Bob Kearney
Bob Kearney | |||
---|---|---|---|
Catcher | |||
Born: San Antonio, Texas |
October 3, 1956 |||
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MLB debut | |||
September 25, 1979, for the San Francisco Giants | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
June 20, 1987, for the Seattle Mariners | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .233 | ||
Home runs | 27 | ||
Runs batted in | 133 | ||
Teams | |||
Robert Henry Kearney (born October 3, 1956 in San Antonio, Texas), is an American former professional baseball player.[1] He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, and Seattle Mariners from 1979 to 1987.[1]
Major League career
Kearney was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the fourteenth round of the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft out of the University of Texas.[2] He made his major league debut with the Giants late in the 1979 season, but returned to the minor leagues for the following season.[1] Kearney was drafted by the Oakland Athletics from the Giants in the 1980 minor league draft.[3] Kearney's strong throwing arm was made evident in a game against the Tacoma Indians in 1981 when, he threw out five baserunners attempting to steal second base.[4] He was selected as the catcher for the 1981 Pacific Coast League Northern Division All-Star team.[5]
Kearney began the 1982 season with the Athletics when regular catchers Mike Heath and Jeff Newman were sidelined by injuries but, would later be sent back to the minor leagues.[6] In September, he was recalled to the major leagues after hitting for a .253 batting average in Tacoma.[7] He shared catching duties with Heath in 1983, posting a .255 batting average with 8 home runs and 32 runs batted in.[8] Kearney was named as the catcher for the 1983 Topps All-Star Rookie Team and was also named the Baseball Digest All-Star Rookie Catcher Of The Year.[9][10]
Kearney was traded to the Seattle Mariners before the 1984 season, replacing Rick Sweet as their starting catcher.[3][11] Despite his strong throwing arm, he developed a reputation for poor pitch-calling skills.[12] During the 1984 season, Mariners pitchers Salomé Barojas and Mike Moore both demanded to have Orlando Mercado as their catcher.[13] This lack of pitch-calling skills along with his light-hitting caused the Mariners to trade for veteran catcher Steve Yeager before the 1986 season.[12] Yeager was expected to catch the majority of the Mariners' games however, he had a disappointing season and Kearney would eventually lead the team's catchers by appearing in 81 games.[14] In 1987, he was displaced by Dave Valle as the Mariners' starting catcher and was released in July of that year after posting a .170 batting average in 51 games.[1][3]
Career statistics
In an eight-year career, Kearney played in 479 games, accumulating 316 hits in 1356 at bats for a .233 career batting average along with 27 home runs and 133 runs batted in.[1] He ended his career with a .987 fielding percentage.[1] Kearney led American League catchers in 1984 with 823 putouts, and in 1985, he led the league in fielding percentage with a .995 average, committing only three errors in 108 games.[15][16]
References
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External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
- 1956 births
- People from San Antonio, Texas
- Baseball players from Texas
- Major League Baseball catchers
- San Francisco Giants players
- Oakland Athletics players
- Seattle Mariners players
- Texas Longhorns baseball players
- Great Falls Giants players
- Waterbury Giants players
- Shreveport Captains players
- Phoenix Giants players
- Tacoma Tigers players
- Living people