#44 Ellis Kinder

#44 Ellis Kinder

9 of 274

3.3% complete

"His Walk About" - Kinder's MLB walk about lasted 12 seasons, which is actually quite impressive given he didn't start it until the age of 31.  After beginning his career as a starter, and very good one at that (Kinder won 23 games in 1949), he became one of the pioneers in the niche of relief pitching.  He retired with 104 saves, which was good for 2nd all-time in 1957 (Johnny Murphy was the leader with 107 at the time).

"That's Not a Knife" - It wasn't a knife, it was a there pound smelt (that's a fish) that fell from the sky and smacked Kinder on the head while pitching as a member of the St. Louis Browns in Fenway Park on May 17, 1947.  Dropped by a seagull flying overhead, Kinder was undeterred and picked up the a 4-2 win by throwing a complete game.  Kinder must have enjoyed the expierence, because he joined the Red Sox the following season in 1948.

"More of a love bite really..." - This Kinder appears to have crossed path with a crocodile or a hole puncher at some point, as there's a clean (cleanish) hole going straight through the card.  Thankfully, given the crease clearly shows someone folded this card in half horizontally once or twice, the hole wasn't punched while the card was folded, or there would be a hole on each side.

"Down Under" - Ellis Kinder is card #78 down below in the 1952 set.  The '52 is a nice enough card, but based on the strength of the scoreboard in the background of this '53, I'm going to give the edge to the sequel here.  The 52's keep their lead, but it's down to a 5-4 edge.

"At the Oscars"

Inducted to the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2006

AL TSN Pitcher of the Year 1949

1st AL Shutouts '49

1st AL Saves '51

1st AL Saves '53

1st AL Games Finished '51, '53, and '55

2nd AL Wins '49

3rd AL Strikeouts '49

9th AL Strikeouts '47

5th AL MVP Voting '49

7th AL MVP Voting '51

2nd AL Saves '54

2nd AL Saves '55

4th AL Saves '50

5th AL Saves '49