Ken Boyer

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Kenton Lloyd Boyer (May 20, 1931 – September 7, 1982) was an American third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the St. Louis Cardinals. Winner of the 1964 National League MVP Award, he became the second player at his position to hit 250 career home runs, and retired with the third highest slugging average by a third baseman (.462). His 255 homers as a Cardinal are a team record for right-handed hitters, and rank second in club history to teammate Stan Musial's 475. A five-time Gold Glove Award winner, he also led the NL in double plays five times and retired among the all-time leaders in games (6th, 1785), assists (6th, 3652) and double plays (3rd, 355) at third base.

A native of Liberty, Missouri, Boyer was one of fourteen children, and two of his brothers also played in the major leagues: older brother Cloyd was a pitcher for the Cardinals in the early 1950s, and younger brother Clete became a third baseman for the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves. Three other brothers played in the minor leagues.

Contents

[edit] Career

After signing with the Cardinals in 1949, Boyer was initially tried as a pitcher, but hit so well that the Cardinals shifted him to third base. He served in the U.S. Army from 1951-53, and joined the Cardinals after they traded Ray Jablonski following the 1954 season. He hit .264 with 62 runs batted in as a rookie before earning the first of seven NL All-Star selections in 1956. He was shifted to center field in 1957 to allow rookie Eddie Kasko to break in at third, and led NL outfielders in fielding percentage, but returned to third base in 1958, winning the first of four consecutive Gold Gloves and again collecting 90 RBI. His 41 double plays in 1958 equalled the second-highest total in NL history to that point.

In 1960-61, Boyer led the Cardinals in batting average (.304 and .329), home runs (32 and 24) and RBI (97 and 95); he also became the team captain during this period. He enjoyed his career highlight against the New York Yankees in the 1964 World Series, hitting a grand slam in Game 4, off pitcher Al Downing, to give the Cardinals a 4-3 victory. His brother Clete, playing in his fifth consecutive Series with the Yankees, later conceded that he was privately thrilled for his brother because it was Ken's first Series. Then, in the decisive Game 7, he collected three hits (including a double and a home run), and scored three runs as St. Louis clinched the World Championship 7-5, their first title since 1946. In that season Boyer earned National League MVP honors after hitting .285 with 24 home runs and leading the league with 119 RBI, becoming the first NL third baseman to do so since Heinie Zimmerman in 1917; it was also his seventh consecutive season of 90 or more RBI, tying Pie Traynor's major league record for third basemen.

After 11 years with the Cardinals, Boyer began to suffer back problems and was traded to the New York Mets (1966-67), and later to the Chicago White Sox (1967-68), before finishing his career with Los Angeles Dodgers (1968-69). In a 15-year career, Boyer was a .287 hitter with 282 home runs and 1141 RBI in 2034 games played. His career slugging average of .462 ranked third among players with at least 1000 games at third base, behind Eddie Mathews (.509) and Ron Santo (then at .478), and among NL players he trailed only Mathews in assists and double plays at third base.

Boyer managed for seven seasons in the minor leagues, also returning to the Cardinals as a coach in 1971-72, before becoming manager in 1978. The following year St. Louis finished in third place, but Boyer was dismissed 18 games into the 1980 season. He compiled a 166-190 record in three seasons (1978-80). He was scheduled to manage in Triple-A, but lung cancer forced him to give up the job.

Ken Boyer died in St. Louis, Missouri at age 51. His #14, which he wore throughout his career with the Cardinals, was retired by the team in 1984.

[edit] Accomplishments

  • 7-time All-Star (1956, 1959-64)
  • 4 times in top 10 of MVP voting (1959, 10th; 1960, 6th; 1961, 7th; 1964, 1st)
  • 5-time Gold Glove Award winner (1958-61, 1963)
  • 5 times led NL third basemen in double plays (1956, 1958-60, 1962)
  • 6 times in top 10 in RBI (1956, 1958-61, 1963)
  • 5 times in top 10 in batting average (1956, 1958-61)
  • 5 times in top 10 in on base percentage (1958-61, 1963)
  • 4 times in top 10 in home runs (1959-60, 1963-64)
  • 4 times in top 10 in slugging average (1958-61)
  • 4 times in top 10 in OPS (1958-61)
  • Twice hit for the cycle (September 14, 1961; June 16, 1964)
  • Had a 29-game hitting streak (August 10 to September 13, 1959), the longest in the major leagues since 1950
  • Hit inside-the-park home runs in three consecutive weeks (May 30 and June 7-14, 1959)
  • Player of the Month for September 1960.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia (2000). Kingston, NY: Total/Sports Illustrated. ISBN 1-892129-34-5.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Warren Spahn		 Major League Player of the Month
September, 1960		 Succeeded by
Joey Jay
Preceded by
Sandy Koufax		 National League Most Valuable Player
1964		 Succeeded by
Willie Mays
Preceded by
Bobby Richardson		 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
1964		 Succeeded by
Vern Law
Preceded by
Jack Krol		 St. Louis Cardinals Manager
1978-1980		 Succeeded by
Jack Krol
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