Who is the man: Jerry Kenney had completed his third season with the Yankees -- after missing all of 1968 due to military commitments -- when this card was issued. It was not a good season.
Can ya dig it: This card is the literal definition of "rough around the edges."
Right on: As a known Yankee-hater, I get a thrill out of players like this, who are know for not playing well for New York and symbolize the bad old days of the Yankees.
You see that cat Kenney is a bad mother: Kenney was selected as the man to replace Mickey Mantle in center field in 1969. Kenney transitioned from shortstop to center field just as Mantle did. But he didn't last long out there, spending most of his time at third base that season and thereafter.
Shut your mouth: Kenney delivered a game-winning hit that almost didn't happen in a game against the Orioles. Baltimore had won the first two games of the series in July 1970, both in late, dramatic fashion. For the third game, the Orioles were ahead 5-4 in the top of the sixth when rain started to fall. The umpires ordered the tarp out, but the Yankees refused to leave the field, not wanting what was an official game at that point to end. By the time the arguing was over, the rain had let up and the game resumed. Kenney delivered his third hit of the game to drive in the decisive two runs in the very inning the rain started falling. The Yankees won 7-5.
No one understands him but his woman: Kenney was once pranked by Yankees pitcher Fritz Peterson. As Peterson recounted in his book "Mickey Mantle Is Going to Heaven," he drew up a mock letter from Gulden's Mustard stating that the company wanted Kenney to do a commercial for them at Yankee Stadium. Kenney was so excited about the opportunity and the large amount of money promised for the work that he ordered a Ford Mustang convertible that day. Peterson informed him the next day that the offer wasn't real and Kenney was forced to cancel his car order.
(A word about the back): I didn't write that "3" on the back of the card.
Kenney hit .193, with little power, and he still got 400 at bats! Those really were the bad old days for the Yankees.
ReplyDeleteKenney and Bobby Murcer both came back to the 1969 Yankees after Both spent 1968 in the military. At the beginning of the year, Murcer was put on 3rd base and Kenney was put in centerfield. That lasted about a month and then they were switched. That’s how much the Yankees were scrambling to find infielders around that time. And the guy the Yankees were trying to replace at 3rd base was a hall of famer—Bobby Cox! They had high hopes for Kenney because he had very solid hitting numbers in the minor leagues, but that never translated into the majors.
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