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Charles Herbert Klein (October 7, 1904 – March 28, 1958), nicknamed " the Hoosier Hammer" because of his Indiana roots, was an Americans professional baseball outfielder. Klein played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (–, –, –), Chicago Cubs (–), and Pittsburgh Pirates ().
Klein led the National League (NL) in home runs four times, and won the NL Most Valuable Player Award in 1932. In 1933 he became one of six (at the time) NL players to win a batting Triple Crown. In 1930 he set the NL record for extra-base hits with 107. On July 10, 1936, he hit four home runs in a game, becoming the fourth player to do so. He was the first player to be selected to the All-Star Game as a member of two different teams (Phillies and Cubs). Klein was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.
After hitting 26 homers in 88 games in 1928, Klein was slated to be called up to St. Louis midway through the season. However, Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis discovered that the Cardinals owned a team in Dayton, Ohio, that also played in the Central League with Fort Wayne. Landis ordered the Cardinals to sell off the Fort Wayne team and give up the rights to its players. The Phillies purchased Klein's contract for a sum of $5,000Jordan, David, pp. 51 () and in the process outbid the New York Yankees for Klein's services. Klein joined the Phillies in July.
In 1930, Klein enjoyed one of the best offensive years in baseball history, batting .386 with 250 hits and 158 runs scored, all career highs. He also set career bests and still-standing Phillies records with 59 doubles, 170 runs batted in (RBI), a .687 slugging percentage and 445 total bases. No player has had as many total bases in a season since. His 107 extra-base hits that year are a National League record, tied by Barry Bonds in 2001.Porter, David L., pp. 819 Along with his batting prowess, Klein was also a good defensive right fielder; he is tenth on the all-time list for assists for a right fielder. 1930 marked the second straight season where Klein had collected at least 200 hits, along with his hitting records he set the single season mark for assists by a right fielder with 44.Cava, Pete, pp. 107 This is due to the height that was added to the right field wall in 1929 which caused more balls to fall in right field.Dewey, Donald, pp. 228 On July 1, 1931, in a game against the Chicago Cubs, Klein hit for the cycle, going 4-for-5 with five RBI. At the end of the season, he led the National League in runs scored with 121 and RBI with 121. He also led the league in home runs for the second time in his career with 31, and amassed at least 200 hits for the third season in a row.
After the 1932 season, Klein was awarded the National League MVP award. During the season, he led the league in home runs for the third time, as well as hits and runs scored, he also became the first player in the live-ball era to lead the league in both home runs and . No player since has led the league in both categories in the same year. He finished the season with 226 hits, marking the fourth year in a row that he exceeded the 200 hit mark. On May 26, 1933, the Phillies lost a 14 inning game to the St. Louis Cardinals, during this game Klein hit for the cycle for the second time in his career. On July 6, 1933, he became the first Phillies player ever to bat in an All-Star Game after receiving a majority of the fans’ votes.Jordan, David, pp. 57 At the end of the season, he became the fourth NL player since 1901 to win the Triple Crown with a batting average of .368, and led the NL in home runs with 28 and RBI with 120. At the end of the season, due in part to Carl Hubbell's brilliant pitching season, and the Giants winning the 1933 World Series, Klein finished second in MVP voting behind Hubbell.
Klein went to the Pirates during the 1939 season, but was back in Philadelphia in 1940 for what proved to be his last year as a regular player. From 1941 onward, he never played in more than 50 games in a season, and was often used as a pinch hitter. In his last eight seasons, from 1937 to 1944, he averaged 69 games played, batted .253 and hit 43 home runs. He retired midway through the 1944 season after getting one hit in seven At bat.
After never receiving more than 28% on the ballot, a campaign was started to get Klein elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame via the Veterans Committee.Wagner, Steve K., pp. 37 He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980 via the Veterans Committee. Richard Nixon listed Klein on his all-time baseball team. In 1999, he ranked number 92 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was a nominee for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
As with another Philadelphia legend from the pre-numbers era of baseball, Grover Cleveland Alexander, the Phillies simply honored Klein with his name and an Old English-style "P" where a retired uniform number would go on the outfield wall of Veterans Stadium. The Phillies began using numbers in 1932, and in that season and 1933, Klein wore number 3. He was then traded to the Chicago Cubs, and when he returned to the Phillies in 1936, he wore 32 (later retired by the Phillies for Steve Carlton), and soon switched to 36 (later retired by the Phillies for Robin Roberts) for that season and 1937. In 1938, he wore number 1 (later retired by the Phillies for Richie Ashburn), wore 26 and then 14 (later retired by the Phillies for Jim Bunning) in 1939, wore 29 in 1940 and 1941, 3 again in 1942, 8 in 1943 and 26 again in 1944, his last major league season.
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