Final Card: Harvey Kuenn

This is the final player card for Harvey Kuenn (#372). He played 15 seasons in the majors, and was a shortstop for the first half of his career before switching to the outfield.

Kuenn was signed by the Tigers in 1952, and spent just one season in the minors before making his major-league debut on September 6, 1952. Harvey took over as Detroit's starting shortstop that day, and remained there until the end of the 1957 season. As a rookie, Kuenn led the AL with 209 hits, batted .308, and won the Rookie of the Year award. He also made his first of 8 consecutive all-star appearances.

Harvey also led the AL in hits for the '54, '56, and '59 seasons, and in doubles for the '55, '58, and '59 seasons.



At the start of the 1958 season, Kuenn switched to center field, making 138 starts there. (His previous major-league outfield experience consisted of 1 inning.) After one more season in Detroit (as the regular right fielder), Kuenn was traded to the Indians on April 17, 1960 for outfielder Rocky Colavito.

Kuenn spent just one season in Cleveland. It would be his last season in the American League, and his last as an all-star. In December he was traded to the Giants for pitcher Johnny Antonelli and outfielder Willie Kirkland.

In 1961, Harvey shared the left field duties with Orlando Cepeda (with Cepeda also alternating at 1B with Willie McCovey). Kuenn also started a few dozen games in right field.

Kuenn spent 3 more full seasons with the Giants, mostly as the 3rd/4th outfielder (depending on whether McCovey was playing 1st base or the outfield), and also started about 50 games at 3rd base during 1963. His playing time was gradually decreasing over those 3 seasons, and by 1965 he was hardly playing at all.

At the end of May 1965, Kuenn was traded to the Cubs (with pitcher Bob Hendley and catcher Ed Bailey) for catcher Dick Bertell and outfielder Len Gabrielsen. He played 54 games for the Cubs that season, mostly as a pinch-hitter, but also as a 6th outfielder.

In April 1966, Kuenn was sold to the Phillies, and wrapped up his career that season as a pinch-hitter.

Kuenn would later manage the Milwaukee Brewers in 1982 (where he won the AL pennant) and 1983.

Final Card: Billy Hoeft

Billy Hoeft (#409) began his minor league career in 1950 with the Richmond (Indiana) Tigers.

His major-league debut came in 1952 with the Tigers. After his first season, Hoeft was primarily a starting pitcher for the Tigers, with his best seasons coming in 1955 and 1956. (He led the league with 7 shutouts in 1955.)



Early in the 1959 season, Hoeft was traded to the Red Sox. Only a few weeks later, he moved on to the Orioles. After 3 more seasons in Baltimore (mostly as a reliever), he was constantly on the move. Three succesive off-seasons brought trades to the Giants and Braves, and a release from the Braves following the 1964 season.

The Tigers re-signed him in November 1964, but but he was cut prior to opening day. The Cubs signed him in early 1965, and used him in relief for 2 seasons, before releasing him in late 1966. He pitched for the Giants during September 1966, and was released after the season.

Hoeft is one of only 40 pitchers to strike out the side on 9 pitches.

Final Card: Harvey Kuenn

Harvey Kuenn [pronounced "Keen"] (#372) was a shortstop and outfielder from 1952 to 1966, primarily for the Tigers and Giants.

He joined the Tigers in September 1952, and took over the starting shortstop job. The next season, he was the American League rookie of the year, and led the league in hits and at-bats in his first 2 full seasons, while playing in every game.

Harvey was the Tigers regular shortstop until switching to the outfield in 1958, where he would play for the rest of his career (except for some games at 3rd base during his time with the Giants).

Except for 1957, he was among the league leaders in batting average for all his years with the Tigers, and won the AL batting crown in 1959. After the 1959 season, he was traded to the Indians for Rocky Colavito, who had won the AL homerun title that same year. (It's odd that a league leader would be traded; stranger still that two would be traded for each other!)



After only 1 season with the Indians (in which he hit .308), Kuenn was traded to the Giants for pitcher Johnny Antonelli and outfielder Willie Kirkland.
[I don't understand this trade at all. From looking at stats, Antonelli appeared to be on a downward slide, and although Kirkland was a 20-plus homerun hitter, the Indians two other starting outfielders (Tito Francona and Jimmy Piersall) were in the same power range, but hit for higher average than Kirkland. It seems like giving up Kuenn's .308 average for Kirkland's mild power (already duplicated by Piersall & Francona) makes the trade seem like a bad move for Cleveland. Maybe someone with knowledge of the Indians or Giants at that time can make sense of it.]

In his first season with the Giants, Kuenn shared left field with Orlando Cepeda. The next season, he was the regular leftfielder, as Cepeda was moved to first base. In 1963, Willie McCovey took over as the starting left fielder, so Kuenn joined the backup outfield mix (along with Matty and Jesus Alou), backing up McCovey in left and Felipe Alou in right.

Before the 1964 season, Felipe Alou was traded to the Braves, but younger brother Jesus took over in right field, leaving Kuenn and Matty Alou to back up the corner outfield positions. In late May 1965, he was traded to the Cubs, where he was used primarily as a pinch-hitter and backup leftfielder. In mid-April 1966, he was sold to the Phillies, where he finished out the season.

Kuenn also managed the Milwaukee Brewers in 1982 and 1983, including their World Series appearance vs. the Cardinals in 1982.