boys of summer George Kell

George Clyde Kell (born August 23, 1922 in Swifton, Arkansas) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and right-handed batter who played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1943-1945), Detroit Tigers (1946-52), 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. George Kell played in the last game at League Park on September 21, 1946.

Kell was a solid hitter and a sure-handed fielder. He 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.

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

Batting Statistics
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1943 Philadelphia 1 5 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 .200
1944 Philadelphia 139 514 51 138 15 3 0 44 22 23 .268
1945 Philadelphia 147 567 50 154 30 3 4 56 27 15 .272
1946 Phi/Det 131 521 70 168 25 10 4 52 40 20 .322
1947 Detroit 152 588 75 188 29 5 5 93 61 16 .320
1948 Detroit 92 368 47 112 24 3 2 44 33 15 .304
1949 Detroit 134 522 97 179 38 9 3 59 71 13 .343
1950 Detroit 157 641 114 218 56 6 8 101 66 18 .340
1951 Detroit 147 598 92 191 36 3 2 59 61 18 .319
1952 Det/Bos 114 428 52 133 23 2 7 57 46 23 .311
1953 Boston 134 460 68 141 41 2 12 73 52 22 .307
1954 Bos/Chi 97 326 40 90 13 0 5 58 33 15 .376
1955 Chicago 128 429 44 134 24 1 8 81 51 36 .312
1956 Chi/Bal 123 425 52 115 22 2 9 48 33 37 .271
1957 Baltimore 99 310 28 92 9 0 9 44 25 16 .297

Career statistics
Batting average  .306
Hits  2054
Home Runs  78
Runs batted in  552

10-Time All-Star Selection