Mike Kilkenny
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael David Kilkenny (born April 11, 1945, in Bradford, Ontario, Canada) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The left-hander was signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before the 1964 season. He played for the Tigers (1969-1972), Oakland Athletics (1972), San Diego Padres (1972), and Cleveland Indians (1972-1973).
Kilkenny is perhaps best-known for giving up Frank Robinson's 500th home run (September 13, 1971), and also for being one of the few players in MLB history to be with four teams in the same season.
The majority of his 139 appearances were as a relief pitcher, but he did start 54 games. During his career, Kilkenny gave up 224 walks in just 410 innings, for a BB/9IP of 4.92, much higher than the American League average at that time. However, with 301 strikeouts, his K/9IP was 6.61, which was higher than the American League average.
He finished his career with a total of 23 wins, 18 losses, 4 saves, 32 games finished, and an ERA of 4.43.
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[edit] Career highlights
- was named the Detroit Tigers Rookie of the Year in 1969
- a six-hit, 10 strikeout complete game win against the California Angels (August 12, 1969)
- a three-hit, complete game shutout against the Oakland Athletics (August 27, 1969)
- a five-hit, 13 strikeout complete game shutout against the Cleveland Indians (September 17, 1969)
- a four-hit, 11 strikeout complete game win against the Oakland Athletics (June 16, 1970)
- held All-Stars Bob Allison, Leo Cardenas, Tommy Davis, Jim Fregosi, Tony Oliva, Amos Otis, Joe Pepitone, Rico Petrocelli, George Scott, and Zoilo Versalles to a .071 collective batting average (6-for-84)
- held Hall of Famers Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson, Harmon Killebrew, Brooks Robinson, Billy Williams, and Carl Yastrzemski to a collective .164 batting average (10-for-61)
[edit] Post-pro career
After his professional career ended, Kilkenny played for the London Majors of the Canadian Intercounty Baseball League where he helped the Majors win the Intercounty title in 1975 -- when he was voted MVP during the regular season, winning the John Bell Memorial trophy with a 9-0 record and 129 strikeouts.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
- Retrosheet
[edit] References
- Intercounty Major Baseball League's 1998 Record Book by Editor Herb Morell and Dominico Productions Inc.
