Marty Keough

Marty Keough
Outfielder
Born: (1934-04-14) April 14, 1934 (age 90)
Oakland, California, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 21, 1956, for the Boston Red Sox
Last MLB appearance
September 16, 1966, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
Batting average.242
Home runs43
Runs batted in176
Teams

Richard Martin Keough (born April 14, 1934) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox (1956–60), Cleveland Indians (1960), Washington Senators (1961), Cincinnati Reds (1962–65), Atlanta Braves (1966) and Chicago Cubs (1966) from 1956 through 1966 .[1] In 1968, he played in Japan for the Nankai Hawks of the Nippon Professional Baseball league.[2] Keough batted and threw left-handed,[3] and was listed as 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 180 pounds (82 kg).

Born in Oakland, California, Keough is the older brother of Joe Keough, a former MLB outfielder, and father of Matt Keough, a right-handed pitcher. Matt also played in Japan, making them one of the few American father-son duos to both play there.[2]

Marty Keough was a multi-sport star at Pomona High School. He was named the CIF Southern Section football player of the year in 1951 after leading the school to its only football championship. Months later, he was awarded the Southern Section's baseball co-player of the year, sharing the honor with Bill Richardson of Citrus High School.[4] In 1952 he was named by the LA Examiner as overall Southern California Prep "Athlete of the Year".

Keough debuted with the Boston Red Sox in 1956, sharing outfield work with Ted Williams, Jim Piersall and Jackie Jensen, among others,[3] until the 1960 midseason when he was traded to the Cleveland Indians.[5] At the end of the season, he was selected by the new Washington Senators in the expansion draft.[6] His most productive season came in 1961 with the Senators. He started 109 of the club's 161 games, and posted career numbers in hits (97), doubles (18), triples (9), home runs (9), runs (57), RBI (34), stolen bases (12), and games played (135).[7] In 1962, he hit a career-high .278 for the Cincinnati Reds. He also played with the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs.[6]

In an 11-season MLB career, Keough was a .242 hitter with 434 hits, 43 home runs and 176 RBI in 841 games.[7] He recorded a .986 fielding percentage playing at all three outfield positions and first base.[1]

He has remained in the game as a scout since the end of his playing days, and is a longtime member of the scouting staff of the St. Louis Cardinals.[8]

  1. ^ a b Marty Keough Player Page at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed August 21, 2009
  2. ^ a b IMPORTED BY JAPAN, AGAIN – Like His Father Before Him, Matt Keough Goes Overseas to Further His Baseball Career by Earl Gustkey in LA Times, URL accessed August 21, 2009
  3. ^ a b Marty Keough Career at baseball-almanac.com, URL accessed August 21, 2009
  4. ^ CIF Southern Section Record Book, pages 10, 71 & 81
  5. ^ "Indians, Red Sox exchange players". Milwaukee Journal. AP. June 13, 1960. p. 16. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  6. ^ a b Marty Keough at retrosheet.org, URL accessed August 21, 2009
  7. ^ a b Marty Keough Batting at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed August 21, 2009
  8. ^ Cardinals Keep Coaching Staff Intact for 2009 at stlcardinals.scout.com, URL accessed August 21, 2009