Howard Dean Koplitz (May 4, 1938 – January 2, 2012) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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who appeared in 54

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, 19 as a starter, over parts of five seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

) (–; –) for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

and Washington Senators. The native of

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...

, threw and batted

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, stood tall and weighed .

Early life

Koplitz was born on May 4, 1938, in Oshkosh Wisconsin, the son of Eldor and Esther (Diestler) Koplitz. He attended Oshkosh High School. He played high school baseball and

American Legion baseball American Legion Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played by 13-to-19-year-olds in fifty states in the U.S. and Canada. More than 3,500 teams participate each year. The American Legion Department of South Dakota established the program in 1 ...

as a pitcher and

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. He was also an all- Fox River Valley Conference selectee on both offense and defense as a football player.

Professional baseball

Koplitz signed with the Tigers as an amateur free agent out of Oshkosh High School in 1956, by Tigers scout George Moriarity. Six years earlier, Moriarity had signed Oshkosh pitching star

Billy Hoeft William Frederick Hoeft (May 17, 1932 – March 16, 2010) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) whose career spanned 15 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs and San F ...

Early minor league career

In 1956, the 18-year old Koplitz was assigned to the Class-D

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, where he had a 1–7 won–loss record, and 5.82

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). He improved in 1957, playing for the

Class-C Class C may refer to: * Class-C amplifier, a category of electronic amplifier * Class C (baseball), a defunct class in minor league baseball in North America * Class C stellar classification for a carbon star * Class C drugs, under the Misuse of Dru ...

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, with a 14–4 record and 3.34 ERA while completing 16 of 25 games started with two

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

s. From 1958-60, he played Class-B,

Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...

and Triple-A baseball for five different teams. He pitched the winning game for the

Knoxville Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

in winning the 1959 Single-A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

(Sally League) championship, with a complete game three-hitter. Koplitz had some difficulty early in the season, but finished 9–6 with a 3.66 ERA, and Smokies manager

Johnny Pesky John Michael Pesky (born John Michael Paveskovich; February 27, 1919 – August 13, 2012), nicknamed "the Needle" and "Mr. Red Sox", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was a shorts ...

trusted in Koplitz to start the most important game of the season. In 1961, his sixth season chiefly in the Detroit

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

, he played for the

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Baron ...

. Koplitz posted a 23–3 ( .885) won–lost record, with a 2.11 ERA, and was selected the Most Valuable Player of the Double A

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

. His peak season also included a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

, with fellow Oshkosh native, and future major league

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Dutch Rennert Laurence Henry "Dutch" Rennert Jr. (June 12, 1930June 17, 2018) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1973 to 1992. Early years Rennert was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and graduated from Oshkosh Hi ...

serving as one of the field umpires. He was also named ''

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'' Minor League Player of the Year.

Detroit Tigers and Washington Senators

The performance for Birmingham earned Koplitz his first taste of the majors when rosters were expanded to 40 men after September 1, 1961. In his first game in the big leagues, at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

on September 8, the first batter he faced was future

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Carl Yastrzemski Carl Michael Yastrzemski Sr. ( ; born August 22, 1939), nicknamed "Yaz", is an American former professional baseball player who played his entire career with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He started his career primarily as a ...

, whom he

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safel ...

. In 1961 for the Tigers, he appeared in four games with a 2–0 record and 2.25 ERA. He played one more season in Detroit (1962), starting six games, with a 3–0 record and 5.26 ERA. He also pitched one game for the Triple-A

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in 1962. In December 1963, the Senators selected Koplitz in the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. In 1964, he pitched 17 innings in six games for the Senators. The next year with the Senators constituted his longest time spent in one major league season. Koplitz had 11 starts in 33 pitching appearances for the Senators, pitching over 100 innings for the first and only time in his major league career. He record was 4–7, with a 4.05 ERA. In 1966, his final major league season, Koplitz appeared in only one game for the Senators, pitching two innings. He injured his shoulder in spring training that year and never recovered, his major league career ending at the age of 28. Koplitz went 9–7, with two

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, one save and a 4.21

during his MLB career. He allowed 187

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and 80

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

in 175

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

, with 87

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s. He handled 47

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

(12 putouts, 35 assists) perfectly without an error for a perfect 1.000

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

in his major league career.

Later minor league career

Koplitz spent the 1963 season with the Triple-A

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, going 7–8 with a 3.90 ERA, before being left exposed in the Rule 5 draft later that year. In 1964, he played Triple-A baseball with the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

and

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, with a combined 2.92 ERA, but a 2–12 won-loss record. In 1965, even with his longest stint in the major leagues, Koplitz still started eight games for the Hawaiin Islanders of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. In his final minor league season (1966), at age 28, Koplitz pitched in three games for the Double-A

York White Roses The York White Roses was the name of a minor league baseball team based in the city of York, Pennsylvania, US, that existed between 1894 and 1969. History Early years The York White Roses began as members of the short-lived Keystone Associati ...

Personal life

After retiring, he worked 38 years as a

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clerk in Oshkosh. He also coached the baseball team at Lourdes High School, and was a director of

, in Oshkosh.

Death

Koplitz died on January 2, 2012, in Oshkosh. He was survived by his wife of 49 years Karen (Kimball) Koplitz, five children and numerous grandchildren.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koplitz, Howie 1938 births 2012 deaths Augusta Tigers players Baseball players from Wisconsin Birmingham Barons players Denver Bears players Detroit Tigers players Durham Bulls players Hawaii Islanders players Houston Buffs players Idaho Falls Russets players Jamestown Falcons players Knoxville Smokies players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Oshkosh, Wisconsin Syracuse Chiefs players Tacoma Giants players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players York White Roses players Indios de Mayagüez players American expatriate baseball players in Canada 20th-century American sportsmen