George Kernek

George Boyd Kernek (born January 12, 1940) is a retired American professional baseball player who appeared in 30 games in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and pinch hitter for the 1965–1966 St. Louis Cardinals.[1] Born in Holdenville, Oklahoma, he threw and batted left-handed, stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed 170 pounds (77 kg) during his active career.

George Kernek
Kernek in 1965
First baseman
Born: (1940-01-12) January 12, 1940
Holdenville, Oklahoma
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
September 5, 1965, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
May 8, 1966, for the St. Louis Cardinals
MLB statistics
Batting average.259
Home runs0
Runs batted in6
Teams

Kernek attended the University of Oklahoma, where he played baseball and basketball, and joined the Cardinals' minor league organization in 1961. After hitting .295 with 17 home runs and 86 runs batted in in the Triple-A International League in 1965, Kernek was recalled in September; he got into ten games and batted .290 in 31 at bats with four extra-base hits. That winter, the Redbirds traded their veteran All-Star first baseman, Bill White, to the Philadelphia Phillies, opening up his position for competition among younger players like the 26-year-old Kernek. He was St. Louis' Opening Day first baseman (against White's Phillies)[2] and went on to start 14 more games for the Cardinals through May 1. But despite two three-hit games, he was hitting only .239 with one extra-base hit when he lost his starting job. A week later, future Baseball Hall of Fame first baseman Orlando Cepeda was acquired from the San Francisco Giants. That same day, Kernek struck out as a pinch hitter against the Giants' Lindy McDaniel. It was last MLB appearance.

Kernek returned to the minors for 4​1⁄2 more seasons, retiring in 1970. In the majors, he collected 21 hits in 81 official at-bats, including three doubles and two triples, batting .259 with six career runs batted in.

References
  1. "George Kernek Statistics and History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2011-02-10.
  2. Retrosheet box score: 1966-04-13


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