James Earl Kennedy (born November 1, 1946) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player who appeared in 12 games 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), ...

for the St. Louis Cardinals as a

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 ...

(seven games) and as a second baseman (five games). Born in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, he was a standout athlete at

Arvin High School Arvin High School is located in Arvin, California, United States and is part of the Kern High School District. Arvin High School was established in 1949, and is located in the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley. Arvin High serves approxima ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and attended Bakersfield College and

Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (California Polytechnic State University, Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt in Arcata, California or California State Polytechnic Univ ...

. He batted left-handed, threw right-handed, and was listed as tall and . A younger brother,

Junior Kennedy Junior Raymond Kennedy (born August 9, 1950) is an American former professional baseball second baseman, who played during seven Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons. Junior's older brother, Jim Kennedy, played for the 1970 St.Louis Cardinals. ...

, also an infielder, played in

MLB 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), ...

for seven seasons between and . Jim Kennedy was originally signed by the

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

in 1966 as a free agent, and was acquired by the Cardinals in the 1969 Rule 5 draft. He spent most of the 1970 season in the city of his birth as a member of the Triple-A Tulsa Oilers, with his major-league trial occurring over four weeks spanning June 14 to July 9. At the plate, Kennedy collected three

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

, all

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, in 24 at bats, with no

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

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 the field, he started three games at shortstop and three at second, playing in 65 total

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

and committing four errors in 43

chances Chances may refer to: * ''Chances'' (TV series), an Australian soap opera * ''Chances'' (Philippine TV series), a prime-time soap opera * '' Chances: The Women of Magdalene'', a 2006 documentary film * ''Chances'' (novel), a 1981 novel by Jac ...

( .907)."Jim Kennedy"

Retrosheet Retrosheet is a nonprofit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores from every major ...

His last year in pro baseball was spent back in the Yankees' organization in 1973.

References

External links

1946 births Living people Binghamton Triplets players Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Greensboro Yankees players Gulf Coast Yankees players Major League Baseball infielders Manchester Yankees players Baseball players from Kern County, California Portland Beavers players St. Louis Cardinals players Baseball players from Tulsa, Oklahoma Syracuse Chiefs players Tidewater Tides players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players {{US-baseball-infielder-stub