| Ken Phelps | ||
|---|---|---|
| Designated hitter | ||
| Born: August 6, 1954 | ||
| Batted: Left | Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | ||
| September 20, 1980 for the Kansas City Royals | ||
| Final game | ||
| September 8, 1990 for the Cleveland Indians | ||
| Career statistics | ||
| Batting Average | . In Baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6 Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) Events 451 - The Battle of Chalons takes place in North Eastern France. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Philadelphia Phillies over Kansas City Royals (4-2 Mike Schmidt, MVP The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. Events 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem. 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Oakland Athletics (4-0 José Rijo, MVP The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively 239 | |
| Home runs | 123 | |
| Runs batted in | 313 | |
| Teams | ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
| ||
Kenneth Allan Phelps was a baseball player, who played primarily with the Seattle Mariners. The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Philadelphia Phillies over Kansas City Royals (4-2 Mike Schmidt, MVP Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Yankees (4-2 Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero Franchise history Creation of the franchise In 1960 Montreal lost its International League team the Montreal Royals (an affiliate of Champions Major League Baseball World Series Champion St Louis Cardinals World Series MVP Darrell The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington, United States. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Baltimore Orioles over Philadelphia Phillies (4-1 Rick Dempsey, See also 1988 Major League Baseball season Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of The Bronx, in New York City, New York. See also 1988 Major League Baseball season Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Oakland Athletics over San Francisco Giants (4-0 Dave Stewart, The Oakland Athletics are a professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Oakland Athletics over San Francisco Giants (4-0 Dave Stewart, Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Oakland Athletics (4-0 José Rijo, MVP The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Oakland Athletics (4-0 José Rijo, MVP For other events named "World Series" see World Series (disambiguation. Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington, United States.
Contents |
Amateur/Minor Leaguer
Phelps was born August 6, 1954 in Seattle, Washington. Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) Washington ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. After attending Seattle's Ingraham High School he played a year at Washington State University before he headed south to Mesa Community College looking for an opportunity to play at Arizona State University, the school of his dreams. Ingraham High School is a public high school serving grades 9-12 located in the Haller Lake neighborhood of Seattle Washington, USA Washington State University ( WSU) is an American public Research university in Pullman, Washington. Mesa Community College (MCC in Mesa Arizona, is the largest of the 10 Community colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District. Arizona State University ( ASU) is the largest public Research university in the United States under a single administration with total student He gained national acclaim in his only season at MCC and was named a Junior College All American. At Mesa, he was drafted twice in the first round (January and June drafts) by the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies, respectively. The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of The Bronx, in New York City, New York. The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. He had previously been drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the eighth round out of high school. All this earned Phelps a chance from Coach Jim Brock to play at ASU, where he was named to the College World Series All Star team in 1976, when the Sun Devils lost a heartbreaker to the University of Arizona after having defeated the Wildcats seven times previously that season. The College World Series or CWS is a Baseball Tournament held in Omaha Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball The University of Arizona (also referred to as UA, U of A, or Arizona) is a Land-grant and space-grant public institution The left-hitting first baseman was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 15th round of the 1976 baseball amateur draft. First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a Baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Phelps became a feared minor league hitter, clubbing a combined 43 HR from 1980-81 for Kansas City's Omaha affiliate in the American Association. Minor leagues are professional Sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports This article refers to the former minor league that existed from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 Nonetheless, the Royals traded him to the Montreal Expos in the 1981-82 offseason for pitcher Grant Jackson. Franchise history Creation of the franchise In 1960 Montreal lost its International League team the Montreal Royals (an affiliate of In Baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the Pitcher's mound toward the Catcher to begin each play with the goal of Phelps proceeded to demolish the American Association in 1982, hitting . Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) 333 with 46 home runs and 141 RBI for Montreal's Wichita affiliate. However, the Expos still saw fit to give him only eight major league at-bats that year. In Baseball, an at bat ( AB) or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including Batting average, On base That gave him a grand total of 32 in his career. There was no room on a very talented Montreal roster for Phelps to break in. Instead, Phelps' hometown club, Seattle, purchased him from the Expos during the 1982-83 offseason.
Phelps, an average defensive player, was better suited to play with Seattle in the American League, as he could serve as the designated hitter there. The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League ( AL) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in In Baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6 The struggling Mariners franchise also had plenty of room for advancement. Phelps split time in 1983 between Seattle and its Pacific Coast League affiliate in Salt Lake City. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) The Pacific Coast League (PCL is a Minor league baseball league operating in the West and Midwest of the United States. Salt Lake City is the Capital and the most populous city of the U Again, he destroyed minor league pitching (. 341 with 24 HR and 82 RBI in 74 games), but did not play much in the majors. In 1984, he played a bit more for Seattle, clobbering 24 HR in only 290 at-bats. Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) Bad lack intervened that year when he broke his hand in the third game of the season after winning the regular first base job and hitting two home runs in his first three game and five hits in his first 10 at bats. The next season, he found himself behind Gorman Thomas who had been signed as a free agent, which limited Phelps to a mere 116 major league at-bats. James Gorman Thomas III (born December 12, 1950 in Charleston South Carolina) is a former Major League Baseball Center fielder and
Seattle
Finally, in 1986, at the age of 31, Phelps got into the major league lineup on a more-or-less regular basis. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Although he was normally platooned against left-handed pitchers, Phelps still clocked 51 HR from 1986-87. It was at this time that Phelps' career travails inspired author Bill James to create the "Ken Phelps All-Star" team. George William “Bill” James (born October 5, 1949, in Holton Kansas) is a Baseball writer historian and statistician whose work has been As James described it:
Ken Phelpses are just available; if you want one, all you have to do is ask. They are players whose real limitations are exaggerated by baseball insiders, players who get stuck with a label -- the label of their limits, the label the things they can't do -- while those that they can do are overlooked. . . The Ken Phelps All-Stars [are] a whole teamful of guys who are wearing labels, but who nonetheless can play major-league baseball, and will prove it if they ever get the chance.
The Buhner Trade
Phelps banged 14 more home runs in half a season in 1988. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) Impressed by his continued onslaught, George Steinbrenner and his New York Yankees made a trade that the Yankee franchise would soon regret, shipping youngster Jay Buhner to Seattle in exchange for the now aging slugger. George Michael Steinbrenner III (born July 4, 1930 in Rocky River Ohio) is an American Billionaire businessman and the principal The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of The Bronx, in New York City, New York. Jay Campbell Buhner (born August 13, 1964, in Louisville Kentucky) nicknamed "Bone" was a powerful Right-handed hitter in Major The trade made little sense to begin with for the Yankees, who already had Don Mattingly and Jack Clark to play first base and DH. Donald Arthur Mattingly (nicknamed " Donnie Baseball " and " The Hit Man " (born April 20, 1961) is the Los Angeles Dodgers Jack Anthony Clark (born November 10, 1955 in New Brighton Pennsylvania) also known as “Jack the Ripper” is a former Major League Baseball With limited playing time once again, Phelps found it difficult to maintain his production of the previous four-and-a-half seasons, while Buhner went on to become an All-Star. A Seinfeld episode depicted Yankee fan Frank Costanza as more upset about the Buhner trade than about the supposed death of his own son George. Seinfeld is an American Situation comedy, or sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5 1989 to May 14 1998 lasting nine seasons Frank Costanza (played by Jerry Stiller) is a fictional character on the American Television sitcom Seinfeld ( 1989 George Louis Costanza is a Fictional character in the United States -based television sitcom Seinfeld (1989&ndash1998 Phelps only hit 17 home runs for the Yankees before finishing his career with the Oakland A's and Cleveland Indians. The Oakland Athletics are a professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. He won the World Series with Oakland in 1989, but had just two postseason at-bats, including a double in the AL Championship Series.
Phelps' final home run might have been his most notable. It came on April 20, 1990 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth against the Mariners (Phelps was playing for Oakland). Phelps was called out of the dugout to pinch hit against Brian Holman, who had retired the first 26 batters in succession. Brian Scott Holman (born on January 25, 1965, in Denver Colorado) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher Phelps homered to ruin a perfect game. The hometown Oakland fans at the ballpark booed. Years later, Phelps said he wanted to hit it out because he did not want to watch himself on ESPN's SportsCenter all season making the out to complete Holman's gem. ESPN, originally an acronym for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, is an American Cable television network dedicated to SportsCenter is a daily Sports news Television show and the flagship program of American Cable network ESPN since the network
Summary
Phelps' career . 239 batting average hides the things that, as James pointed out, he could do. Thanks to outstanding power and strike zone judgment, his career OPS is a strong . On-base plus slugging (OPS is a baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's On-base percentage and Slugging percentage. 854. Phelps hit 123 home runs in 1854 career at-bats, the 28th best ratio in major league history through 2004 (min. 1500 plate appearances).
Phelps today
As of 2005, Phelps did color commentary on the radio for Arizona Diamondbacks baseball games. A color commentator, sometimes known as a color analyst, is a member of the Broadcasting team for a sporting event who assists the Play-by-play The Arizona Diamondbacks (also referred to as the D-backs) are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix Arizona. In 2006, Phelps was replaced as the Diamondbacks color analyst by former Major League pitcher Tom Candiotti. Thomas Caesar Candiotti (born August 31, 1957 in Walnut Creek California) is a former right-handed Pitcher in Major League Baseball Today, he does baseball analysis for Fox Sports in Arizona along with community and media work he does for the state's largest electric utility, Arizona Public Service. Arizona Public Service Company is the largest electric utility in Arizona and the principal subsidiary of publicly-traded S&P 500 member Pinnacle West Capital Two of the programs in which he has been involved -- the ABC's of Baseball and Life and Power Players -- have gained national recognition for their positive impact on children.
Trivia
Phelps' nickname, used often by usual broadcast partner Greg Schulte, is "Digger. Greg Schulte is an American sportscaster and is best known as the radio voice of the Arizona Diamondbacks Major League Baseball team " However, he should not be confused with noted college basketball broadcaster Digger Phelps. Richard "Digger" Phelps (born July 4 1941) was the coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball team in the 1970s 1980s and Phelps' last major league home run broke up Brian Holman's perfect game with two out in the ninth. Brian Scott Holman (born on January 25, 1965, in Denver Colorado) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher The home run was hit over the head of Jay Buhner
See also
External links
Notes
- ^ James, Bill (1987). Jay Campbell Buhner (born August 13, 1964, in Louisville Kentucky) nicknamed "Bone" was a powerful Right-handed hitter in Major The following is a list of players and who appeared in at least one game for the Montreal Expos franchise of Major League Baseball from through The Bill James Baseball Abstract 1987. Ballantine: New York, p. 233. ISBN 0345341805.
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