Cleveland Indians players

James Michael Rittwage (October 23, 1944 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for one season. He pitched eight games for the Cleveland Indians during the 1970 season.

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.

Robert Edward Kelly (born October 4, 1927) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for four seasons for the Chicago Cubs from 1951 to 1953, the Cincinnati Redlegs in 1953 and 1958, and the Cleveland Indians in 1958.
Kelly led East Cleveland Shaw High School to a state title in 1944, compiling a 7–2 record in 13 games with 75 strikeouts. He attended Purdue University, where he played college baseball for the Boilermakers from 1946 to 1947. Kelly also pitched collegiately for Western Reserve (now Case Western Reserve University) from 1948 to 1949. As of 2022, Kelly is the last surviving Major Leaguer to have been managed by Rogers Hornsby and Frankie Frisch.

Robert Thomas Kaiser (born April 29, 1950) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher, a left-handed reliever who appeared in five games for the Cleveland Indians during the 1971 season. Kaiser stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg).
Selected in the second round in the 1968 Major League Baseball Draft, Kaiser was recalled by Cleveland after spending the 1971 season at three levels of minor league baseball, Class A through Triple-A. In his MLB debut, he surrendered a home run to the first batter he faced, Duane Josephson of the Boston Red Sox. But he finished the inning strongly by striking out a future Hall of Famer, Carl Yastrzemski.All told, he allowed eight hits and three earned runs in six MLB innings pitched, with three bases on balls and four strikeouts. He did not record a save.

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.

Oscar Ray Grimes Jr. (April 13, 1915 – May 19, 1993) was a utility infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians (1938–1942), New York Yankees (1943–1946) and Philadelphia Athletics (1946). Grimes batted and threw right-handed.
He was born in Minerva, Ohio.
In a nine-season career, Grimes posted a .256 batting average with 18 home runs and 200 RBI in 602 games played.
Grimes died in Westlake, Ohio, at the age of 78. He played semi-pro football for the Minerva Merchants.

Rodney Blaine Graber (June 20, 1930 in Massillon, Ohio - December 5, 2014 in San Diego, California) was a former Major League Baseball center fielder. He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cleveland Indians in 1949. He did not play in the major leagues until 1958, where he went 1 for 8 over two games played as an outfielder. He did not make an error and had four putouts.

Jerome Matthew "Jerry" Dybzinski (born July 7, 1955) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Pittsburgh Pirates.

James Cyril Bolger (February 23, 1932 – April 9, 2020) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He appeared in 312 games over all or parts of seven Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, but spent over two-thirds of his big-league playing time — 260 games — as a member of the Chicago Cubs. Bolger had short stints with the Cincinnati Reds (nine games), Cleveland Indians (eight), and Philadelphia Phillies (35 games). His MLB totals included 140 hits, 14 doubles, six triples, and six home runs, with a career batting average of .229. Bolger threw and batted right-handed. During his playing days, he stood 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 180 pounds (82 kg).
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Bolger attended Purcell Marian High School. He began his pro career with the 1950 Reds, also playing Minor League Baseball (MiLB) in their farm system.
On October 14, 1951, Bolger was traded by the Cincinnati Redlegs to Buffalo for pitchers Moe Savransky and Tom Acker.Bolger's best MLB season came in 1957. He spent the full season with the Cubs as their fourth outfielder, appeared in 112 games (starting 57, including two starts as a third baseman), and batted a career-high .275, in 273 at-bats. The previous year, Bolger had been named a Pacific Coast League (PCL) all-star, after he batted .326, with 147 runs batted in, 193 hits, and 28 home runs, as a member of the Los Angeles Angels.
Bolger's 13-year professional career ended in 1962, after he batted .319 for the Triple-A Louisville Colonels.
Bolger died on April 9, 2020, at the age of 88.

Henry Alexander Ruszkowski (November 10, 1925 – May 31, 2000) was an American professional baseball player. A catcher, he appeared in 40 Major League games over parts of three seasons for the Cleveland Indians (1944–1945; 1947). Listed at 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m), 190 pounds (86 kg), Ruszkowski batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio.During his Major League career, Ruszkowski was a .238 hitter (20-for-84) with three home runs, two doubles and a .310 on-base percentage. He also played seven minor league seasons between 1944 and 1954, appearing in 298 games.Ruszkowski died in his native Cleveland at the age of 74.