Highlighted Year: George Kell, 1956

Third Baseman, Chicago White Sox/Baltimore Orioles

Age: 34 (Aug. 23)

3^rd season with White Sox (one complete)

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height:5’9”    Weight: 175 

Prior to 1956:

A native of Swifton, Arkansas, Kell was the son of a barber who had been a star pitcher for the local amateur team. A baseball fan in his youth, he graduated from high school at 16 and enrolled at Arkansas State University in 1939. Due to the university lacking a baseball team, he played intramural softball before returning home in the spring of 1940 and joining the town team. That same spring he signed with Newport, an affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the Class D Northeast Arkansas League. The 17-year-old third sacker appeared in 48 games and batted only .160 with five extra-base hits. Still with Newport in 1941, Kell hit better (.310) with 32 extra-base hits prior to moving on to the unaffiliated Lancaster Red Roses in the Class B Interstate League in 1942 where he hit .299. With Lancaster again in 1943, Kell batted .396 with 33 doubles, 23 triples, 5 home runs, 79 RBIs, a .455 on-base percentage, and a .566 slugging percentage. Given the opportunity to join the Philadelphia Athletics late in the season, Kell tripled in his first major league at bat He taught at a junior high school back in Arkansas during the offseason and then returned to the A’s in 1944 where he became the starting third baseman for the lowly club. He flashed plenty of potential in batting .268 with 15 doubles, 3 triples, 44 RBIs, and a .300 OBP. In 1945 he hit .272 with 30 doubles, 3 triples, 4 home runs, 56 RBIs, a .306 OBP, and a .356 slugging percentage, Defensively, he led AL third basemen in assists (345), and fielding percentage (.964). Kell started the 1946 season with the Athletics until traded to the Detroit Tigers in May for outfielder Barney McCosky. The trade proved beneficial as Kell joined a club that finished in second place, and for the full season he batted .322 with 25 doubles, 10 triples, 4 home runs, 52 RBIs, a .372 OBP, and a .432 slugging percentage, while only striking out on 20 occasions. In the field he led AL third sackers in assists (267), double plays (27), and again in fielding percentage (.983). Kell also tied for sixteenth in league MVP voting. In 1947 he was an All-Star for the first time on his way to hitting .320 with 29 doubles, 5 triples, 5 home runs, 93 RBIs, a .387 OBP, and a .412 slugging percentage. His strikeouts dropped to 16 and he remained solid defensively. He finished fifth in league MVP balloting. In 1948 a broken wrist cost him almost all of May and a broken jaw suffered late in August finished his season. Appearing in 92 games Kell batted .304 with 24 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs, 44 RBIs, and a .369 OBP while whiffing only 15 times. He came back strong in 1949 to narrowly edge Boston’s Ted Williams for the AL batting championship (.343) while also compiling 38 doubles, 9 triples, 3 home runs, 59 RBIs, a .424 OBP, and a .467 slugging percentage while striking out only 13 times. He placed eighth in league MVP voting. The Tigers strongly contended in 1950 and Kell contended for another batting title, finishing second at .340 while leading the league in hits (218) and doubles (56). Furthermore, he scored 114 runs, and produced 6 triples, 8 home runs, 101 RBIs, a .403 OBP, and a .484 slugging percentage. He placed fourth in league MVP voting. In 1951, despite missing the first ten games of the season due to a broken finger, Kell again topped the American League in hits (191) and doubles (36) while batting .319 with a .386 OBP and .400 slugging percentage. Still a highly regarded defensive third baseman, he finished fifteenth in league MVP balloting. With the Tigers sinking in the standings and needing a personnel shakeup, Kell was dealt to the Boston Red Sox in June of 1952 as part of a nine-player trade. For the year he hit .311 with 23 doubles, 7 home runs, 57 RBIs, a .379 OBP, and a .423 slugging percentage. Dealing with chronic back pain in 1953, he saw some action in the outfield to reduce wear on his back but remained an outstanding fielder at third base and a reliable hitter. The line-drive hitting Kell achieved a career high with 12 home runs while batting .307 with 41 doubles, 73 RBIs, a .383 OBP, and a .483 slugging percentage. In May of 1954 he was traded once again, this time to the White Sox. A knee injury knocked him out of the lineup for six weeks and, limited to 97 games in all, he ended up hitting a disappointing .276 with 13 doubles, 5 home runs, 58 RBIs, and a .334 OBP. Kell rebounded in 1955 to .312 with 24 doubles, 8 home runs, 81 RBIs, a .389 OBP, and a .429 slugging percentage. He started the 1956 season with the White Sox until he was traded to the Orioles in May as part of a six-player deal.  

1956 Season Summary

Appeared in 123 games (Baltimore – 102/Chicago – 21)

3B – 115, 1B – 6, PH – 6, 2B – 1, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 480 (CHI – 91/BALT - 389

At Bats – 425 (CHI – 80/BALT – 345)

Runs – 52 (CHI – 7/BALT – 45)

Hits – 115 (CHI – 25/BALT – 90)

Doubles – 22 [19, tied with six others] (CHI – 5/BALT – 17)

Triples – 2 (BALT)

Home Runs – 9 (CHI – 1/BALT – 8)

RBI – 48 (CHI – 11/BALT – 37)

Bases on Balls – 33 (CHI – 8/BALT – 25)

Int. BB – 3 (BALT)

Strikeouts – 37 (CHI – 6/BALT - 31

Stolen Bases – 0

Caught Stealing – 1 (BALT)

Average - .271 (CHI - .313/BALT - .261)

OBP - .324 (CHI - .371/BALT - .313)

Slugging Pct. - .395 (CHI - .413/BALT - .391)

Total Bases – 168 (CHI – 33/BALT – 135)

GDP – 11 (CHI – 3/BALT – 8)

Hit by Pitches – 3 (BALT)

Sac Hits – 14 [1, tied with Luis Aparicio] (CHI – 2/BALT – 12)

Sac Flies – 5 [14, tied with eleven others] (CHI – 1/BALT – 4)

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 13, HR - 4, RBI - 27, AVG - .320, OBP - .385

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) at Washington 7/4, (in 5 AB) at Boston 7/8

Longest hitting streak – 8 games

HR at home – 2

HR on road – 7

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 5 AB) at Boston 7/8, (in 5 AB) at Boston 8/31

Multi-HR games – 2

Most RBIs, game – 4 at Boston 7/8, at Detroit 7/26

Pinch-hitting – 0 for 6 (.000)

Fielding (3B, combined)

Chances – 314

Put Outs – 114

Assists – 193

Errors – 7

DP – 19

Pct. - .978 

Awards & Honors:

All-Star (Started for AL at 3B)

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The Orioles went 69-85 to finish sixth in the AL, 28 games behind the pennant-winning New York Yankees while leading the league in fewest runs scored (571), fewest hits (1242), fewest home runs (91), lowest batting average (.244, tied with Cleveland), lowest slugging percentage (.350), and fewest total bases (1781). Under the guidance of second-year manager Paul Richards, the Orioles showed pitching improvement but still dropped quickly into the second division where they remained.  

Aftermath of 1956:

Contemplating retirement, Kell returned to the Orioles for one last season in 1957. He was an All-Star for the tenth and last time. Despite two beanings during the season that cost him 10 games apiece, he batted .297 with 9 home runs, 44 RBIs, and a .352 OBP. Following through with retirement after the season, for his major league career Kell batted .306 with 2054 hits that included 385 doubles, 50 triples, and 78 home runs. He scored 880 runs and compiled 870 RBIs, a .367 OBP, and a .414 slugging percentage. With the Orioles he batted .278 with 73 runs scored, 182 hits, 26 doubles, 2 triples, 17 home runs, 81 RBIs, a .331 OBP, and a .402 slugging percentage. He had no World Series appearances. The 10-time All-Star started for the American League at third base in six of those games. Recognized for his consistency and solid work ethic, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. Following his playing career, Kell became a long-time broadcaster for the Tigers, finally retiring in 1987. He died at age 86 in 2009. His brother Everett “Skeeter” Kell was a second baseman who played for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1952.  

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20), pitching wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10), or have been participants in the annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category will also include Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.