Billy Klaus

Billy Klaus
Shortstop / Third baseman
Born: (1928-12-09)December 9, 1928 Fox Lake, Illinois
Died: Sarasota, Florida
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 16, 1952, for the Boston Braves
Last MLB appearance
May 12, 1963, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
Batting average	.249
Home runs	40
Runs batted in	250
Teams
Boston Braves (1952) Milwaukee Braves (1953) Boston Red Sox (1955–1958) Baltimore Orioles (1959–1960) Washington Senators (1961) Philadelphia Phillies (1962–1963) Chunichi Dragons (1963)

William Joseph Klaus (December 9, 1928 – December 3, 2006) was a shortstop and third baseman in Major League Baseball who played with the Boston & Milwaukee Braves (1952–53), Boston Red Sox (1955–58), Baltimore Orioles (1959–60), Washington Senators (1961) and Philadelphia Phillies (1962–63). He played the end of the 1963 season in Japan for the Chunichi Dragons. Born in Fox Lake, Illinois, he batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He is the older brother of infielder Bobby Klaus who played in 1964 and 1965 for the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets.

In his 1955 rookie season with the Red Sox, Klaus had a career-high .283 batting average with seven home runs and 60 RBI (also a career-high), and finished second in American League Rookie of the Year voting behind Herb Score. A year later, he put almost identical numbers (.271, 7, 59), and in 1957 he belted a high-career 10 home runs.

In an 11-season career, Klaus was a .249 hitter with 40 home runs and 250 RBI in 821 games. He had 626 hits in 2513 at bats.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
• Baseball Library
• Herald-Tribune: Sarasota retiree was Boston Red Sox 'backbone' in 1955
• Obituary at Herald-Tribune