Roberto Kelly

Infobox MLB retired
name=Roberto Kelly
position=Outfielder
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1964|10|1
Panama City, Panama
debutdate=July 29
debutyear=by|1987
debutteam=New York Yankees
finaldate=April 18
finalyear=by|2000
finalteam=New York Yankees
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.290
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=124
stat3label=Stolen bases
stat3value=235
teams=
* New York Yankees (by|1987-by|1992, by|2000)
* Cincinnati Reds (by|1993)
* Atlanta Braves (by|1994)
* Montreal Expos (by|1995)
* Los Angeles Dodgers (by|1995)
* Minnesota Twins (by|1996-by|1997)
* Seattle Mariners (by|1997)
* Texas Rangers (by|1998-by|1999)
highlights=
* 2x All-Star selection (1992, 1993)

Roberto Conrado (Gray) Kelly (born October 1, 1964 in Panama City, Panama) is a former Outfielder in Major League Baseball and is currently the first base coach for the San Francisco Giants. He previously managed the Giants single A team, the Augusta GreenJackets. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/18/SPG0V4B8V.DTL Giants' motto: Without HRs, it's run, run, run] ] Kelly played for several major league clubs. He was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1982 and went on to play for the New York Yankees (1987-92 and 2000), Cincinnati Reds (1993-94), Atlanta Braves (1994), Montreal Expos (1995), Los Angeles Dodgers (1995), Minnesota Twins (1996-97), Seattle Mariners (1997) and Texas Rangers (1998-99). Known as "La Sombra", Spanish for Shadow during his playing days in Panama.

He helped the Dodgers win the 1995 NL Western Division, the Mariners win the 1997 American League Western Division, and the Rangers win the 1998 and 1999 AL Western Division.

He was named to the 1992 American League All-Star Team and the 1993 National League All-Star Team.

He played in all 162 Games in 1990.

Was the first Major League player ever to appear in 3 consecutive All-Star games with 3 different teams (Yankees '92, Reds '93, and the Braves '94)

Kelly gained infamy in 1989 when he had two baseballs ricochet off his head in one week, each time in an attempt to make a diving catch. Phil Rizzuto, the long time Yankee announcer, accidentally said the ball "caromed of Kelly's chest" the first occurrence. Mel Allen would later refer to Kelly as always having his head in the game while showing the clips on a blooper reel. He also broke up a Dave Stieb perfect game in 1989 with a double with 2 outs in the 9th inning.

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, .290 Batting Average, .337 On-base percentage, .430 Slugging Percentage, 2,063 Total Bases, 22 Sacrifice Hits, 41 Sacrifice Flies and 16 Intentional Walks.

On November 16, 2007, Kelly was hired as the San Francisco Giants new first base coach and hitting instructor. As a manager of the GreenJackets, he gained a reputation for his aggressive approach to base running. 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 base running.

References

External links

*baseball-reference|id=k/kellyro01