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George Kell

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George Kell
Third baseman
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
debut
September 28, 1943, for the Philadelphia Athletics
Last appearance
September 14, 1957, for the Baltimore Orioles
Career statistics
Batting average.306
Hits2,054
Runs batted in870
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • 10x All-Star selection (1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957)
[[{{{hoflink}}}|Member of the {{{hoftype}}}]]
[[{{{hoflink}}}|Baseball Hall of Fame]]
Induction1983
Election methodVeteran's Committee
George Kell was honored alongside the retired numbers of the Detroit Tigers in 2000.

George Clyde Kell (born August 23, 1922 in Swifton, Arkansas, died March 24, 2009 in Swifton, Arkansas) was a former baseball third baseman who played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1943-1946), Detroit Tigers (1947-52), Boston Red Sox (1952-54), Chicago White Sox (1954-56) and Baltimore Orioles (1956-57) in the American League. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he was regarded as the best third baseman in the AL.[citation needed]

Playing career

A solid right-handed hitter and a sure-handed fielder, Kell was a 10-time All-Star, batted over .300 nine times and topped the league's third basemen in assists and total chances four times and in fielding percentage seven times. He won his only batting title in 1949 (.343), denying Ted Williams his third Triple Crown; until the final week of the season, Williams had led the batting race. On October 2 1949, Kell went 2-for-3 while Williams was hitless in two official at bats. Kell's final mark was .3429, Williams's .3427. One year later, Kell batted .340, leading the league with 218 hits and 56 doubles, but lost the batting title to Williams' teammate, Red Sox second baseman Billy Goodman.

In his career, Kell batted .306, with 78 home runs and 870 runs batted in, 881 runs scored, 2054 hits, 385 doubles, 50 triples, 36 stolen bases, a .482 slugging average, and 621 walks for a .367 on base percentage.

Kell was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.

Broadcasting career

Following his retirement as a player, Kell worked as a play-by-play announcer for the Orioles (1957), CBS television (1958), NBC radio (1962), and the Tigers (1959-1996). From 1975 until his retirement in broadcasting, Kell was joined on Tiger telecasts by Al Kaline as color commentator.

After the Tigers' World Series win in 1984, Kell remarked, "If we get a little pitching out of Wilcox, this team could do it again." The Tigers got very little pitching out of Milt Wilcox after 1984 and did not return to the fall classic until 2006.

Broadcasting Style

Kell had a relaxed, easygoing "country-gentleman" style of announcing. In contrast to his compatriot Ernie Harwell, who opened his radio broadcasts with "Hiya, Tiger fans!", Kell traditionally opened his broadcasts with "Good EVE-ning, everyone!" When paired with colorman Larry Olsterman, the opening was often "Thank you Larry and good afternoon." Kell was also known for particular colloquialisms in his style, such as always referring to a high pitch near the batter's eyes as being "up in his wheelhouse", or a hard-hit home run being "tommyhawked" into the stands. A particularly good catch was exemplified by "Speared by (Aurelio) Rodriguez! Whale of a play!" His home run call was simple but delivered with rising pitch: "Long drive...way back...could be...it is! Home run! The game-ending out, whether it meant a Tiger win or loss, usually merited a decrescendo: "Fly ball to centerfield...this should be the ballgame... it is." Kell also relayed stories of his Hall of Fame career in the same folksy style. A favorite story of his was about the incident when his jaw was broken by a line drive off the bat of Joe DiMaggio. "I got up, made the play at third, then passed out."

In 2009, the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association gave Kell its highest individual honor, an honorary lifetime membership. The association was founded in 1948 by pioneer Tigers announcer Ty Tyson.

Personal

Kell served ten years on the Arkansas State Highway Commission (1973-83) and owns a car dealership, George Kell Motors, in Newport, Arkansas.

Kell's brother, Everett "Skeeter" Kell, played the 1952 season for the Philadelphia Athletics.[1]

Best-selling author Elmore Leonard in the 1990 anthology Cult Baseball Players wrote that Kell was his favorite player. When the novelist threw out the first pitch at a June 15, 1999, Detroit Tigers game, Leonard wore a No. 21 jersey that was presented to him by the Tigers in an homage to Kell.

Kell died in his hometown of Swifton on March 24, 2009.

Highlights

  • 10-time All-Star (1947-54, 1956-57)
  • 8-consecutive .300 seasons (1946-53)
  • Led league in batting average (1949)
  • Holds record of the fewest strikeouts for a batting champion (13, 1949)
  • Twice led the league in hits and doubles (1950-51)
  • Hit for the cycle (June 21950)
  • Top 10 in AL MVP vote (1947, 1949, 1950)

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/k/kellsk01.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/k/kellge01.shtml

Preceded by American League Batting Champion
1949 		Succeeded by

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