Remy Peter "Ray" Kremer (March 23, 1895 – February 8, 1965) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player. He played his entire career in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as a right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1924 to 1933.

Early life

Ray Kremer was born in Oakland, California, to French immigrants Nicholas and Mary Kremer. Nicholas operated a foundry and was a locally notable statue maker. Ray attended Polytechnic High School in Oakland, playing in semiprofessional baseball leagues while still a student. He was expected to enter the metalworking trade like his father and brothers, but opted to continue playing baseball instead. In 1914, Kremer signed his first professional contract with the Sacramento Wolves of the Pacific Coast League.

Baseball career

Kremer spent the first ten seasons of his career playing in the minor leagues. In 1916, he signed with the New York Giants and participated in spring training, but struggled with joint pain. He was sent back to the minors and released the following summer. After recovering, he joined the Oakland Oaks of his hometown, eventually playing seven seasons with the team. In December of 1923, he was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates, finally reaching the major leagues. Kremer is notable for beginning his major league career at age 29, an uncommonly old age for a rookie. Kremer had a impressive beginning to his major league career. He pitched five complete games to begin his major league career and posted an 18-10 record as a rookie in 1924, then followed that with seasons of 17-8, 20-6 and 19-8. He was third in the vote for the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

's most valuable player in 1926. The Pirates won a pair of pennants during that stretch. Kremer threw two complete games in the

1925 World Series The 1925 World Series was the championship series of the 1925 Major League Baseball season. A best-of-seven playoff, it was played between the National League (NL) pennant winner Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Senators. The Pirates defe ...

against the Washington Senators, and after winning Game 6 with a six-hitter, Kremer was brought back for four innings of relief in Game 7 and ended up the winning pitcher in that game as well. He also made one start in the

1927 World Series The 1927 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1927 season. The 24th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion New York Yankees against the National League champion Pittsburgh Pirat ...

, chosen to pitch Game 1 against a New York Yankees team thought by many to be the greatest baseball team of all time. He led the

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in both 1926 and 1927. Kremer put up some of the most impressive numbers of his career in 1930, leading the league in wins (20), games started (38) and innings pitched (276). For his career, he compiled a 143–85 record in 308 appearances, with a 3.76 ERA and 516 strikeouts. Kremer's 143 wins with Pittsburgh rank him eighth in franchise history, his .627

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

ranks seventh, and his 1,954 innings pitched rank tenth. As a hitter, Kremer posted a .178

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(122-for-687) with 57 runs, 5 home runs, 69

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

and 37 bases on balls. Defensively, he recorded a .974 fielding percentage. After being waived by the Pirates, Kremer played two more short stints with the Oakland Oaks in 1933 and 1934 before retiring from baseball.

Personal life

Kremer and his wife Beulah had one daughter, Betty. After his baseball career he became a postal carrier in the Bay area, eventually retiring to Pinole, California. Kremer died in Pinole on February 8, 1965, and is buried in Sunset View Cemetery.

References

External links

* * 1895 births 1965 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Oakland, California Pittsburgh Pirates players National League ERA champions National League wins champions Oakland Oaks (baseball) players People from Pinole, California {{US-baseball-pitcher-1890s-stub

Early life

Baseball career

Personal life

See also

References

External links