| Ken Boyer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Third baseman / Manager | |
| Born: May 20, 1931 Liberty, Missouri, U.S. | |
| Died: September 7, 1982 (aged 51) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 12, 1955, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 9, 1969, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .287 |
| Hits | 2,143 |
| Home runs | 282 |
| Runs batted in | 1,141 |
| Managerial record | 166–190 |
| Winning % | .466 |
| Teams | |
As player
As manager | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Kenton Lloyd "Ken" Boyer (May 20, 1931 – September 7, 1982) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman, coach and manager who played with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers for 15 seasons, 1955 through 1969.
Boyer was an All-Star for seven seasons (11 All-Star Game selections)[a], a National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP), and a Gold Glove winner in five seasons. He was named the NL MVP in 1964 after batting .295 with 185 hits and leading the NL with 119 runs batted in, and leading the Cardinals to the World Series title. He hit over .300 for five seasons and hit over 20 home runs for eight seasons.
He became the second third baseman to hit 250 career home runs, retiring with the third highest slugging percentage by a third baseman (.462); he was the third after Pie Traynor and Eddie Mathews to drive in 90 runs eight-times, and remains the only Cardinals player since 1900 to hit for the cycle twice. When Boyer hit 255 home runs, he was second to Stan Musial (475) with Cardinals career home runs and held the team record for a right-handed hitter from 1962 until Albert Pujols passed him in 2007. Boyer also led the NL in double plays five-times and in fielding percentage once, and retired among the all-time leaders in games (sixth, 1,785), assists (sixth, 3,652) and double plays (third, 355) at third base.
In 1984, the Cardinals retired Boyer's number 14.
Boyer was inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.
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