George Kelly

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George Lange Kelly (Highpockets)

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 4", Weight 190 lb.

Debut August 18, 1915
Final Game July 27, 1932
Born September 10, 1895 in San Francisco, CA USA
Died October 13, 1984 in Burlingame, CA USA

Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1973

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[edit] Biographical Information

"Kelly made more key hits for me than any other player." - John McGraw

George Kelly, although often seen as one of the more egregious selections to the Hall of Fame (from the time when his former teammate Frankie Frisch headed the Veterans Committee), had a 16-year career in the majors, led the league twice in RBI and once in homers, was a slick fielder, and was a key infielder on the New York Giants that dominated baseball from 1921-24. He was 3rd in the MVP voting in 1925, and 6th in 1924.

Called by Bill James the worst selection to the Hall of Fame, Kelly's statistics are most similar to Bob Watson. Of course, it's not Kelly's fault that he's in the Hall of Fame, and he was actually a good player - as was the case with Watson - although his statistics are generally not seen as Hall of Fame caliber because he is not in the top 100 in any major offensive statistic. Carl Furillo and Tony Oliva are also in the top five most similar players to him, although they played in different eras.

Prior to the time that the Veterans Committee took a look at him, he had never gotten as much as 2% of the Hall of Fame vote by the BBWAA.

Kelly was the brother of Ren Kelly, his uncle was former Chicago Orphan Bill Lange and a cousin was Rich Chiles.

After his playing career ended, Kelly was a Cincinnati Reds coach from 1935 to 1937 and a member of the Boston Braves staff from 1938 to 1943. He returned to the Reds coaching ranks in 1947 and 1948.