Top Tigers #24: George Kell
By Blake VandeBunte • Feb 21st, 2009 • Category: George Kell, Top 100 Tigers- Rank: 24
- Name: George Clyde Kell
- Position: Third Base
- Tigers Tenure: 1946-1952
- Awards: Six Time All Star, MVP Votes (six times), Hall of Fame (1983)
- Best Season: 1950. By the time the 1950 season started Kell had already emerged as one of the best third basemen in baseball. He put the cherry on top though with his performance in 1950. Kell ranked second in batting average (.340), ninth in OPS, first in hits (218), first in doubles (56), and fifth in runs (114). His 56 doubles are the third most in season by a Tiger, trailing only Charlie Gehringer and Hank Greenberg. Along with his All Star offensive numbers, Kell was way above average in terms of fielding percentage and range factor. He was the all-around package in 1950.
- Good Stuff: Since Kell is in the Hall of Fame, it’s no stretch to say that he was a pretty good all-around player. As good as he was during his career, he was at his best with the Tigers. In every full season he was with the Tigers he accomplished the following things: Made the All Star team, received MVP votes, had an OPS+ over 100 and hit over .300. It’s always a plus when a player is consistent. It’s even more of a bonus when that consistent player also happens to be a star. Kell is second in franchise history in hits by a third basemen (trailing Travis Fryman).
- Bad Stuff: The Tigers never made the playoffs when Kell was on the team. Kell was also not a very powerful hitter. Today’s third basemen are expected to hit for power and that was just never Kell’s game. He made up for it with all of those double and the high batting average, but he was just never much of a threat to go deep. The most home runs he ever hit in a season with the Tigers was the eight he hit in 1950. Kell was traded at the age of 29 by the Tigers to the Boston Red Sox. Kell would go on to make four more All Star games after the Tigers traded him away.
- Place In Tigers History: Kell has his name engraved on Comerica Park wall and will always be considered a Tiger. In addition to his great playing career, Kell worked on the Detroit Tigers broadcast team for nearly 30 years. The Tigers have had some great third baseman in the history of the franchise (Travis Fryman and Ray Boone) and Kell is obviously one of the best.
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