| Ken Berry | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Center fielder | |
| Born: (1941-05-10)May 10, 1941 (age 84) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 9, 1962, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 31, 1975, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .255 |
| Home runs | 58 |
| Runs batted in | 343 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Allen Kent Berry (born May 10, 1941) is an American former professionalbaseball player. He played inMajor League Baseball as acenter fielder from1962 through1975, most notably as a member of theChicago White Sox. The two-timeGold Glove winner was an American LeagueAll-Star player in1967. He also played for theCalifornia Angels,Milwaukee Brewers and theCleveland Indians. In 2015, Berry was inducted into theKansas Sports Hall of Fame.[1]
Berry was born inKansas City, Missouri, and attendedWashburn Rural High School inTopeka, Kansas, where he starred infootball,basketball andtrack and field. After graduating from High School in 1959, he continued to play football and basketball as afreshman while attendingWichita State University.[2] Berry also played one year in a work/play program for the McPherson (Kansas) BJs in the Ban Johnson League. That year McPherson went to the National Ban Johnson League tournament finals played in Wichita.
Berry was signed by theChicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before the 1961 season. He made his major league debut with the White Sox at the age of 21 on September 9, 1962. He was named to theAmerican LeagueAll-Star team in 1967, when his White Sox battled theBoston Red Sox,Detroit Tigers, andMinnesota Twins for the pennant all the way down to the last few days of the season.
He led league outfielders inputouts once (1965) and infielding percentage three times (1970, 1972, and 1973). He tied for the league lead once each inassists anddouble plays, both in 1972. After acampaign in which he batted .276 with 50runs batted in (RBI) and 7home runs, Berry was traded along withSyd O'Brien andBilly Wynne from the White Sox to the Angels forJay Johnstone,Tom Egan andTom Bradley on November 30, 1970.[3] He was involved in a nine-player transaction three years later when he was sent along withSteve Barber,Clyde Wright,Art Kusnyer and cash from the Angels to the Brewers forEllie Rodríguez,Ollie Brown,Joe Lahoud,Skip Lockwood andGary Ryerson on October 23, 1973.[4] He played in his final major league game at the age of 34 with the Indians on May 31, 1975.
During the1967 baseball season when the White Sox were battling the Red Sox for the pennant, Berry made the final out in a 4-3 loss when he was tagged out at home plate byElston Howard after he tried score on a line drive to right field that was caught byJose Tartabull. Not known for having a strong arm, Tartabull’s throw sailed high and was caught by a leaping Howard who blocked the plate with his left foot as he came down, and swipe tagged Berry ending the game. For Red Sox fans, the play was considered a key event during their”Impossible Dream” season.[5][6][7]
In a fourteen-year major league career, Berry played in 1,384games, accumulating 1,053hits in 4,136at bats for a .255 careerbatting average along with 58 home runs, 343runs batted in and a .308on-base percentage. He ended his career with a .989fielding percentage. A good defensive player, he led American League outfielders three times in fielding percentage.
Career highlights include:
In 1988, he played the heckler in the filmEight Men Out.
In 2012, Berry---now a grandfather---published two children's books,Artie the Awesome Apple andClyde the Clumsy Camel. He toldtheTopeka Capital-Journal he began writing the books in December 2011 and kept on after his wife told him they were "not bad." The newspaper said Berry often entertained his children on long drives to spring training by making up stories about three friendly ghosts.[8]
Berry was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
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