Ken Boyer
Kenton Lloyd Boyer (May 20, 1931 – September 7, 1982) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman, coach and manager who played on the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers for 15 seasons, 1959 through 1969. He was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.
Boyer was an All-Star for seven seasons (11 All-Star Game selections), a National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP), and a Gold Glove winner 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 2nd third baseman to hit 250 career home runs, retiring with the third highest slugging average by a third baseman (.462); he was the 3rd third baseman after Pie Traynor and Eddie Mathews to drive in 90 runs eight-times, and remains the only Cardinal since 1900 to hit for the cycle twice. When Boyer hit 255 home runs, he was 2nd to Stan Musial (475) with Cardinal career home runs; he 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 average once, and retired among the all-time leaders in games (6th, 1,785), assists (6th, 3,652) and double plays (3rd, 355) at third base.
In 2014, Boyer appeared for the second time on the Hall of Fame's Golden Era Committee election ballot for possible National Baseball Hall of Fame consideration. None of the ten candidates on the ballot were elected for the 2015 induction. The Committee meets every three years to consider retired players who played from 1947 to 1972.
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