- Ken Reitz
Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=#BC003A
bgcolor2=#BC003A
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=Ken Reitz
position=Third Baseman
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1951|6|24
debutdate=September 5
debutyear=by|1972
debutteam=St. Louis Cardinals
finaldate=June 3
finalyear=by|1982
finalteam=Pittsburgh Pirates
stat1label=AVG
stat1value=.260
stat2label=H
stat2value=1243
stat3label=RBI
stat3value=548
teams=
*St. Louis Cardinals (1972-75, 1977-80)
*San Francisco Giants (1976)
*Chicago Cubs (1981)
*Pittsburgh Pirates (1982)
highlights=
*All-star in 1980
*Gold Glove in 1975Kenneth John Reitz (born
June 24 ,1951 inSan Francisco, California ) is a formerthird baseman inMajor League Baseball .A right-handed hitter, Reitz played for the
St. Louis Cardinals (1972-75, 1977-80),San Francisco Giants (1976),Chicago Cubs (1981) andPittsburgh Pirates (1982).Nicknamed the "Zamboni" for his skill at scooping up ground balls on the
artificial turf ofBusch Memorial Stadium , Reitz, in his rookie season of 1973, replacedJoe Torre as the Cardinals’ starting third baseman. In both 1973 and 1974, he led allNational League third basemen infielding percentage . In 1975 he won aGold Glove Award at the position, breakingDoug Rader ’s streak of five consecutive Gold Gloves. In 1977 he set a National League record by committing only nine errors; he bettered that record by committing only eight in 1980. In this latter year, he also made his only All-Star appearance, where he started at third base in place ofMike Schmidt (who, after Reitz's Gold Glove season of 1975, would win the next nine).Offensively, while Reitz was not a flashy hitter, he was a consistent one, his hitting improving during his first few seasons. After batting .235 during his rookie season he batted below .250 only once over the next seven seasons. In each of his first five full seasons he increased his
run batted in production: 42 in 1973, 54 in 1974, 63 in 1975, 66 in 1976 (his only season with his hometown Giants) and 79 in 1977. Reitz also established a career-high inhome run s in 1977 with 17—the same number he had hit in his previous three seasons total.In his career, Reitz batted .260 with 68 home runs and 548 RBIs in 1344
games played .External links
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/reitzke01.shtml Ken Reitz’s career stats and analysis]
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