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Jason Kendall

Jason Kendall Marquee

b. June 26, 1974 · Pittsburgh Pirates 1996–2004, Oakland Athletics 2005–2007, Chicago Cubs 2007, Milwaukee Brewers 2008–2009, Kansas City Royals 2010

On July 4, 1999, running out a bunt at Three Rivers Stadium, his right ankle dislocated when his spikes caught the bag; the local broadcast did not replay it. He was hitting .332 at the time. He came back the following April and caught 152 games.

Fifteen seasons gave him 2,195 hits, 394 doubles, 189 stolen bases and a .288 average, with three All-Star selections, and 254 hit-by-pitches, which is fifth in the game's history. He caught 2,025 games, sixth all-time, and led his league in games caught six times.

Nine of the seasons were in Pittsburgh, where he was the best player on clubs that never finished above fourth. His father Fred caught twelve seasons in the major leagues. The 2016 ballot gave him two votes of 440.

Honors

AwardTimesYears
All-Star selection 3 1996, 1998, 2000
Player of the Week 1 1998
The Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year 1 1996

Batting, season by season

YearTeam GABR H2B3B HRRBIBB SOSBAVG
1996 PIT 13041454124 2353 4235305 .300
1997 PIT 14448671143 3648 49495318 .294
1998 PIT 14953595175 36312 75515126 .327
1999 PIT 782806193 2038 41383222 .332
2000 PIT 152579112185 33614 58797922 .320
2001 PIT 15760684161 22210 53444813 .266
2002 PIT 14554559154 2533 44492915 .283
2003 PIT 15058784191 2936 5849408 .325
2004 PIT 14757486183 3203 51604111 .319
2005 OAK 15060170163 2810 5350398 .271
2006 OAK 14355276163 2301 50535411 .295
2007 CHC/OAK 13746645113 2013 4131423 .242
2008 MIL 15151646127 3022 4950458 .246
2009 MIL 13445248109 1922 4346587 .241
2010 KCR 11843439111 1800 37374512 .256
Career 2085762710302195 3943575 744721686189 .288

On this day & linked events

1974

Born June 26, 1974

San Diego, CA, USA

1996

Major-league debut: Jason Kendall

Jason Kendall made a major-league debut on April 1, 1996.

2000

Jason Kendall Hits for the Cycle, 2000

Jason Kendall hit for the cycle for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 19, 2000.

2010

Final major-league game: Jason Kendall

Jason Kendall played a final major-league game on August 30, 2010.

Image: The Dana Files / UCinternational, CC BY 2.0