Baseball players from Ohio

Thomas John Norton (born April 26, 1950) is a former professional baseball relief pitcher who played for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB) in its 1972 season.

Lloyd Albert Moore (June 10, 1912 – December 10, 1987) was an American Major League Baseball player who was a right-handed pitcher from 1936 to 1942. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds. He stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg).

James Verlin Mertz (August 10, 1916 – February 4, 2003) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Washington Senators, appearing in 33 games, all during the 1943 season, making ten starts, while notching three saves.

John Andrew Charles Kucek (born June 8, 1953), or JACK for short, is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and Toronto Blue Jays from 1974 to 1980.

Robert George Kline [Junior] (December 9, 1909 – March 16, 1987) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams between the 1930 and 1934 seasons. Listed at 6' 3", 200 lb., Kline batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Enterprise, Ohio.

Dennis Paul Kinney (born February 26, 1952) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played all or parts of five seasons in the majors, from 1978 until 1982. He played high school baseball for Bedford Senior High School in Temperance, Michigan.
Kinney was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 10th round of the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft, and he played in their organization through his major league debut in 1978. He was given a chance at closing games for the Indians, notching five saves in 18 games. That June, however, he was traded to the San Diego Padres for pitcher Dan Spillner.
Kinney's one full season in the majors came in 1980 for the Padres. That year, he pitched in 50 games as a reliever, compiling a 4–6 record with a 4.25 ERA and one save. In December, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers for outfielder Dave Stegman, but appeared in just six games for the Tigers before being released in the offseason. After a brief trial with the Oakland Athletics in 1982, his major league career was over.
On August 21, 1980, with the Padres trailing the host Philadelphia Phillies, 7–6, Kinney came in to pitch the bottom of the 8th inning surrendering a single and a run-scoring double to the first two batters he faced. The Padres rallied with 2 runs of their own in the top of the 9th inning to tie the score, 8–8. The relief appearance lasted 91⁄3 innings as Bake McBride's triple plated a run in the bottom of the 17th inning for the Phillies' 9–8 victory.

Melvin Nicholas Held (born April 12, 1929) is an American former professional baseball player. He appeared in four Major League Baseball games as a relief pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles at the outset of the 1956 season, and had a 13-year career in minor league baseball. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 178 pounds (81 kg).
Held, nicknamed "Country", was a nine-year minor league veteran when he pitched for the Orioles in 1956, having signed with the team when it was the St. Louis Browns in 1947. His performance during the 1955 season for the San Antonio Missions of the Class AA Texas League — he posted a 24–7 won-lost record and a 2.87 earned run average — earned him a call-up to Baltimore the following year.
In his first two MLB games, on April 27–28, Held pitched a total of three innings of scoreless relief against the Washington Senators. In his next two appearances, however, in May against the first-division Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees, Held surrendered four earned runs and five hits in four innings. Altogether, Held gave up seven hits in seven innings pitched in MLB, with three walks and four strikeouts. Held was sent back to the minor leagues for good at the May cutdown. His career continued through 1959, and he won 131 minor-league games.

Wynn Firth Hawkins (February 20, 1936 – February 11, 2021) was an American professional baseball player, scout and executive. During his active career, he was a right-handed pitcher who was signed by the Cleveland Indians before the 1955 season, and played in the Major Leagues with the Indians from 1960 to 1962. He attended Baldwin Wallace University, where he was a star in basketball. Hawkins stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg).
Hawkins was perhaps best known for giving up Ted Williams's 500th home run (June 17, 1960). He appeared in 48 games (with 30 starts) during his three seasons with the Tribe. During his career, Hawkins gave up 99 walks in just 2022⁄3 innings pitched, for a BB/9IP of 4.40, higher than the American League average at that time. He finished his career with a total of 12 wins, 13 losses, 1 save, 11 games finished, and an ERA of 4.17.
Career highlights for Hawkins include pitching the first 11 innings of a 12-inning game, giving up one unearned run and defeating the Detroit Tigers 2–1 (April 26, 1960), a five-hit, complete-game victory over the Boston Red Sox, winning 10–1 (April 30, 1961), and a two-hit, complete-game shutout against the Minnesota Twins (May 21, 1961).
After his pitching career, Hawkins was a scout for the Indians, and served as the team's traveling secretary as well as in sales. Hawkins died on February 11, 2021, at his home in Canfield, Ohio.

Ray Wilson Hathaway (October 13, 1916 – February 11, 2015) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who appeared in four games for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945. The 28-year-old rookie right-hander stood 6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m) and weighed 165 pounds (75 kg).
Hathaway was born in Greenville, Ohio in October 1916. He was one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the major leagues during World War II. He made his major league debut on April 20, 1945 in relief against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. In his one major league start, the Dodgers lost to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, 5–3, on May 28, 1945. Season and career totals for 4 games include a 0–1 record, 1 start, no complete games, 3 games finished, and an ERA of 4.00 in 9 innings pitched.
He had a lengthy career as a minor league baseball manager following his playing days. He was inducted in the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame. Hathaway was the uncle of former major league pitcher Dave Burba.
At the time of his death in February 2015, he had been the second oldest former major league player still alive. Ironically the only man he was behind in this distinction, Mike Sandlock, was a teammate and played in Hathaway's first major league game, and Hathaway's only career start batting 8th just ahead of Hathaway in that game. This means Ray was never the oldest living player from his major league debut, or even the oldest living player to bat in the same inning as he had batted. (Sandlock batted before him in both of Ray's major league at bats.) His nephew is former Giants pitcher Dave Burba.

Donald Grate (August 27, 1923 – November 22, 2014) was an American former professional baseball and pro basketball player. He played both Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies (seven games pitched over two seasons, 1945–1946) and NBA basketball as a small forward/shooting guard for the Sheboygan Redskins (two games played during the 1949–1950 season). Grate was listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and 180 pounds (82 kg).