John Joseph "Buddy" Kerr (November 6, 1922 – November 7, 2006) was an American

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. From

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

through

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

, Kerr played for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

(1943–1949) and Boston Braves (1950–1951). A native of

Astoria, New York Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast, a ...

, in the New York City borough of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, he batted and threw right-handed. Despite the fact that he hit a home run in his first major league at-bat on September 8 of his debut season, Kerr was known mostly as a slick fielder with a very light bat. He led

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

shortstops in

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or ''fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wit ...

s, and

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

s in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

, and achieved a top .982

fielding average In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, divi ...

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

. From 1946 to

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

, he played 68 consecutive games without committing an

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

, which was a major league record that would last until 1989. His most productive offensive season came in 1947, when he recorded a career-high .287 average. An All-Star in 1948, he also received minor consideration in the

National League MVP The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers' ...

voting in 1945 and 1946. In a nine-season career, Kerr was a .249

hitter In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, to driv ...

with 31 home runs and 333

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

in 1067

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

Professional career

The Giants signed Buddy Kerr out of George Washington High School in New York City. The team assigned Kerr to the Fort Smith Giants of the Western Association. As an 18 year old rookie, Kerr appeared in 102 games and batted over .300. He was promoted to Jersey City of the International League, where he'd spent the next two seasons before joining the Giants as the backup to

Billy Jurges William Frederick Jurges (May 9, 1908 – March 3, 1997) was an American shortstop, third baseman, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball. He was born in the Bronx, New York. During the 1930s, he was central to three (, and ) National ...

. At 20 years old, Kerr was the youngest player on the roster. However in his first season in the major leagues, Kerr appeared in 27 games and batted a respectable .285. In 1944, Giants player/manager

Mel Ott Melvin Thomas Ott (March 2, 1909 – November 21, 1958), nicknamed "Master Melvin", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants, from through . He batted left-handed an ...

named Kerr the starting shortstop and moved the veteran Jurges to third base. Kerr remained the regular shortstop for the Giants until he was traded to the Boston Braves ahead of the 1950 season, along with Willard Marshall and

Sid Gordon Sidney Gordon (August 13, 1917 – June 17, 1975) was an American right-handed Major League Baseball two-time All-Star outfielder, third baseman, and first baseman. He had a 13-year career in MLB for the New York Giants (1941–43, 1946–49, a ...

, for

Alvin Dark Alvin Ralph Dark (January 7, 1922 – November 13, 2014), nicknamed "Blackie" and "The Swamp Fox", was an American professional baseball shortstop and manager. He played fourteen years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston/Milwaukee Bra ...

and

Eddie Stanky Edward Raymond Stanky (born Stankiewicz (September 3, 1915 – June 6, 1999) was an American professional baseball second baseman, shortstop, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Br ...

. Kerr only played a couple of season in Boston, splitting his second season between shortstop and second base. He was released at the end of the 1951 season, and signed with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

and was assigned to their minor league affiliate in Baltimore. In 1953, he returned to the Braves, who by this time had relocated to Milwaukee and was assigned to the

Toledo Sox The Toledo Sox were a minor league baseball team based in Toledo, Ohio. They played in the American Association from 1953 to 1955 at the Triple-A level as an affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves. History Entering the 1952 season, Toledo, Ohio, ...

, their top minor league affiliate. Kerr retired as an active player after playing one season for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. Kerr later became a manager and made a few appearances as a player. In 1958, Kerr was the manager of the

Michigan City White Caps The Michigan City White Caps were a minor league baseball team based in Michigan City, Indiana from 1956 to 1959. The White Caps were a member of the Class C Midwest League (1956–1959). The team set the foundation for today's West Michigan Whi ...

of the Midwest League. One of the players on that team was a young pitcher who had just been signed from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

Juan Marichal Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez (born October 20, 1937), nicknamed "the Dominican Dandy", is a Dominican former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams from 1960 to 1975, almost entirely the San Francisco Giant ...

. In his autobiography, ''My Journey From The Dominican Republic to Cooperstown'', Marichal praised Kerr, writing that Kerr did everything he could to make Marichal feel less homesick. In the book, Marichal also related several stories in which Kerr defended him from racists and would refuse to eat at places that would not allow Marichal and Jose Tartabull, who had fled

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, to dine there. Kerr remained with the Giants managing their minor league affiliates until 1963, when he was dismissed at the conclusion of the 1963 season, in which he had led the

Springfield Giants From 1957 through 1965, the Springfield Giants were the Single-A and Double-A baseball team affiliate of the New York/San Francisco Giants in the Eastern League. The team played at Pynchon Park in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Springfield Gi ...

of the Double-A Eastern League to a 72-68 record, which was good enough for a third place finish. Kerr worked for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

from 1975 through 2000 as a special assignment

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

. He died in New York City after a short illness, one day after his 84th birthday.

References

External links

Buddy Kerr
– Baseballbiography.com
Associated Press obituary
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Buddy 1922 births 2006 deaths Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Baseball players from New York (state) Boston Braves players Cocoa Indians players Fort Smith Giants players Jersey City Giants players Major League Baseball shortstops Michigan City White Caps players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players National League All-Stars New York Giants (NL) players New York Mets scouts San Francisco Giants scouts Sportspeople from New York City Toledo Sox players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players

Professional career

See also

References

External links