Roberto Kelly
Roberto Conrado "Gray" Kelly (born October 1, 1964) is a Panamanian former professional baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball and current manager of the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican Baseball League. He was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1982 and went on to play for them (1987–1992 and 2000), the Cincinnati Reds (1993–1994), Atlanta Braves (1994), Montreal Expos (1995), Los Angeles Dodgers (1995), Minnesota Twins (1996–1997), Seattle Mariners (1997) and Texas Rangers (1998–1999). During his playing days in Panama, he was known as La Sombra, Spanish for Shadow. After his playing career, he managed the Giants' single-A team, the Augusta GreenJackets and later became a coach for the Giants major league team.[1]
Roberto Kelly | |||
---|---|---|---|
Kelly with the San Francisco Giants | |||
Sultanes de Monterrey | |||
Outfielder / Manager | |||
Born: Panama City, Panama | October 1, 1964|||
| |||
MLB debut | |||
July 29, 1987, for the New York Yankees | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
April 18, 2000, for the New York Yankees | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .290 | ||
Home runs | 124 | ||
Runs batted in | 585 | ||
Teams | |||
As player
As coach | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
Playing career
Kelly was a member of four playoff teams in his career, having helped the Dodgers win the 1995 NL West Division, the Mariners win the 1997 AL West, and the Rangers win the 1998 and 1999 AL Western Division.[2] (Kelly played ten games for the 2000 American League East-winning New York Yankees, but played his final game on April 18, long before the playoffs.)[3]
Kelly named to the 1992 American League All-Star team as well as the 1993 National League All-Star team.
Kelly also broke up Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dave Stieb's perfect game in 1989 with a 2-out double in the 9th inning.[4]
In 14 seasons, he played in 1,337 games and had 4,797 at bats, 687 runs, 1,390 hits, 241 doubles, 30 triples, 124 home runs, 585 RBI, 235 stolen bases, 317 walks, a .290 batting average, a .337 on-base percentage and a .430 slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded a .985 fielding percentage as an outfielder.[2]
Coaching career
On November 16, 2007, Kelly was hired as the San Francisco Giants' new first base coach and hitting instructor. As a manager of the Augusta GreenJackets, he gained a reputation for his aggressive approach to baserunning.[1] In February 2008, he told Giants pitchers that he didn't want them to use the fact that they were pitchers as an excuse for poor baserunning.[1]
On January 17, 2018, Kelly was announced as the new manager for the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican Baseball League for the next 3 seasons.[5]
Personal life
Kelly is married to Blanca Kelly, sister of Juan Gonzalez, former Texas Rangers’ Player. He has seven sons, named Roberto Jr., Roberto Bryan, Xavier, Ryan, Johaun, Jacques and Jadrien. He also has three daughters named Charlene, Rhianna and Bianca.
References
- Giants' motto: Without HRs, it's run, run, run
- "Roberto Kelly Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
- "The 2000 NY A Regular Season Batting Log for Roberto Kelly". Retrosheet.org. Retrosheet. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
- Hafner, Dan (August 5, 1989). "Third Time Is No Charm for Stieb". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
- http://www.multimedios.com/deportes/sultanes/presentan-roberto-kelly-nuevo-manager.html
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)