Michael Dennis Kekich (born April 2, 1945) is an American former professional baseball

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), ...

who played for the

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, Texas Rangers and

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

in parts of nine seasons spanning 1965–1977. In 1974, he played in Japan for the

Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a ...

Career

Kekich was a left-handed

who began his career as a starter but later moved to the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

as a reliever. He had a modestly successful career in the Major Leagues, but he is best remembered for trading families with fellow Yankees pitcher

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 ...

before the 1973 season. The trade worked out better for Peterson, who later married Kekich's wife, Susanne, than it did for Kekich, who soon broke up with Peterson's wife, Marilyn. After his big league career ended, Kekich attempted a comeback in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

, but this proved unsuccessful. He is remarried and currently resides near

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

References

External links

Mike Kekich
at Baseball Almanac
Mike Kekich
at Baseball Gauge
Mike Kekich
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League)

1945 births Living people Albuquerque Dodgers players American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American people of Serbian descent Arizona Instructional League Dodgers players Baseball players from San Diego Cleveland Indians players Gold Coast Suns (baseball) players Indios de Ciudad Juárez (minor league) players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Minor league baseball managers New York Yankees players Nippon Ham Fighters players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers San Jose Missions players Santa Barbara Dodgers players Santo Domingo Azucareros players Seattle Mariners players Spokane Indians players St. Petersburg Saints players Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo players Texas Rangers players Tiburones de La Guaira players Tigres de Aragua players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1940s-stub