not) Kluszewski?" Durocher defended himself. "I'm talking about human beings!"
Much to the chagrin of team management, Kluszewski made a bold fashion statement when he cut off both sleeves of his jersey. The reason being, they constricted his enormous biceps and shoulders and limited his ability to swing a baseball bat freely. "They got pretty upset, but it was either that or change my swing — and I wasn't about to change my swing," he explained.
Major League Career
Cincinnati Reds (1947-1957) In 1947, Kluszewski earned a spot on the Opening Day roster and remained with the Reds in the first month of the season. After a four-month stint at Class AAA Memphis, he returned to the parent club in September. Kluszewski recorded his first hit on Sept. 23 at Crosley Field, an RBI single off Chicago Cubs starter Hank Wyse in the fifth inning. One year later, he nailed down the starter job that would be his for nine seasons.
It wasn't long before Kluszewski gained the reputation as one of the most unique hitters of his time, one who combined immense power with the ability to make contact on a consistent basis. In 10 of his 15 major league seasons, the first baseman walked (492) more often than he struck out (365). In 1953, Kluszewski hit 40 homers and struck out a mere 34 times. The following season he upped this to 49 homers against just 35 strikeouts. In 1955 he parked 47 home runs and struck out an even 40 times, the last time a major leaguer has hit 40 homers and struck out 40 or fewer times in the same season.