2025 Basic Baseball Period Committee Candidate: Ken Boyer

The next article is a part of a sequence in regards to the 2025 Basic Baseball Period Committee poll, masking long-retired gamers, managers, executives, and umpires whose candidacies will probably be voted upon on December 8. For an introduction to the poll, see right here, and for an introduction to JAWS, see right here. A number of profiles on this sequence are tailored from work beforehand printed at SI.com, Baseball Prospectus, and Futility Infielder. All WAR figures consult with the Baseball-Reference model except in any other case indicated.

Considered one of three brothers who hung out within the majors, Ken Boyer spent the majority of his 15-year profession (1955-69) vying with Corridor of Famers Eddie Mathews and Ron Santo for recognition because the Nationwide League’s high third baseman. An excellent all-around participant with good energy, velocity, and a very good glove — however comparatively little flash, for he was all enterprise – Boyer earned All-Star honors in seven seasons and gained 5 Gold Gloves, all of them throughout his preliminary 11-year run with the Cardinals. In 1964, he took dwelling NL MVP honors whereas serving to St. Louis to its first championship in 18 years.

Boyer was born on Could 20, 1931 in Liberty, Missouri, the third-oldest son in a household of 14 (!) youngsters whose father, Vern Boyer, operated a common retailer and repair station in close by Alba, the place the household lived. Ken was almost 4 years youthful than Cloyd Boyer, a righty who pitched within the majors from 1949–52 and ’55, and almost six years older than Clete Boyer, additionally a 3rd baseman from 1955–57 and ’59–71; 4 different brothers (Wayne, Lynn, Len, and Ron) performed within the minors. As a teen, Ken usually competed towards a shortstop named Mickey Mantle, who performed for the Baxter Springs Whiz Children, primarily based in Kansas, simply throughout the border from Oklahoma.

At Alba Excessive Faculty, Ken starred in basketball and soccer in addition to baseball, and acquired scholarship provides from greater than a dozen main schools and universities. The Yankees had been , however with Boyer’s highschool coach, Buford Cooper, serving as a fowl canine scout from the Cardinals, he leaned towards St. Louis. In 1949, Cardinals scout Runt Marr advisable him for a particular tryout at Sportsman’s Park, and the crew appreciated him sufficient to signal him as a pitcher, paying him a $6,000 bonus, $1,000 below the restrict that will have required him to stay on the key league roster (a “bonus child”). Whereas Boyer’s pitching outcomes weren’t terrible, he took his robust arm to 3rd base when the necessity introduced itself on his Class D Hamilton Cardinals crew in 1950; he hit .342, slugged .575, and confirmed off excellent protection.

In 1951, the Cardinals dedicated to Boyer as a full-time third baseman. At A-level Omaha, he overcame a gradual begin to hit .306/.354/.455, refining his recreation on each side of the ball below the tutelage of supervisor George Kissell, a legendary baseball lifer whose six many years within the St. Louis group spanned from Stan Musial’s pre-World Conflict II days as a pitcher to Tony La Russa’s tenure as a supervisor. Boyer’s progress to the majors was interrupted by a two-year stint within the Military through the Korean Conflict; serving abroad in Germany and Africa, he missed the 1952 and ’53 seasons. Upon returning, the 23-year-old Boyer put in a powerful season at Double-A Houston in 1954, then made the Cardinals out of spring coaching the next yr, and even homered in his main league debut, a two-run shot off the Cubs’ Paul Minner in a blowout. That was the primary of 18 homers Boyer hit as a rookie whereas batting .264/.311/.425 (94 OPS+); he additionally stole 22 bases however was caught a league-high 17 instances.

Boyer got here into his personal in 1956, batting .306/.347/.494 (124 OPS+) with 26 homers and making his first All-Star crew. In response to Sports activities Illustrated’s Robert Creamer, within the spring, Cardinals supervisor Fred Hutchinson marveled at his 6-foot-1, 190-pound third baseman. “He’s the type of participant you dream about: terrific velocity, brute energy, an amazing arm. There’s nothing he can’t do,” mentioned Hutchinson. “I believe he has the best way forward for any younger participant within the league.” Nevertheless, Boyer’s calm within the face of some second-half regression — he didn’t stroll or homer in any respect in August whereas hitting simply .219/.217/.254 — led to criticism from Hutchinson and common supervisor Frank Lane, in addition to a stint on the bench. Extra through Creamer:

“Lane talked to me,” Boyer mentioned. “He’s talked about drive and aggressiveness. I don’t assume I actually know what he means. I do know that I attempt, that I give every part I’ve. I don’t loaf. I do know that every one my life folks have been saying that to me, that I don’t look as if I’m attempting. I suppose I don’t look as if I’m placing out. However I’m.

“I don’t assume hustle is one thing you possibly can see on a regular basis. Like Enos Slaughter. All people talks about the way in which he runs in and off the sphere between innings. That’s the least vital a part of Slaughter’s hustle. The factor that counts is the way in which he runs on the bases and within the outfield. That’s what makes him a hustling ballplayer, not the way in which he runs off the sphere.”

Luckily, Boyer completed the season with a powerful September. It was the primary yr of a nine-season run throughout which he hit a mixed .299/.364/.491 (124 OPS+) whereas averaging 25 homers and 6.1 WAR. He ranked among the many NL’s high 10 in WAR seven instances in that span, with 5 top-10 finishes in each batting common and on-base share, and 4 in slugging share. In 1957, the Cardinals took him up on his supply to play middle discipline in order to permit rookie Eddie Kasko to play third base. Boyer fared nicely on the spot defensively (Complete Zone credit him with being eight runs above common in 105 video games) however moved again to the new nook full time in 1958 when the crew referred to as up 20-year-old prospect Curt Flood, who had been acquired from the Reds the earlier December. In 1959, the Cardinals named Boyer crew captain.

Boyer set profession highs in dwelling runs (32), slugging share (.570) and OPS+ (144) in 1960, then adopted that up with highs in WAR (8.0), AVG, and OBP whereas hitting .329/.397/.533 (136 OPS+) in ’61. He made the All-Star crew yearly from 1959–64, together with the twice-a-summer model of the occasion within the first 4 of these seasons.

The Cardinals weren’t an excellent crew for the primary leg of Boyer’s profession; from 1954–59, they cracked .500 simply as soon as, going 87-67 in ’57. With Boyer absorbing the teachings of Musial and serving to to go them alongside to a youthful core — Flood, first baseman Invoice White, second baseman Julian Javier, and later catcher Tim McCarver — the crew started trending in the best path. The Cardinals went 86-68 in 1960, and continued to enhance, significantly as right-hander Bob Gibson emerged as a star.

After going 93-69 and ending second to the Dodgers in 1963 — a six-game deficit, their smallest since ’49 — they matched that file and gained the pennant the next yr, spurred by the mid-June acquisition of left fielder Lou Brock. They beat out a Phillies crew that closed September with 10 straight losses regardless of the robust play of rookie Dick Allen, who can be on the poll and was then often known as Richie. Boyer hit .295/.365/.489 (130 OPS+) in 1964 whereas driving in a league-high 119 runs. In a case of the writers rewarding the highest participant on a successful crew with the MVP award, he took dwelling the trophy, although his 6.1 WAR ranked a modest tenth, nicely behind Willie Mays (11.0), Santo (8.9), Allen (8.8), and Frank Robinson (7.9), amongst a number of others.

Although Boyer hit simply .222/.241/.481 within the seven-game World Sequence towards the Yankees and his brother Clete, he got here up huge by supplying all of the scoring within the Cardinals’ 4-3 win in Recreation 4 along with his grand slam off Al Downing. Moreover, he went 3-for-4 with a double and a homer of their 7-5 win in Recreation 7. Clete additionally homered within the latter recreation, thus far the one time that brothers have homered in the identical World Sequence recreation.

Hampered by again issues, Boyer slipped to a 91 OPS and 1.8 WAR in 1965, his age-34 season, after which he was traded to the Mets — whose common supervisor, Bing Devine, had served because the Cardinals’ GM from late 1957 till August ’64 — for pitcher Al Jackson and third baseman Charley Smith. On the time, it was the most important commerce the Mets had made. Boyer, whom Devine had acquired as a lot for his veteran management as for his enjoying abilities, rebounded to a 101 OPS+ and a pair of.9 WAR, albeit on a 95-loss crew going nowhere. The next July, he was traded to the White Sox, who had been working first in what wound up as an exciting four-team race that went all the way down to the season’s last day. The White Sox had been managed by Eddie Stanky, who had been on the helm when Boyer broke in with the Cardinals. Although Boyer didn’t play badly, he appeared in simply 67 video games for the crew earlier than being launched in Could 1968. He was picked up by the Dodgers and spent the rest of that season and the following with them in a reserve function.

The Dodgers requested Boyer to return as a coach for 1970, however he as an alternative selected to return to the Cardinals group so he may handle within the minors. He spent 5 seasons guiding varied Cardinals associates in Arkansas, Florida, and Oklahoma, interrupted by a two-year stint (1971–72) as a coach on the massive league employees. Bypassed when the Cardinals employed Vern Rapp to succeed Purple Schoendienst after the 1976 season, he spent ’77 managing the Orioles’ Triple-A Rochester affiliate, however when the Cardinals fired Rapp after a 6-10 begin in ’78, he returned to take over. The crew went simply 62-82 on his watch, however the subsequent yr, Boyer guided the Cardinals to an 86-76 file and a third-place end.

Alas, when the Cardinals skidded to an 18-33 begin in 1980, the crew changed Boyer with Whitey Herzog, whose tenure in St. Louis would come with three pennants and a championship. Boyer accepted reassignment right into a scouting function, and was slated to handle the crew’s Triple-A Louisville affiliate in 1982, however he needed to decline the chance when he was recognized with lung most cancers. He was simply 52 years previous when he died on September 7, 1982. The Cardinals retired his quantity 14 in 1984, and 40 years later, he’s nonetheless the crew’s solely former participant with that honor who’s not within the Corridor of Fame.

On that topic, Boyer by no means bought a lot traction within the BBWAA voting, both earlier than or after his dying. From 1975–79, he maxed out at 4.7%, and was got rid of the poll when the 5 P.c rule was put in place in ’80. He was one in every of 11 gamers who had his eligibility restored in 1985, and he was among the many 5 gamers who cleared the bar to remain on the poll, together with Allen, Flood, Santo, and Vada Pinson. He remained on the poll by 1994, topping out at a meager 25.5% in ’88, nowhere close to sufficient for election. Neither did he fare nicely through the expanded Veterans Committee within the 2003, ’05, and ’07 elections, maxing out at 18.8% in the course of these years. Equally, on the 2012 and ’15 Golden Period ballots, and the ’22 Golden Days poll, he didn’t obtain sufficient assist to have his precise vote complete introduced; typically, the Corridor lumps collectively the entire candidates under a sure (various) threshold as “receiving fewer than x” votes to keep away from embarrassing them (or their descendants) with the information of a shutout.

All of which is to say that when once more, Boyer feels extra like ballast than a real candidate, right here to spherical out a poll with out having a lot probability at getting elected. That’s a disgrace, as a result of he was rattling good. For the 1956–64 interval, he ranked sixth amongst all place gamers in worth:

That’s a fairly good group! In fact the comparability is manicured completely to Boyer’s finest years, however even when I develop the vary to cowl the total extent of his profession, he’s ninth on the listing, in comparable firm (Kaline, Clemente, and Banks go him), and one spot forward of Santo. Boyer was a greater fielder than Santo (through Complete Zone, +73 runs to +20), and a greater baserunner (+20 runs to -34, together with double play avoidance), although not pretty much as good a hitter (116 OPS+ to 125).

Despite the fact that he in all probability would have reached the majors earlier if not for his army service, Boyer ranks 14th amongst third basemen in JAWS, simply 1.8 factors under the usual, with a seven-year peak that ranks ninth, 3.0 factors above the usual. At a place that’s grossly underrepresented — there are simply 17 enshrined third basemen, not together with Negro League gamers, in comparison with 20 second basemen, 23 shortstops, and 28 proper fielders — that must be ok for Cooperstown.

To those eyes it’s. I included Boyer on each my 2015 and ’22 digital ballots, each of which allowed voters to decide on 4 candidates from amongst a slate of 10. With the 2022 tweaks to the Period Committee format, voters can now tab simply three candidates out of eight, and so for as a lot as I imagine Boyer is worthy, the brand new math requires a extra intensive poll triage. His previous ranges of assist illustrate that he’s by no means gotten greater than 25% on an Period Committee poll, suggesting that he’s a protracted shot. Despite the fact that he has a barely larger profession WAR, peak WAR, and JAWS than Allen (58.7/45.9/52.3), the truth that the latter — who endured appreciable racism and tacky remedy throughout his profession — has fallen one vote quick in back-to-back elections reverse Boyer has already led me to dedicate one in every of my three spots to him. That leaves me simply two to play with. For now, one of the best I can do is to go away Boyer in play for a kind of spots, however I already assume I’m leaning away from choosing him for my last poll.