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Chuck Klein is a member of baseball's hall of fame, and played for the Chicago Cubs in 1934 and 1935. The Hoosier part of his nickname came from his Indiana roots, the Kraut part, of course, came from his German heritage, and needless to say, the hammerer and clouting part of those nicknames were inspired by his propensity for hitting home runs. The inspiration for the names might not have been original, but they sure sound cool.
The Cubs got the big slugger just after he won the Triple Crown, the first time anyone had ever traded a Triple Crown winner. But it turned out his stats were padded by playing in a ballpark (in Philly) with a ridiculously short right field porch. Once a Cub, he suffered a series of injuries that would never again allow him to come close to his previous lofty highs. He drove in 80 and 73 runs in his pair of years spent with the Cubbies, but Chuck Klein did help Chicago to a World Series in 1935, his only sniff of post-season play. Chuck Klein hit .333 in the Series, which the Cubs lost in six games to the Tigers.
After he was traded back to the Phillies, he hit four home runs in his first game back.
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