Steven James Kline (born August 22, 1972) is an American college baseball coach for the IUP Crimson Hawks. He is also a former professional relief pitcher who pitched for the Cleveland Indians, Montreal Expos, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, and San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB) over an 11-year career. Kline attended West Virginia University, where he played college baseball for the Mountaineers.
Career
Cleveland Indians
Kline was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 8th round of the 1993 draft as a starting pitcher.
In 1994, he led the South Atlantic League with 18 wins (a team record), 174 strikeouts, and 185.2 innings pitched while playing for Single-A Columbus (Georgia), earning him the Bob Feller Award as Cleveland's best minor league pitcher.
Following a difficult season in 1996, where Kline went 8–12 with a 5.46 ERA at the Double A level, the Indians began using Kline primarily as a reliever for 1997.
Kline made his major league debut with the Indians in their 1997 season opener. He entered in the 6th inning with 1 out and a runner on base, against the Oakland Athletics with the score tied 6-6. He induced a flyout from Scott Spiezio for his first major league out, and the baserunner (Ernie Young) was caught stealing on the next pitch. He earned his first major league win as the Indians rallied to take the lead in the next half inning with Kline as the pitcher of record. He would go on to strike out his first major league batter (future teammate Jim Edmonds) in his next appearance. Kline ultimately struggled early in the season, and was sent back down to Triple A, where he continued to be used primarily as a reliever.
At the 1997 MLB Trading Deadline, Kline was traded to the Montreal Expos for pitcher Jeff Juden.
Montreal Expos
Kline appeared in 26 games with the Expos in 1997, though he struggled to a 6.15 ERA. Combined, his 1997 ERA between both Montreal and Cleveland was 5.98.
However, Kline began to take big strides forward as a left-handed reliever during the 1998 season. He held left-handed batters to a .178 average, and proved that his arsenal of pitches could be successful against both righty and lefty batters as even righties hit only .253 off him. He earned his first major league save on August 9 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, entering the game to start the 8th inning in a save situation (ahead 5–2), and finishing off what became an 8–2 victory. He finished 1998 with a 2.76 ERA in 78 appearances. His 78 appearances tied for second in the National League with Robb Nen and Chuck McElroy, and sixth in baseball.
In 1999 and 2000, he continued his strong pitching. He posted a career high total for wins in a single season in 1999 (7), and achieved a rare feat by striking out 4 batters in an inning against the San Francisco Giants on August 17. In 2000, Kline was actually used as the closer in June and part of July, amassing a career best 14 saves. He would actually lead or tie for the lead in Major League baseball for relief appearances in both seasons, demonstrating his durability, and the fact that he was a key reliever who had earned the trust of his manager.
In December 2000, Kline was part of what at the time was a blockbuster offseason trade between the Expos and St. Louis Cardinals as he headed to the Cardinals with pitcher Dustin Hermanson for young pitcher Britt Reames and the injury prone young slugger Fernando Tatis.
St. Louis Cardinals
During his time in St. Louis, Kline quickly became a fan favorite, known for the dirty hat he always wore when pitching. It was even inspiration for a Cardinals promotion at the ballpark in 2002, which the team called "Steve Kline Hat Day," and an ESPN feature on the subject. Kline was also active in the community with charity work, and quickly became known as an "everyman" who enjoyed spending time with fans and signing autographs. Kline easily ended up being the catch of that trade as he had his best season to date in 2001, finishing 3–3 with a 1.80 ERA and again leading all of MLB in relief appearances with 89, setting a new MLB record for a left-hander in a single season. It was the third consecutive season Kline had tied or led MLB in appearances. He held left-handed batters to a .149 batting average. Additionally, not only did Kline not allow a left-handed batter to hit a home run off him all season, he did not allow a single extra-base hit to a lefty either. After his strong campaign, Kline even received an MVP vote, the only time in his career he did so.