Ronald Dale Kittle (born January 5, 1958) is an American former
left fielder
In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...
and
designated hitter
The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...
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). He was known for his
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
hitting power, and was named the 1983
AL Rookie of the Year
In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...
. Kittle played for the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
(1982–1986, 1989, 1991),
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
(1986–87),
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...
(1988) and
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...
(1990). He batted and threw right-handed. Kittle was also a manager for the minor league
Schaumburg Flyers
The Schaumburg Flyers were a professional baseball team based in Schaumburg, Illinois, in the United States. The team played in the Northern League from 1999 to 2010, with their home games at Alexian Field, near the Elgin O'Hare Expressway. T ...
.
Career
The son of a steelworker, Kittle planned to work with his dad after high school, complete with being given his own ironworkers apprentice union card after graduating. However, he was enticed to seek out a tryout camp that was being held in
La Porte, Indiana
La Porte () is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States, of which it is the county seat. Its population was estimated to be 21,341 in 2022. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana metropolitan stat ...
by the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
. An ideal showing from the 18-year-old eventually led to scouts from the team signing him to a contract in 1976, and he would go to play with baseball in
Clinton, Iowa
Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. It borders the Mississippi River. The population was 24,469 as of 2020 United States census, 2020.
Clinton, along with DeWitt, Iowa, DeWitt (also located in Clinto ...
. On his first baserunning play trying to score a run, he broke his neck when the catcher landed on him. For the rest of the year, he tried to play on what later diagnosed as a broken neck, complete with three crushed vertebrae and a cracked spinal cord. He had his discs fused while having his spine stabilized. For the next couple of years, he served as an ironworker while trying to build his body back up, trying to defy the expectations of his doctors that said he would never play baseball again (due to his injury, he could no longer hit from both sides of the plate).
A few years later, he took a suggestion to play summer ball, doing so with the American Hellinic Educational Progressive Association. One of his towering home runs went far enough from the park to land on Interstate 294, "500-plus feet away".
Bill Veeck
William Louis Veeck Jr. ( ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill" and "Wild Bill" was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indian ...
, then owner of the White Sox, heard about the home run and gave him a tryout. He signed with the White Sox in September 1978.
Kittle hit 50 homers in the minor leagues with the
Edmonton Trappers
The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in Edmonton, Alberta. They were a part of the Triple-A level in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Their home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton.
The ...
and has his jersey retired in
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
at
Telus Field
RE/MAX Field (formerly Edmonton Ballpark, and Telus Field) is a baseball stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It has been home to several minor league baseball clubs; its last affiliated tenant was the Edmonton Trappers, a AAA Pacific Coast Lea ...
. He was voted winner of 1982's
Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player Award
The Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best player in Minor League Baseball's Pacific Coast League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. From 1932 to 1947, the ...
. He hit ninety home runs in the minors combined from the span of 1981 to 1982. He made his MLB debut at nearly 25 years old in September of 1982. Kittle was a popular player on the 1983 "
winning ugly" Chicago White Sox when they won 99 games and made their first playoff appearance since the
1959 World Series
The 1959 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1959 season. The 56th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the ...
. That season, Kittle was selected an
All-Star
An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry.
Sports
"All-star" as a sport ...
and won
Rookie of the Year honors after hitting 35 home runs (club record for a rookie) and 100 RBI.
Kittle maintained his home run power, but after 1983 his
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 ...
declined and his
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 increased. Kittle left the White Sox after 1986 and played part of 1986 before being traded midway through a game to the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
; he played the ensuing 1987 season with them. Kittle then played 1988 with the Cleveland Indians. He briefly returned again to the White Sox in
1990
Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
, sharing playing time at
first base
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
with
Carlos Martínez.
["Kittle rips trade to Baltimore," ''United Press International'' (UPI), Monday, July 30, 1990.](_blank)
Retrieved December 7, 2021 He batted .245 with 16 homers and 43
RBI but struck out 77 times in 277
at-bat
In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...
s through the first four months of that season.
[Sheinin, Dave. "Orioles Strike Deal Bradley Traded for Kittle," ''The Washington Post'', Tuesday, July 31, 1990.](_blank)
Retrieved December 7, 2021
Kittle was acquired by the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...
from the White Sox for
Phil Bradley
Philip Poole Bradley (born March 11, 1959) is an American former professional baseball outfielder / designated hitter who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the American League (AL) Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, and Chicago White S ...
on July 30, 1990.
He was resentful of the trade which brought forth the possibility of
Frank Thomas
Frank Edward Thomas Jr. (born May 27, 1968), nicknamed "the Big Hurt," is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for three American League (AL) teams from 1990 to ...
being promoted from the minors.
In need of a right-handed power hitter, the Orioles received a player with a $550,000 salary as opposed to the $1.15 million that Bradley was earning. Baltimore general manager
Roland Hemond
Roland A. Hemond (October 26, 1929 – December 12, 2021) was an American professional baseball executive who worked in Major League Baseball. He served as the scouting director of the California Angels, general manager of the Chicago White Sox ...
was criticized by the ''
Daily Press'' for bringing on too many ex-White Sox like Kittle,
Greg Walker,
Kevin Hickey,
Tim Hulett
Timothy Craig Hulett Sr. (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional baseball infielder in the major leagues from -, who currently serves as the head baseball coach at Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was th ...
and
Dave Gallagher
David Thomas Gallagher (born September 20, 1960) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven teams from –.
Early life
Gallagher was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and grew up in t ...
. He became a free agent again in the off-season when the Orioles, who had earlier signed
Dwight Evans, elected not to exercise the option on his contract on December 15, 1990.
"Orioles choose not to exercise option on Kittle's contract," ''United Press International'' (UPI), Saturday, December 15, 1990.
Retrieved December 7, 2021
He returned to the White Sox again for the 1991 season. On a pitch during the season, he swung on it and blacked out. A doctor's examination found that if he kept trying to play, he would run the risk of paralysis. Wanting to see his children grow up with an able-bodied dad, he elected to retire in August of that year. Kittle appeared in 843 games over the course of his 10–year MLB career. He recorded 176 home runs and 460 runs batted in.
Managerial career
In 1998, Kittle was hired as the first manager of the non-affiliated minor league Schaumburg Flyers
The Schaumburg Flyers were a professional baseball team based in Schaumburg, Illinois, in the United States. The team played in the Northern League from 1999 to 2010, with their home games at Alexian Field, near the Elgin O'Hare Expressway. T ...
of the Northern League. During the early years of the Flyers franchise, Kittle did a series of TV commercials to promote the team, using the gimmick " Ma Kittle," where he played both himself and his "Ma Kittle." The ads were successful at sparking some initial interest in the team as the Flyers hoped to steal away fans from the nearby Kane County Cougars
The Kane County Cougars are a professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois, and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their home games a ...
, then a Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park.
The ...
Class A team. The ad mimicked the highly successful Converse
Converse may refer to:
Mathematics and logic
* Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement
** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication
** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...
ads where Larry Johnson starred as both himself and "Grandmama." Kittle resigned his position in 2001.
Personal life
Kittle was married from 1984 until 2010 and has two children.
Kittle's memoirs, ''Ron Kittle's Tales from the White Sox Dugout'', was published in 2005. Co-written with Bob Logan, who also co-wrote Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...
's book ''Come Fly with Me'', the book features anecdotes from Kittle's time as a major leaguer, mostly with the White Sox.
Kittle builds custom collectible benches out of baseballs, bats and bases. He also works in public relations for the White Sox.
References
External links
Ron Kittle's website
Ron Kittle's Celebrity Annual Golf Outing website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kittle, Ron
1958 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
American League All-Stars
Appleton Foxes players
20th-century American sportsmen
Baltimore Orioles players
Baseball players from Gary, Indiana
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Chicago White Sox players
Cleveland Indians players
Columbus Clippers players
Clinton Dodgers players
Edmonton Trappers players
Glens Falls White Sox players
Knoxville Sox players
Lethbridge Dodgers players
Major League Baseball designated hitters
Major League Baseball left fielders
Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners
New York Yankees players
Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010) managers
People from Chesterton, Indiana
Sportspeople from Valparaiso, Indiana
Pacific Coast League MVP award winners
Vancouver Canadians players