Kenneth Eugene Harvey (born March 1, 1978) is a former

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), ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. Harvey earned consensus first-team All-America honors in 1999 at

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, leading the Huskers to a Big 12 Tournament title and an NCAA appearance. He led the nation with a .478 average, while hitting 23 homers and driving in 86 runs. Although he made his name on offense, Harvey was the Easton Redline Defensive Player of the Year after committing just two errors in 1999. A career .426 hitter, Harvey was selected in the fifth round of the 1999 MLB Draft by the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. Harvey played his rookie season in Kansas City in 2003. After an impressive first half of the 2004 season, featuring an early battle with

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Melvin Mora Melvin Mora Diaz (born February 2, 1972) is a Venezuelan-American former professional baseball infielder. He played for the New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). From h ...

for the AL lead in

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, Harvey was selected as the Royals' lone representative in the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

. In interleague play with no

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

, the Royals played Harvey in

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

in order to keep both Harvey and 1B/DH

Mike Sweeney Michael John Sweeney (born July 22, 1973) is a former Major League Baseball designated hitter and first baseman. Sweeney played his first 13 seasons in the majors with the Kansas City Royals, first as a catcher, then at first base and designated ...

, their two most productive bats, in the lineup. After struggling the second half of the 2004 season, Harvey found himself battling Calvin Pickering for his roster spot the following spring. After hitting .238 in

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

, the Royals sent Harvey to their Triple-A

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

affiliate on March 29, 2005. In 18 games at Omaha, Harvey hit .375 with three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 14 RBI and was recalled less than a month later on April 28. However, after playing in only 12 games, during which he batted just .222 with five RBI, Harvey was placed on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

on May 22 due to recurring back problems. On December 8, 2006, Harvey signed a minor league contract with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

with an invitation to spring training. He opted for minor league free agency on November 3, 2007. In 2008, he played for the

Kansas City T-Bones The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Kansas. Formerly known as the Kansas City T-Bones, they are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball; which, in 2020, became designated as a Majo ...

in the independent Northern League. He split the 2009 season between the T-Bones and the

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are members of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseb ...

of the independent Atlantic League.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Ken Major League Baseball first basemen Kansas City Royals players American League All-Stars Omaha Royals players Rochester Red Wings players Kansas City T-Bones players Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball players Baseball players from California 1978 births Living people Southern Maryland Blue Crabs players All-American college baseball players African-American baseball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Gulf Coast Twins players Guerreros de Oaxaca players Spokane Indians players Wichita Wranglers players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Beverly Hills High School alumni