Ken Retzer

Kenneth Leo Retzer (born April 30, 1934 in Wood River, Illinois) is a former Major League Baseball catcher. He was signed by the Cleveland Indians before the 1954 season, but played his entire MLB career for the Washington Senators. (1961-1964)

Retzer played semi-regularly for Washington in 1962 and 1963, starting 91 and 72 games, respectively. He was an adequate defensive catcher with a lifetime fielding percentage of .983, a bit below the league average. He did throw out 48 of 126 stolen base attempts, which is 38.1%.

1962 was his best season, as he set personal highs for most offensive categories during that year. While not particularly strong with the bat, he was tough to strike out. He whiffed only 50 times in 690 total at bats, or once for every 13.8 ABs. For some reason, he hit All-Star right-hander Milt Pappas extremely hard...four home runs in just sixteen at bats. For his career, Retzer averaged just one HR for every 49.3 ABs.

Career highlights include:
*2 home runs in one game against Milt Pappas and the Baltimore Orioles (June 5, 1962)
*one 4-hit game...three singles and a home run, good for 5 RBI, vs. the Detroit Tigers (September 25, 1963)
*six 3-hit games, with the most impressive being two singles and a home run, good for 4 RBI, vs. the Kansas City Athletics (May 30, 1962)
*hit a combined .390 (16-for-41) against All-Stars Dean Chance, Dick Donovan, and Milt Pappas
*hit a combined .421 (16-for-38) against Hall of Famers Jim Bunning, Hoyt Wilhelm, and Early Wynn

He finished his career with a lifetime batting average of .264, 14 HR, 72 RBI, and 65 runs scored in 237 ballgames.

External links

*baseball-reference|id=r/retzeke01
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=retzeke01 Baseball Almanac]
* [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Pretzk101.htm Retrosheet]