Jerry Adair
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Jerry Adair was a professional baseball
player for the Baltimore Orioles
, Chicago White Sox
, Boston Red Sox
, and Kansas City Royals
from Sand Springs, Oklahoma
.
out of Oklahoma State University on September 2, 1958 for a $40,000 bonus. he made his Major League Baseball
debut with the club that day against the Washington Senators
, coming into the game in the bottom of the 8th inning as a defensive replacement for shortstop Chuck Oertel
. He did not get an at bat in the game. Adair's first big league at bat came a few days later - September 5 - against the Boston Red Sox
. After drawing a walk and scoring in the 8th inning, Adair reached base again in the ninth inning on a fielder's choice. He picked up his first big league hit (a single to left field) in a 3-2 Orioles win over the visiting New York Yankees
on September 21. That season, he hit .105 (2-for-19) in 11 games with the Orioles, primarily playing shortstop.
He hit .314 (11-for-35) in 12 games in 1959 and went 1-for-5 (.200) in 3 games in 1960.
Adair's first full season in the big leagues came in 1961 with the Orioles, hitting .264 with 9 home runs and 37 RBI in 133 games. Although the majority of his time was spent at second base, he also played some shortstop and third base that year.
Once, during the 1964 season, he was struck in the mouth by a bad throw during the first game of a doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers
. The resulting laceration required 11 stitches, but Adair was back in the park in uniform in time to play the entire second game.
In 1965, 28-year-old Adair hit .259 with 7 home runs and a career-high 66 RBI in 157 games with the Orioles. He was among American League
leaders with 157 games (8th in the AL), 582 at bats (10th in the AL), 26 doubles (7th in the AL), 115 singles (10th in the AL) and 6 sacrifice flies (8th in the AL). As a result, Adair finished 17th in the AL MVP vote that was won by Zoilo Versalles
of the Minnesota Twins
.
for Eddie Fisher
.
for Don McMahon
and minor leaguer Bob Snow. Adair played well down the stretch with the Red Sox, hitting .291 with 3 homers and 26 RBI in 89 games, rounding out his season stats to .271 with 3 HR and 35 RBI in 117 games. With his pennant push performance at the plate, coupled with stellar defensive play, Adair finished 15th in the AL MVP balloting. Teammate Carl Yastrzemski
won the award that year after claiming the elusive triple crown.
with the 51st pick of the 1968 MLB expansion draft. In the Royals' inaugural season of 1969, the 32-year-old Adair hit .250 with 5 home runs and 48 RBI in 126 games.
In 1970, Adair hit just .148 (4-for-27) before being abruptly released on May 12 as he was about to board a plane to make a road trip to Cleveland with the team. Adair had spent much of spring training that year with a young daughter who had terminal cancer (she died a few weeks after his release) and claimed the Royals let him go without taking the family's problems into consideration.
After leaving Major League Baseball, he played in Japan
for a year and later coached for the Oakland Athletics
(1972-74) and the California Angels
(1975), working under a former Oriole teammate and his manager in Boston, Dick Williams
.
Adair died of liver cancer on May 31, 1987 in Tulsa, Oklahoma
, at the age of 50. He is buried in Woodland Memorial Park Cemetery in Sand Springs, Oklahoma
.
Professional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....
player for the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
, Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
, Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, and Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
from Sand Springs, Oklahoma
Sand Springs, Oklahoma
Sand Springs is a city in Osage and Tulsa counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A suburb of Tulsa, it is located predominantly in Tulsa County. The population was 18,906 in the 2010 U. S. Census, compared to 17,451 at the 2000 census. The city was founded in 1911, by Oklahoma philanthropist...
.
Baltimore Orioles
Adair was signed by the Baltimore OriolesBaltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
out of Oklahoma State University on September 2, 1958 for a $40,000 bonus. he made his Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
debut with the club that day against the Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
, coming into the game in the bottom of the 8th inning as a defensive replacement for shortstop Chuck Oertel
Chuck Oertel
Charles Frank Oertel is a former professional baseball player. He played 14 games in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles in 1958, mostly as a pinch hitter, but he did play two games in the outfield. He did hit one home run, which came against future Hall of Fame pitcher Jim...
. He did not get an at bat in the game. Adair's first big league at bat came a few days later - September 5 - against the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
. After drawing a walk and scoring in the 8th inning, Adair reached base again in the ninth inning on a fielder's choice. He picked up his first big league hit (a single to left field) in a 3-2 Orioles win over the visiting New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
on September 21. That season, he hit .105 (2-for-19) in 11 games with the Orioles, primarily playing shortstop.
He hit .314 (11-for-35) in 12 games in 1959 and went 1-for-5 (.200) in 3 games in 1960.
Adair's first full season in the big leagues came in 1961 with the Orioles, hitting .264 with 9 home runs and 37 RBI in 133 games. Although the majority of his time was spent at second base, he also played some shortstop and third base that year.
Once, during the 1964 season, he was struck in the mouth by a bad throw during the first game of a doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
. The resulting laceration required 11 stitches, but Adair was back in the park in uniform in time to play the entire second game.
In 1965, 28-year-old Adair hit .259 with 7 home runs and a career-high 66 RBI in 157 games with the Orioles. He was among American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
leaders with 157 games (8th in the AL), 582 at bats (10th in the AL), 26 doubles (7th in the AL), 115 singles (10th in the AL) and 6 sacrifice flies (8th in the AL). As a result, Adair finished 17th in the AL MVP vote that was won by Zoilo Versalles
Zoilo Versalles
Zoilo Casanova Versalles Rodriguez , nicknamed "Zorro", was a Cuban shortstop in Major League Baseball, who was considered a solid leadoff man, and a good baserunner whose speed helped him to cover a huge area at shortstop...
of the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
.
Chicago White Sox
On June 13, 1966, Adair was traded by the Orioles with John Riddle to the Chicago White SoxChicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
for Eddie Fisher
Eddie Fisher (baseball)
Eddie Gene Fisher was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants , Chicago White Sox , Baltimore Orioles , Cleveland Indians , California Angels and St...
.
Boston Red Sox
On June 2, 1967, Adair was traded by the White Sox to the Boston Red SoxBoston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
for Don McMahon
Don McMahon
Donald John McMahon was a right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was signed by the Boston Braves before the 1950 season...
and minor leaguer Bob Snow. Adair played well down the stretch with the Red Sox, hitting .291 with 3 homers and 26 RBI in 89 games, rounding out his season stats to .271 with 3 HR and 35 RBI in 117 games. With his pennant push performance at the plate, coupled with stellar defensive play, Adair finished 15th in the AL MVP balloting. Teammate Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Michael Yastrzemski is a former American Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Yastrzemski played his entire 23-year baseball career with the Boston Red Sox . He was primarily a left fielder, with part of his later career...
won the award that year after claiming the elusive triple crown.
Kansas City Royals
Adair was taken by the Kansas City RoyalsKansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
with the 51st pick of the 1968 MLB expansion draft. In the Royals' inaugural season of 1969, the 32-year-old Adair hit .250 with 5 home runs and 48 RBI in 126 games.
In 1970, Adair hit just .148 (4-for-27) before being abruptly released on May 12 as he was about to board a plane to make a road trip to Cleveland with the team. Adair had spent much of spring training that year with a young daughter who had terminal cancer (she died a few weeks after his release) and claimed the Royals let him go without taking the family's problems into consideration.
Legacy
Adair was a .258 hitter for his career (Carl Yastrzemski wrote in his autobiography 'Baseball, The Wall, and Me' "That man was one of the coolest clutch hitters I had seen") and was able to hang around for thirteen seasons on the strength of a fantastic glove. He was considered a gamer who would often play when injured as well as one of the best defensive second baseman of his era. Adair set then-Major League records for single-season fielding percentage (.994) and fewest errors (5) in 1964 and following that up by leading the league in fielding percentage again in 1965. He also set a record for consecutive errorless games by a second baseman (89) and consecutive chances handled without an error (458) from July 22, 1964 through May 6, 1965.After leaving Major League Baseball, he played in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for a year and later coached for the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
(1972-74) and the California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
(1975), working under a former Oriole teammate and his manager in Boston, Dick Williams
Dick Williams
Richard Hirschfeld "Dick" Williams was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967–69 and 1971–88, he led teams to three American League pennants, one National...
.
Adair died of liver cancer on May 31, 1987 in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, at the age of 50. He is buried in Woodland Memorial Park Cemetery in Sand Springs, Oklahoma
Sand Springs, Oklahoma
Sand Springs is a city in Osage and Tulsa counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A suburb of Tulsa, it is located predominantly in Tulsa County. The population was 18,906 in the 2010 U. S. Census, compared to 17,451 at the 2000 census. The city was founded in 1911, by Oklahoma philanthropist...
.