Ken Reitz

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American baseball player (1951–2021)

title: "Ken Reitz" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1951-births", "2021-deaths", "st.-louis-cardinals-players", "san-francisco-giants-players", "chicago-cubs-players", "daytona-beach-explorers-players", "pittsburgh-pirates-players", "st.-petersburg-cardinals-players", "arkansas-travelers-players", "tulsa-oilers-(baseball)-players", "gulf-coast-cardinals-players", "cedar-rapids-cardinals-players", "orlando-juice-players", "tulsa-drillers-players", "san-jose-bees-players", "louisville-redbirds-players", "major-league-baseball-third-basemen", "gold-glove-award-winners", "national-league-all-stars", "baseball-players-from-san-francisco", "jefferson-high-school-(daly-city,-california)-alumni", "20th-century-american-sportsmen"] description: "American baseball player (1951–2021)" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Reitz" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American baseball player (1951–2021) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox baseball biography"]

Field	Value
name	Ken Reitz
image	Ken Reitz St Louis Cardinals.jpg
position	Third baseman
bats	Right
throws	Right
birth_date
birth_place	San Francisco, California, U.S.
death_date
death_place	St. Charles, Missouri, U.S.
debutleague	MLB
debutdate	September 5
debutyear	1972
debutteam	St. Louis Cardinals
finalleague	MLB
finaldate	June 3
finalyear	1982
finalteam	Pittsburgh Pirates
statleague	MLB
stat1label	Batting average
stat1value	.260
stat2label	Home runs
stat2value	68
stat3label	Runs batted in
stat3value	548
::

St. Louis Cardinals (–)
San Francisco Giants ()
St. Louis Cardinals (–)
Chicago Cubs ()
Pittsburgh Pirates () |highlights=
All-Star (1980)
Gold Glove Award (1975) Kenneth John Reitz (June 24, 1951March 31, 2021) was an American baseball third baseman who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Zamboni", he played for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1972 to 1982. He won the Gold Glove Award in 1975 and was an All-Star in 1980. He retired with the highest all-time career fielding percentage for National League third basemen at .970 after leading the National League in fielding percentage a record six times.

Early life

Reitz was born in San Francisco on June 24, 1951. He attended Jefferson High School in nearby Daly City. He was subsequently drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 31st round of the 1969 Major League Baseball draft.

Professional career

Reitz played four seasons in the minor leagues from 1969 to 1972. He made his MLB debut on September 5, 1972, at the age of 21, In his rookie season the following year, he replaced Joe Torre as the Cardinals' starting third baseman, with Torre returning to first base. Reitz garnered the nickname "Zamboni" for his skill at scooping up ground balls on the artificial turf of Busch Memorial Stadium. He led all National League (NL) third basemen in fielding percentage in 1973 and 1974, and won the NL Gold Glove Award at the position in 1975.

Reitz played just one season with the Giants before being traded back to the Cardinals for Lynn McGlothen on December 10, 1976. He again led the NL in fielding percentage at third base in 1977, 1978, and 1980. He was a starter in the 1980 MLB All-Star Game. He was subsequently traded to the Chicago Cubs for Bruce Sutter on December 9 of that same year. He led NL third basemen in fielding percentage for a sixth time in 1981, but played in just 82 games and was released prior to the 1982 season. He signed for the Pittsburgh Pirates in mid-May and went hitless in 11 plate appearances. He played his final major league game on June 3, 1982, several weeks short of his 31st birthday, and was released two days later.

In his career, Reitz batted .260 with 68 home runs and 548 RBIs in 1344 games played. finishing the season at .270. After batting .235 during his rookie season he finished below .250 only once over the next seven seasons. In each of his first five full seasons he increased his RBI production: 42 in 1973, 54 in 1974, 63 in 1975, 66 in 1976 (his only season with his hometown Giants), and 79 in 1977. Reitz established a career-high in home runs in 1977 with 17 – the same number he had hit in his previous three seasons total.

Reitz played a key role in the second-longest major league game played in terms of innings. On September 11, 1974, against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium, with the Cardinals trailing 3–1 with two out in the ninth and pinch runner Larry Herndon on base, he hit a home run off starter Jerry Koosman to send the game into extra innings. The score remained tied 3–3 until Bake McBride scored the winning run from first base on two Met errors in the top of the 25th inning.

Later life

After retiring from baseball, Reitz undertook promotional work for the Cardinals,

Ken Reitz died on March 31, 2021, at the age of 69. Survivors include a daughter, son, and six grandchildren.

References

"Third Base Fielding Average Records".
"Career Leaders & Records for Fielding % as 3B".
"Ken Reitz Statistics and History". Sports Reference LLC.
"Ken Reitz Minor League Statistics and History". Sports Reference LLC.
(September 5, 1972). "September 5, 1972 Montreal Expos at St. Louis Cardinals Play by Play and Box Score". Sports Reference LLC.
Feldmann, Doug. (December 15, 2008). "St. Louis Cardinals Past & Present". MVP Books.
Verducci, Tom. (September 17, 2016). "San Jose Bees were the weirdest team ever". SI.com.
Clair, Michael. (January 16, 2017). "The stories behind 10 of the strangest forgotten nicknames in baseball history". MLB Advanced Media.
[https://www.nytimes.com/1976/12/11/archives/pro-transactions.html "Pro Transactions," ''The New York Times'', Saturday, December 11, 1976.] Retrieved October 21, 2022.
(July 8, 1980). "1980 All-Star Game Play by Play and Box Score". Sports Reference LLC.
"September 11, 1974: Cardinals prevail over Mets in 25 innings at Shea Stadium". Society for American Baseball Research.
(September 11, 1974). "September 11, 1974 St. Louis Cardinals at New York Mets Play by Play and Box Score". Sports Reference LLC.
Schildroth, Keith. (May 26, 2011). "Catching Up With Former Cardinals Player Reitz". Hale Global.

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