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Robert Francis Klaus
New York Mets
Third Base
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 1964-1965
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 (#207) at second base and Chico Ruiz (#554) or Steve Boros (#102) 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.
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| June 12, 2021 - Doug at bat at Rowan |
June 5, 2021 from Tomball, TX - Card #301
To celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer, I took advantage of a 15% Memorial Day Weekend sale hosted by one of my favorite dealers, The Battersbox, from Tomball, Texas. With the second series now complete, I spent an enjoyable hour or so over the long (and rainy) holiday weekend picking 20 commons from the third series to add to our set and I'll feature those cards in the next 20 posts. The package of cards arrived on June 5th and in total, the lot cost me a little more than $63. This Klaus card cost a little less than $1.50 after applying the discount.
My wife Jenna spent a lot of hours in June driving Doug back and forth to his baseball practices, and then we got to enjoy a relatively close baseball tournament at Rowan University over the second weekend in June.
The Card / Mets Team Set
Klaus first appeared on a Reds Rookie Stars card with pitcher Jim Dickson (#286) in 1964. Topps can be forgiven for not having a good picture of Klaus in a Mets jersey in time for his 1965 Topps card, as he joined the Mets in late July and then played sparingly. He gets to actually wear a Mets jersey on his 1966 Topps card. The back of the card references his older brother, Billy Klaus. Billy was a veteran of 11 big league seasons with the Braves (1952-1953), Red Sox (1955-1958), Orioles (1959-1960), Senators (1961) and Phillies (1962-1963).
1965 Season
Klaus appeared in 119 games for the Mets, batting .191 with 55 hits, a pair of home runs and 12 RBIs. He didn't have a full-time position, splitting up second base duties with Chuck Hiller (#531) and Ron Hunt (#285). Hiller and Klaus each made 60 starts at second base while Hunt got the other 44 starts. Klaus also made 25 appearances at third base and 29 appearances at shortstop.
Phillies Connection
On February 22, 1966, the Mets traded Klaus with Wayne Graham and Jimmie Schaffer (#313) to the Phillies for Dick Stuart (#280). 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. A Klaus-less Padres club played their first big league game on April 8, 1969.
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
17 - Klaus non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/29/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
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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
17 - Klaus non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/29/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #226 Yankees Rookie Stars
Previous Card: #226 Yankees Rookie Stars
Next Card: #228 Jack Sanford - San Francisco Giants
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