Rudy Kemmler

Born: 1860 in Chicago, IL, USA

Died: 6/20/1909 in Chicago, IL, USA

MLB Debut: 1879-07-26 | Final Game: 1889-08-11

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 206 lbs

Full name: Rudolph Kemmler

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Biography

Rudy Kemmler was born in 1860 and played professional baseball from 1879 until his retirement on August 11, 1889. As a position player in the late 19th century, Kemmler appeared in 236 games throughout his career, primarily during an era defined by the transition from the deadball era to a more modern approach to the game. His offensive statistics included 166 hits and 11 runs batted in, with a batting average of .193, reflecting the challenging conditions players faced in that period. Kemmler’s playing style was characterized by his tenacity and work ethic, although he did not achieve significant power numbers, finishing his career with zero home runs and no stolen bases. While his individual statistics may not have placed him among the greats of his time, Kemmler's contributions to his teams during a formative time in baseball history reflect the struggles and aspirations of players in the early days of the sport. His career spanned a decade of evolution in baseball, which laid the groundwork for the more dynamic styles of play that would emerge in subsequent years.

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
236	860	80	166	18	6	0	11	0	42	5	0.193	0.232	0.228	0.460	-2903.7

Career AVG .193 vs. league average .251 across their career seasons — 23.1% below league average.

Career OBP .232 vs. league average .294 across their career seasons — 21.0% below league average.

Career SLG .228 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — 32.1% below league average.

Career OPS 0.460 vs. league average 0.630 across their career seasons — 26.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1879	PRO	NL	2	7	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.143	—	—	—	—	0.0
1881	CL2	NL	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1882	CN2	AA	3	11	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0.091	—	—	—	—	0.0
1882	PT1	AA	24	97	8	23	4	0	0	1	0	0.237	.248 (-4%)	.275 (-11%)	.329 (-16%)	.605 (-14%)	0.0
1883	CL5	AA	84	318	27	66	6	2	0	13	0	0.208	.257 (-19%)	.285 (-17%)	.345 (-31%)	.631 (-24%)	-1200.0
1884	CL5	AA	61	211	28	42	3	3	0	15	0	0.199	.243 (-18%)	.278 (-10%)	.327 (-26%)	.606 (-19%)	-542.5
1885	PT1	AA	18	64	2	13	2	1	5	2	0	0.203	.244 (-17%)	.287 (-17%)	.325 (-18%)	.613 (-18%)	-163.5
1886	SL4	AA	35	123	13	17	2	0	6	8	0	0.138	.246 (-44%)	.302 (-35%)	.331 (-53%)	.634 (-45%)	-813.5
1889	CL6	AA	8	26	2	3	0	0	0	3	3	0.115	—	—	—	—	0.0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	PO	A	E	DP
1B	5	45	2	3	2
C	227	1085	331	169	19
OF	5	5	2	2	1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
1879	PRO	C	2	13	7	4	0
1881	CL2	C	1	5	2	0	1
1882	CN2	C	3	8	2	1	0
1882	CN2	OF	1	0	0	0	0
1882	PT1	C	23	123	37	15	1
1882	PT1	OF	1	0	0	0	0
1883	CL5	C	82	388	97	71	10
1883	CL5	OF	2	2	2	2	1
1884	CL5	1B	2	22	0	1	1
1884	CL5	C	58	268	77	36	3
1884	CL5	OF	1	3	0	0	0
1885	PT1	C	18	86	28	17	0
1886	SL4	1B	3	23	2	2	1
1886	SL4	C	32	159	63	21	3
1889	CL6	C	8	35	18	4	1