A fast, line-drive hitting outfielder, Kelly reached double figures in stolen bases
in each of his first 10 full ML seasons, and stole 25 or more four times. He was
drafted from the Twins by the Royals in the 1968 expansion draft, and in 1969 he
was their centerfielder, hitting .264 with a career-high 40 stolen bases. Traded
to the White Sox after the 1970 season, he was usually their right fielder or DH
for six seasons until he was traded to the Orioles for Dave Duncan. Kelly was only
a part-time player and pinch-hit specialist in Baltimore, but in 1979 he reached
the post-season for the first time. His seventh-inning home run in Game Four of the
LCS sent the Orioles to the WS. Kelly signed as a free agent with the Indians in
1981 but hit only .213 in 48 games. His brother Leroy Kelly was a Hall of Fame running
back for the NFL's Cleveland Browns.
(SCL)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»September 11, 1970: Twenty-one-year-old Vida Blue, recalled from the minors just eight days earlier, hurls a one-hit shutout as the A's beat the Royals 3–0. Pat Kelly's 8th-inning single is the only hit off the fireballing lefty.