Red Kress, baseball player, 1927-1946

Red Kress

Born: 1/2/1905 in Columbia, CA, USA

Died: 11/29/1962 in Los Angeles, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1927-09-24 | Final Game: 1946-07-17

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 165 lbs

Full name: Ralph Kress

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Biography

Red Kress was a notable American professional baseball player, born in 1905, whose career spanned from 1927 until his retirement in 1946. Primarily recognized as a position player, Kress made a significant impact in Major League Baseball during his time, appearing in 1,391 games. He accumulated a total of 1,454 hits, demonstrating his consistent ability to reach base, while maintaining a solid batting average of .286. Kress showcased his power at the plate with 89 home runs and contributed significantly to his teams with 799 RBIs. Additionally, he displayed speed on the base paths, successfully stealing 47 bases over his career. Kress played during a transformative era in baseball, navigating the game through the late 1920s and into the post-World War II years. His contributions as a reliable hitter and versatile player helped him carve out a respected place in the game’s history. Throughout his career, Kress was known for his competitive spirit and skill, attributes that made him a valuable asset to the teams he played for and a well-regarded figure in the sport.

Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
73.0 66.0 9.0 14.0 5.0 0 0 2.0 6.0 3.0 1.0 0.212 0.278 0.288 0.566

Pitching

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA
3.0 0 0 1.0 1.0 0 0 0.0 11.0 5.0 5.0 0 0 0 4.82

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1929 21.0 17.0 3.0 4.0 1.0 0 0 0 3.0 0 0 0.235 0.350 0.294 0.644
1930 8.0 8.0 0 2.0 1.0 0 0 2.0 0 0 0 0.250 0.250 0.375 0.625
1935 13.0 13.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 0 0 0 0 2.0 1.0 0.154 0.154 0.231 0.385
1939 13.0 11.0 2.0 2.0 0 0 0 0 2.0 1.0 0 0.182 0.308 0.182 0.490
1941 15.0 14.0 3.0 4.0 2.0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0.286 0.333 0.429 0.762
1943 3.0 3.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching

Season W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA
1943 3.0 0 0 1.0 1.0 0 0 0.0 11.0 5.0 5.0 0 0 0 4.82

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 4 0 0 0 0 9.3 13 13 1 6 6 12.54 0

Career ERA 12.54 vs. league average 3.96 across their career seasons — 216.4% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1935 WSN AL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 5.7 8 8 5 5 12.71 — -
1946 NY1 NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3.7 5 5 1 1 12.27 — 0.0

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1391 5087 691 1454 298 58 89 799 47 474 453 0.286 0.347 0.420 0.767 3460.1

Career AVG .286 vs. league average .278 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .347 vs. league average .342 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .420 vs. league average .395 across their career seasons — +6.3% above league average.

Career OPS 0.767 vs. league average 0.736 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1927 SLA AL 7 23 3 7 2 1 1 3 0 3 3 0.304 — — — — 0.0
1928 SLA AL 150 560 78 153 26 10 3 81 5 48 70 0.273 .280 (-3%) .342 (-3%) .395 (-6%) .737 (-5%) -582.1
1929 SLA AL 147 557 82 170 38 4 9 107 5 52 54 0.305 .289 (+5%) .353 (+3%) .415 (+5%) .769 (+4%) 517.2
1930 SLA AL 154 614 94 192 43 8 16 112 3 50 56 0.313 .293 (+6%) .354 (+3%) .429 (+13%) .784 (+9%) 1131.2
1931 SLA AL 150 605 87 188 46 8 16 114 3 46 48 0.311 .276 (+12%) .338 (+7%) .388 (+27%) .726 (+17%) 1999.7
1932 SLA AL 14 52 2 9 0 1 2 9 1 4 6 0.173 .275 (-37%) .335 (-31%) .391 (-16%) .726 (-23%) -210.5
1932 CHW AL 135 515 83 147 42 4 9 57 6 47 36 0.285 .275 (+4%) .335 (+3%) .391 (+11%) .726 (+8%) -210.5
1933 CHW AL 129 467 47 116 20 5 10 78 4 37 40 0.248 .270 (-8%) .329 (-8%) .377 (avg) .707 (-4%) -415.7
1934 CHW AL 8 14 3 4 0 0 0 1 0 3 3 0.286 — — — — 0.0
1934 WSN AL 56 171 18 39 4 3 4 24 3 17 19 0.228 .278 (-18%) .340 (-12%) .392 (-9%) .733 (-11%) 0.0
1935 WSN AL 84 252 32 75 13 4 2 42 3 25 16 0.298 .279 (+6%) .342 (+5%) .399 (+1%) .742 (+3%) 164.2
1936 WSN AL 109 391 51 111 20 6 8 51 6 39 25 0.284 .283 (avg) .349 (avg) .404 (+6%) .753 (+3%) 190.1
1938 SLA AL 150 566 74 171 33 3 7 79 5 69 47 0.302 .272 (+11%) .341 (+11%) .392 (+4%) .734 (+7%) 977.9
1939 SLA AL 13 43 5 12 1 0 0 8 1 6 2 0.279 — — — — 0.0
1939 DET AL 51 157 19 38 7 0 1 22 2 17 16 0.242 .274 (-12%) .342 (-8%) .393 (-22%) .735 (-15%) 0.0
1940 DET AL 33 99 13 22 3 1 1 11 0 10 12 0.222 .267 (-17%) .335 (-12%) .387 (-22%) .722 (-17%) -291.6
1946 NY1 NL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 162 0 1636 88 36 121
2B 59 0 138 166 7 38
3B 170 0 194 307 43 27
OF 124 0 256 21 14 3
P 4 0 2 6 0 1
SS 835 0 1761 2357 243 558

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1927 SLA SS 7 0 12 25 1 4
1928 SLA SS 150 0 318 400 55 99
1929 SLA SS 146 0 312 441 43 94
1930 SLA 3B 31 0 35 57 10 4
1930 SLA SS 123 0 271 349 41 83
1931 SLA 1B 10 0 94 10 4 8
1931 SLA 3B 84 0 92 141 16 12
1931 SLA OF 40 0 82 8 5 1
1931 SLA SS 38 0 37 47 6 7
1932 SLA 3B 14 0 23 27 5 5
1932 CHA 1B 1 0 10 2 0 4
1932 CHA 3B 19 0 17 34 6 4
1932 CHA OF 64 0 139 12 7 2
1932 CHA SS 53 0 125 155 19 35
1933 CHA 1B 111 0 1169 60 28 83
1933 CHA OF 8 0 16 0 1 0
1934 CHA 2B 3 0 5 2 0 0
1934 WS1 1B 30 0 291 11 2 16
1934 WS1 2B 6 0 18 15 0 4
1934 WS1 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1934 WS1 OF 10 0 15 1 0 0
1934 WS1 SS 1 0 4 5 0 1
1935 WS1 1B 5 0 35 2 1 8
1935 WS1 2B 1 0 0 2 0 0
1935 WS1 OF 2 0 4 0 1 0
1935 WS1 P 3 0 0 3 0 0
1935 WS1 SS 53 0 118 204 12 53
1936 WS1 1B 5 0 37 3 1 2
1936 WS1 2B 33 0 86 100 1 21
1936 WS1 SS 64 0 143 212 28 52
1938 SLA SS 150 0 321 388 26 100
1939 SLA SS 13 0 27 29 4 10
1939 DET 2B 16 0 29 47 6 13
1939 DET 3B 4 0 7 7 1 1
1939 DET SS 25 0 48 69 5 15
1940 DET 3B 17 0 20 41 5 1
1940 DET SS 12 0 25 33 3 5
1946 NY1 P 1 0 2 3 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 4
First Base 162
Second Base 59
Third Base 174
Shortstop 830
Left Field 22
Right Field 103

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1929 Baseball Magazine All-Star SS

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1931 Most Valuable Player AL 19th 3.0 80 0