Michael David Kilkenny (April 11, 1945 – June 28, 2018) was a Canadian 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 who played as a

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 ...

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), ...

. Born in

Bradford, Ontario Bradford is the primary country urban area of the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury, Ontario, in Canada. It overlooks a farming community, known as The Holland Marsh, located on the Holland River that flows into Lake Simcoe. History The easter ...

, the , left-hander was signed by the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

as an amateur free agent before the 1964 season. He played for the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

(1969–1972),

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

(1972),

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

(1972), and

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 ...

(1972–1973). Kilkenny is perhaps best known for giving up

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams, from to . The only player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of bot ...

's 499th

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 ...

on September 13, 1971, and also for being one of the few players in MLB history to play for four teams in the same season. The majority of his 139 appearances were as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

; he also started 54 games. During his career, Kilkenny gave up 224 walks in just 410

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

s, for a BB/9IP of 4.92, much higher than the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

average at that time. With 301

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

, his

K/9IP In baseball statistics, strikeouts per nine innings pitched (K/9, SO/9, or SO/9IP) is the mean of strikeouts (or Ks) by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by multiplying the number of strikeouts by nine, and dividing by the numb ...

was 6.61, which was higher than the

average. He finished his career with a total of 23 wins, 18 losses, 4 saves, 32

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is th ...

, and an

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

of 4.43. On August 12, 1969, Kilkenny pitched a three-hit shutout against the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

for his first major league victory. Earlier the same day, Kilkenny's wife, Carol, gave birth to the couple's first child, Rory Erin Kilkenny. In 1969, Kilkenny was named Tigers Rookie of the Year. Kilkenny was traded with cash from the Tigers to the Athletics for

Reggie Sanders Reginald Laverne Sanders (born December 1, 1967) is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed. He played professionally with the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, S ...

on May 9, 1972.Detroit Tigers 1974 Press-TV-Radio Guide (scroll down to page 47).
Retrieved June 6, 2020 After his professional career ended, Kilkenny played for the

London Majors The London Majors are an independent, minor league baseball team of the Intercounty Baseball League. The team was founded in 1925, and is based in London, Ontario. They play their home games at the 5,200 seat Labatt Memorial Park. Team history ...

of the Canadian

Intercounty Baseball League The Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) is a Canadian amateur baseball league, comprising teams of college players and former professionals from North America and beyond. The teams are located in Southern Ontario. The league was formed in 1919 and ...

where he helped the Majors win the Intercounty title in 1975. He was voted MVP during the regular season, winning the John Bell Memorial trophy with a 9–0 record and 129 strikeouts.

References

* ''Intercounty Major Baseball League's 1998 Record Book'' by Editor Herb Morell and Dominico Productions Inc.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilkenny, Mike 1945 births 2018 deaths Baseball people from Ontario Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Cleveland Indians players Cocoa Rookie League Tigers players Daytona Beach Islanders players Detroit Tigers players Florida Instructional League Tigers players Canadian baseball players Canadian sportspeople of Irish descent Lakeland Tigers players London Majors players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Canada Montgomery Rebels players Oakland Athletics players San Diego Padres players Sportspeople from London, Ontario Toledo Mud Hens players