Richard Martin Keough (born April 14, 1934) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. He played as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

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

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

(1956–60),

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

(1960), Washington Senators (1961),

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

(1962–65),

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) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

(1966) and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

(1966) from through .Marty Keough Player Page
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed August 21, 2009 In 1968, he played in Japan for the

Nankai Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

of the

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

league.IMPORTED BY JAPAN, AGAIN – Like His Father Before Him, Matt Keough Goes Overseas to Further His Baseball Career
by Earl Gustkey in ''LA Times'', URL accessed August 21, 2009 Keough batted and threw left-handed,Marty Keough Career
at baseball-almanac.com, URL accessed August 21, 2009 and was listed as tall and . Born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, Keough comes from a baseball family: he is the older brother of

Joe Keough Joseph William Keough (January 7, 1946 – September 9, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right fielder from 1968 through 1973 for the Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals and the Chica ...

, a former MLB outfielder, and father of

Matt Keough Matthew Lon Keough ( ; July 3, 1955 – May 1, 2020) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher from through for the Oakland Athletics (1977–1983), New York Yankees (1983 ...

, a

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

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 ...

who was a 16-game-winner for

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

's 1980 Oakland A's.Marty Keough
- Baseballbiography.com Matt also played in Japan, making them one of the few American father-son duos to both play there. Marty Keough was a multi-sport star at Pomona High School. He was named the

CIF Southern Section The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF ...

football player of the year in 1951 after leading the school to its only football championship. Months later, he was awarded the Southern Section's baseball co-player of the year, sharing the honor with Bill Richardson of Citrus High School. In 1952 he was named by the LA Examiner as overall Southern California Prep "Athlete of the Year". Keough survived more than a decade in the majors without ever winning a full-time job. Mainly a defensive replacement in the outfield, he owned a decent throwing arm and showed some power at the plate, but never hit consistently enough to earn regular playing time.Marty Keough Fielding
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed August 21, 2009 He debuted with the Boston Red Sox in 1956, sharing outfield work with

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 ...

Jim Piersall James Anthony Piersall (November 14, 1929 – June 3, 2017) was an American baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for five teams, from 1950 through 1967. Piersall was best known for his well-publicized ...

and

Jackie Jensen Jack Eugene Jensen (March 9, 1927 – July 14, 1982) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for three American League (AL) teams from 1950 to 1961, most notably the Boston Red Sox. He was named the AL's Most Valuable Pl ...

, among others, until the 1960 midseason when he was traded to the Cleveland Indians. At the end of the season, he was selected by the new Washington Senators in the expansion draft.Marty Keough
at retrosheet.org, URL accessed August 21, 2009 His most productive season came in 1961 with the Senators. He started 109 of the club's 161 games, and posted career numbers in hits (97), doubles (18), triples (9),

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 (9), runs (57), RBI (34),

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s (12), and

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 ...

(135).Marty Keough Batting
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed August 21, 2009 In 1962, he hit a career-high .278 for the Cincinnati Reds. He also played with the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs. In an 11-season MLB career, Keough was a .242 hitter with 434 hits, 43 home runs and 176 RBI in 841 games. He recorded a .986

fielding percentage 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, div ...

playing at all three outfield positions and first base. He has remained in the game as a

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 ...

since the end of his playing days, and is a longtime member of the scouting staff of 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 ...

.Cardinals Keep Coaching Staff Intact for 2009
at stlcardinals.scout.com, URL accessed August 21, 2009

See also

References

External links