Ken Boswell
| Ken Boswell | |
|---|---|
 Boswell in 1976 | |
| Second baseman | |
| Born: February 23, 1946 Austin, Texas | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 18, 1967, for the New York Mets | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 1, 1977, for the Houston Astros | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .248 |
| Home runs | 31 |
| Runs batted in | 244 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Kenneth George Boswell (February 23, 1946) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He is likely best remembered was a member of the 1969 World Series champion New York Mets.
Early years
The Mets drafted the Sam Houston State University student in the fourth round of the 1965 Major League Baseball draft. In three seasons in the mets' farm system, Boswell batted .273 with thirteen home runs and 106 runs batted in to earn a September call-up in 1967.
New York Mets
Despite limited experience at third base, Boswell made his major league debut on September 18 at third against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He handle all three chances on the field cleanly, and went 1-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and a double and three RBIs.[1] For the season, he batted .225 with four RBIs. He hit his first major league home run off Hall of Famer Don Drysdale on September 30.[2]
Boswell spent the 1968 season in a lefty/righty platoon at second base with Phil Linz. He batted .246 with four home runs and ten RBIs through June 24 when a broken finger sidelined him for the month of July and most of August. By season's end, he managed to raise his batting average up to .261 to be recognixed as the Topps All-Star Rookie Team second baseman.
1969 got off to a terrible start for Boswell. In the season opener, and first game in franchise history for the Montreal Expos,[3] Boswell booted a first inning ground ball from Gary Sutherland that led to the first (unearned) run in the history of Canadian baseball. He committed a second errors on Bob Bailey's double that allowed him to advance to third. He also committed an error on a Coco Laboy ground ball in the fifth, giving him three errors on the day.[4]
For his career he hit .248 with 31 home runs and 244 runs batted in in 930 games.
References
- ^ "New York Mets 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 2". Baseball-Reference.com. Shea Stadium. September 18, 1967.
- ^ "New York Mets 5, Los Angeles Dodgers 0". Baseball-Reference.com. Dodger Stadium. September 30, 1967.
- ^ Chass, Murray (April 9, 1969). "Mets the Perfect Host as Expos Break in with a Win". Lewiston Evening Journal. p. 23.
- ^ "Montreal Expos 11, New York Mets 10". Baseball-Reference.com. Shea Stadium. April 8, 1969.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or The Ultimate Mets Database
- Ken Boswell at Society for American Baseball Research