Wednesday, August 12, 2015
#569 Ed Kirkpatrick- #570 In Action - Ed Kirkpatrick
AKA “Spanky”…. Some ball players start as catcher and go to
another position, a far fewer return to catcher…free agent signing at 17 by L.A.
Angels….was youngest player in AL 1962 making 6 at bats…Put up impressive minor
league numbers especially during 1963 when he was 18….turned it up when promoted
to AAA hit .350 in a third of a season…never got a fair shake in LA and
performance suffered….shuffled several years back and forth big club and
minors….was able stay in Anaheim for 1966 but hit .197….improved a bit while
avoiding the minors in1968….by them Halos surrendered him trade to the fledgling
KC Royals….bulk of career was spent in KC, sometimes showing good power but inconsistent
BA hounded him….1969 had his most balanced season while taking over an outfield
spot…. Hit 14 home runs and had a career best slugging average….played every
position except pitcher…As the Royal acquired Amos Otis, was bumped to Catcher
for the years 1970 to 1972…Tired of defensive liability, Ed returns to the
outfield for his last year as a Royal….Ed is traded to KC east, Pittsburgh for
1974…turns to infield-outfield utilityman or pinch hitter for work…Spent his last year
1977 with three clubs, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Texas….played at California
AAA Salt Lake City club in 1978….passed away at age 66 in 2010.
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He was involved in a horrible car accident in 1981 that almost killed him and left him in a wheelchair for the last 30 years of his life. Despite that he still answered fan mail with very shaky handwriting. A great guy, by all accounts, who was dealt a rough blow.
ReplyDeletethanks for writing...I really liked Ed, even tough I never rooted for a team he was. He played catcher in the first MLB game I saw, then 8 years later he played catcher in the first minor league game I saw (which was his last professional season)
ReplyDeleteDid you mean to refer to Pittsburgh as "KC east"? I don't understand this reference.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYeah I did. They traded a lot between teams.
ReplyDelete