Johnny Klippstein

John Calvin Klippstein (October 17, 1927 – October 10, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher (mostly a reliever), who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for a number of teams, over an 18-season career. The most prominent portion of his early career was spent with the Chicago Cubs (1950–1954). Klippstein’s career stat line included a 101–118 record, with a 4.24 earned run average (ERA), in 711 games (161 of them as a starter). He had 1,158 strikeouts in 1,967+2⁄3 innings pitched. Klippstein was often known for his control problems.

Johnny Klippstein
Pitcher
Born: (1927-10-17)October 17, 1927 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died: October 10, 2003(2003-10-10) (aged 75) Elgin, Illinois, U.S.
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 3, 1950, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
May 27, 1967, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	101–118
Earned run average	4.24
Strikeouts	1,158
Saves	66
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
Chicago Cubs (1950–1954) Cincinnati Redlegs (1955–1958) Los Angeles Dodgers (1958–1959) Cleveland Indians (1960) Washington Senators (1961) Cincinnati Reds (1962) Philadelphia Phillies (1963–1964) Minnesota Twins (1964–1966) Detroit Tigers (1967)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1959)

Klippstein became a world champion with the Los Angeles Dodgers, in the 1959 World Series, but played a much more significant role in the Minnesota Twins’ pennant run in 1965. He was the son-in-law of (the late) MLB pitcher Dutch Leonard. Klippstein was tied (with Mike Fornieles) for the league lead in saves in 1960, with 14.

Klippstein died October 10, 2003, while listening to a radio broadcast of the Cubs versus Florida Marlins game of the 2003 National League Championship Series.^[1]