Cloyd Victor Boyer Jr. (September 1, 1927 – September 20, 2021) was an American right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and pitching coach in

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), ...

who played between 1949 and 1955 for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1949–52) and

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

(1955).

Biography

Boyer was born in Alba, Missouri. He was the eldest son in a family that included third basemen

Ken Boyer Kenton Lloyd "Ken" Boyer (May 20, 1931 – September 7, 1982) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman, coach and manager who played with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers for 15 ...

and

Clete Boyer Cletis Leroy "Clete" Boyer (February 9, 1937 – June 4, 2007) was an American professional baseball third baseman — who occasionally played shortstop and second base — in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Athletics (1955–57 ...

. Ken, 1964

National League Most Valuable Player 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' ...

, an 11-time

Major League Baseball All-Star The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

and five-time Gold Glove Award winner, had a 15-year big-league career with the Cardinals,

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 ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

; Clete won only one Gold Glove because of the presence of Brooks Robinson, but played all or parts of 16 MLB seasons for the Athletics,

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

. In a five-season career, Cloyd Boyer posted a 20–23 record with 198 strikeouts and a 4.73

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 395⅔ innings pitched, including 13 complete games, three

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s, and two saves. Boyer also played for the

Duluth Dukes The Duluth Dukes was the name of an American minor league baseball franchise that represented Duluth, Minnesota, in the Northern League from 1935 to 1942, and from 1946 to 1955. In addition, a separate edition of the Dukes was one of four franc ...

, a Cardinals minor league team, in 1947. During the 1947 season in Duluth, Boyer compiled a record of 16 wins against 9 losses. He struck out 239 and took the strikeout lead in the Northern League. After that season, he was sold to the

Houston Buffs Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, for whom he played in 1948. After his playing career finished, Boyer became a scout, minor league pitching instructor and major league pitching coach—spending much of his time in the New York Yankees' organization. He was also the pitching coach during

Bobby Cox Robert Joe Cox (born May 21, 1941) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Cox played for the New York Yankees and managed the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays. He is a member of ...

's first term as manager of the

. Boyer is credited with helping

Fritz Peterson Fred Ingels Peterson (born February 8, 1942) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player who played for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Texas Rangers from 1966 to 1976. Peterson was a southpaw starting pitcher who enjoy ...

become a star pitcher. Boyer died in Carthage, Missouri, on September 20, 2021. At the time, he was the 18th oldest former Major League Baseball player at 94 years, 19 days old.

References

External links

: 1927 births 2021 deaths Atlanta Braves coaches Baseball coaches from Missouri Baseball players from Missouri Binghamton Triplets managers Carthage Cardinals players Columbus Red Birds players Duluth Dukes players Fort Lauderdale Yankees managers Houston Buffaloes players Indianapolis Indians players Johnson City Cardinals players Kansas City Athletics players Kansas City Royals coaches Lynchburg Cardinals players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Minor league baseball coaches New York Yankees coaches New York Yankees scouts People from Jasper County, Missouri Rochester Red Wings players Sacramento Solons players St. Louis Cardinals players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1940s-stub