Tuesday, September 4, 2012

no. 89 - ken brett


Who is the man: Ken Brett had just completed his first full-fledged major league season when this card hit store shelves. He appeared in 41 games in 1970. But he had made an impact for Boston already -- three years prior.

Can ya dig it: I'm thinking there's no ball in Brett's glove.

Right on: I believe Brett's signature features his nickname, "Kemer," which is terrific. His full first name is Kenneth. But that's not "Kenneth" or "Ken." It must be "Kemer."

You see this cat Brett is a bad mother: Brett famously pitched in the World Series for the Red Sox as a 19-year-old in 1967. In Game 7, he came into the game in the ninth inning with the bases loaded and got Tim McCarver to ground out to end the inning. Red Sox manager Dick Williams said Brett had "the guts of a burglar."

Shut your mouth: Brett made fun of the number of teams he played for (he played for 10 in 14 major league seasons) in a Miller Lite Beer commercial in 1984.

No one understands him but his woman: Brett's younger brother, George Brett, didn't play with Ken in the majors until Ken arrived with Kansas City in 1980. During a pitching change, Ken was called in from the bullpen and George says, "they opened up the gate and he came running in like an airplane -- arms spread out like wings, banking left, banking right. ... I'm on the mound with Jim Frey, our manager, and Jamie Quirk. ... And I looked at Jamie and he looked at me, and I said, 'Now I know why he's been traded 10 times."


(A word about the back): This is Brett's first solo card and the first opportunity for Topps to mention his World Series appearance.

4 comments:

  1. They also had two more brothers who played minor league ball, Bobby and J.B. The four of them own a couple minor league baseball teams and a minor league hockey team.

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  2. During his one season with the Phillies, he was also used as a pinch-hitter and pinch-runner. That season (1973) he bat .250 with 5 doubles and 4 home runs.

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  3. Looks more like Kermet than Kenneth. I'd love to see video of him coming out of the bullpen like that.

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