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 recognized 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 error 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]
Things would soon turn around for Boswell and the Mets. Boswell batted .250 with two home runs and eleven RBIs through the end of May when he left the club for a two week military commitment. The Mets were 19-23 in third place in the National League East, nine games back of the Chicago Cubs. When he returned, the Mets were 30-26, and had jumped into second place, but were still 8.5 back of the Cubs.
In his first game back, Boswell scored the only run in Gary Gentry's 1-0 shutout of the Philadelphia Phillies.[5] Two days later, his two out single in the ninth inning drove in the tying and winning runs of the Mets' 6-5 victory over the Phillies.[6] His knack for key hits continued on July 2, when he drove in the winning run and scored an insurance run in an extra innings contest with the St. Louis Cardinals.[7]
In 1969, He set career highs in runs (48), triples (7), batting average (.279) and slugging percentage (.381). For his career he hit .248 with 31 home runs and 244 RBIs 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.
- ^ "New York Mets 1, Philadelphia Phillies 0". Baseball-Reference.com. Connie Mack Stadium. June 17, 1969.
- ^ "New York Mets 6, Philadelphia Phillies 5". Baseball-Reference.com. Connie Mack Stadium. June 19, 1969.
- ^ "New York Mets 6, St. Louis Cardinals 4". Baseball-Reference.com. Busch Memorial Stadium. July 2, 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