Harold Kefauver Keller (July 7, 1927 – June 5, 2012) was an American

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player and executive who served as the fourth

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

in the history of the

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) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

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), ...

(

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

– 85). Born on a farm in

Middletown, Maryland Middletown is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,136 as of the 2010 census. Located in the Middletown Valley that stretches between the Catoctin Mountains on the east and South Mountain on the west, the town ...

, he graduated from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

with a degree in economics and served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Keller's older brother, Charlie, was an All-Star

left fielder 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 ...

with the

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

Baseball career

During an eight-season pro playing career, which began in 1948, Keller appeared as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

in 25

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), ...

games for the Washington Senators between 1949 and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

. A left-handed batter, he stood tall and weighed . His 11 big-league hits included five doubles and one

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 ...

, a two-run shot hit at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

off James Atkins of 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 eigh ...

on September 29, 1950.Information
at

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 ...

After

managing Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

in the Senators' farm system during the late 1950s, he scouted for them until the franchise moved to

Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is commonly known as the Twin Cities ...

as the Minnesota Twins after the 1960 season. Keller, however, remained in Washington as farm system director of the expansion Senators in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

and . After spending with his old organization, the Twins, as a scout, Keller rejoined the expansion Senators as their director of player development and scouting in , a post he held for 15 years, through the team's 1972 transfer to Dallas–Fort Worth as the Texas Rangers. After 1978, Keller left the Rangers to become farm system and scouting director of the

(

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

– 83). During his two decades as farm and scouting director with the Senators/Rangers and the Mariners, he signed and developed players such as Phil Bradley,

Jeff Burroughs Jeffrey Alan Burroughs (born March 7, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball from through , for the Washington Senators / Texas Rangers (1970–76), Atlanta Braves (1977– ...

, Joe Coleman,

Mike Hargrove Dudley Michael Hargrove (born October 26, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. He is currently employed as an advisor with the Cleveland Guardians. Hargrove batted and threw left-handed. He played for the Texas Rang ...

Mark Langston Mark Edward Langston (born August 20, 1960) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched for the Seattle Mariners (1984–1989), Montreal Expos (1989), California / Anaheim Angels (1990–1997), San Diego Padres (1 ...

Bill Madlock Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock, Jr. (born January 12, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from 1973 to 1987. Madlock is notable for being a four-time National League b ...

Jim Sundberg James Howard Sundberg (born May 18, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player, television sports analyst and executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1974 to 1989. A three-time All-Star player, Sundberg esta ...

and

Bill Swift William Charles Swift (born October 27, 1961) is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher. Swift played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, and Colorado Rockies. Scholastic career ...

. Keller then served as the Mariners' vice president, baseball operations, and

from October 1983 to July 12, 1985, when he resigned. The Mariners went 115–132 (.466) during his 1-year term as general manager, while incorporating Langston, Swift,

Alvin Davis Alvin Glenn Davis (born September 9, 1960), nicknamed "Mr. Mariner", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and designated hitter. He played eight of his nine seasons for the Seattle Mariners and won the American League Rookie of the Year ...

and

Jim Presley James Arthur Presley (born October 23, 1961) is a former Major League Baseball infielder with an eight-year career from 1984 to 1991. He played for the Seattle Mariners of the American League and the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres of the N ...

into their lineup. He later scouted for the Detroit Tigers and

Anaheim 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 h ...

. Hal Keller died in his sleep at home in

Sequim, Washington Sequim ( ) is a city in Clallam County, Washington, United States. It is located along the Dungeness River near the base of the Olympic Mountains. The 2010 census counted a population of 6,606. Sequim lies within the rain shadow of the Olympic ...

, aged 84. He had been battling

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

and esophageal cancer.

References

External links

Hal Keller
at Baseball America: Baseball Executives :
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keller, Hal 1927 births 2012 deaths Anaheim Angels scouts Augusta Tigers players Baseball executives Baseball players from Maryland California Angels scouts Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Chattanooga Lookouts players Deaths from cancer in Washington (state) Deaths from diabetes Deaths from esophageal cancer Detroit Tigers scouts Hagerstown Owls players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball farm directors Major League Baseball general managers Maryland Terrapins baseball players Memphis Chickasaws players Minnesota Twins scouts People from Middletown, Maryland Seattle Mariners executives Texas Rangers executives Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players United States Army personnel of World War II Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Washington Senators (1961–1971) executives