Pat Kelly (baseball outfielder)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harold Patrick (Pat) Kelly (July 30, 1944 - October 2, 2005) was a right fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1967 through 1981, Kelly played for the Minnesota Twins (1967-68), Kansas City Royals (1969-70), Chicago White Sox (1971-76), Baltimore Orioles (1977-79) and Cleveland Indians (1981). He batted and threw left handed.

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kelly debuted with the Minnesota Twins in 1967. He played in 20 games over two seasons with Minnesota before spending two years with the Kansas City Royals.

Kelly made the American League All-Star team as a member of the Chicago White Sox in 1973, during a season in which he hit .280 in a career-high 144 games. Some of his best seasons were as a clutch-hitting, platoon player for the powerful Baltimore Orioles' teams of 1977-80, including an appearance in the 1979 World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Kelly finished his majors career when he hit .213 (16-for-75) in 48 games for the Cleveland Indians during the strike-shortened 1981 season.

In a 15-season career, Kelly was a .264 hitter with 76 home runs and 418 RBI in 1385 games played. He added 1,147 hits, 189 doubles, 35 triples and 250 stolen bases.

Following his retirement as a player, Kelly served as a reverend for Lifeline Ministries in Maryland.

Kelly died from a heart attack in Baltimore, Maryland, at age of 61.

[edit] Facts

His brother Leroy Kelly is a Hall of Fame running back, and former Cleveland Indians slugger Andre Thornton is his brother-in-law.
Kelly was known as much for his religious conviction as his left-handed swing. During his stint in Baltimore, this exchange between Kelly and fiery manager Earl Weaver supposedly occurred: "Skip, don't you want me to walk with the Lord?" Kelly asked. To which Weaver replied, "I'd rather you walk with the bases loaded."
His nephew David Kelly is a baseball play-by-play announcer for the Class AAA Memphis Redbirds.