Russell Paul Kemmerer (November 1, 1930 – December 8, 2014) was an American
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
player. He was 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 ...
who played for the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
(–), the
Washington Senators (–), 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) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
(–), and the
Houston Colt .45s
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...
(–) to finish his career.
Baseball career
The -tall, Kemmerer attended the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
.
Kemmerer debuted for the Sox on June 27, 1954. Kemmerer switched off between
relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
and
starting in his early years, starting eleven games for the Red Sox, while appearing in twenty-seven for the team, before being traded to Washington. By the latter part of his career, he was strictly used out of the
bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...
. On June 22, 1962, he was traded to Houston for left-handed pitcher
Dean Stone
Darrah Dean Stone (September 1, 1930 – August 21, 2018) was an American professional baseball baseball player, player, a pitcher who appeared in 166 games pitched, games over all or parts of eight Major League Baseball seasons. The well-traveled ...
; ironically, Stone was one of the players obtained by Boston on April 29, 1957, when they traded Kemmerer to the Senators. Kemmerer ended his MLB career with Houston on June 23, 1963, although he pitched in the Triple-A
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 ...
through the following season.
Kemmerer finished with 43
wins WINS may refer to:
*WINS (AM), an all-news radio station in New York City
*WINS-FM, a radio station in New York City
*World Institute for Nuclear Security
*Windows Internet Name Service
*WINS (solution stack), a set of software subsystems
*Wireles ...
and 59
losses, good for a .422
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 ...
in a nine-year career. He pitched in 302 games (starting 109) and
completed 24 of them (2 of those shutouts). He finished with 1066
innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...
, 505
strike out
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denot ...
s, and a 4.46
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.
Compa ...
. He allowed a total of 1144
hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
, 588
runs, and 389
walks.
As a batter, Kemmerer finished with a .128
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 ...
.
Post-baseball
Following his MLB career, Kemmerer entered the pastoral ministry and coached youth sports.
He died December 8, 2014.
See also
*
List of University of Pittsburgh people
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemmerer, Russ
1930 births
2014 deaths
Baseball players from Pittsburgh
Boston Red Sox players
Chicago White Sox players
Glenville State Pioneers baseball players
Houston Colt .45s players
Louisville Colonels (minor league) players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Oklahoma City 89ers players
Pittsburgh Panthers baseball players
Roanoke Ro-Sox players
San Francisco Seals (baseball) players
Scranton Red Sox players
Washington Senators (1901–1960) players