Monty Kennedy

Who was Monty Kennedy?

Montia Calvin Kennedy was an American professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher who appeared in the Major Leagues from 1946 to 1953 for the New York Giants. A native of Amelia, Virginia, Kennedy stood 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed 185 pounds.

Kennedy worked in 249 games over his MLB career, 127 as a starting pitcher. In his rookie campaign in 1946 he led the National League in bases on balls, with 116 in 186⅔ innings pitched. Towards the end of his career, he became a swing man, appearing as a relief pitcher and spot starter. He was a member of the 1951 Giants, the team that overcame a 13½-game deficit on August 11 to tie the Brooklyn Dodgers and force a three-game playoff. While Kennedy did not appear in the playoff, he contributed to the Giant cause during their surge by allowing only one earned run in 7⅓ innings of relief over five games.

The Giants famously won the 1951 pennant on Bobby Thomson's three-run "walk off" home run to make the 1951 World Series against the New York Yankees. Kennedy appeared in two games in relief in the Fall Classic. He pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning in Game 4, striking out Joe DiMaggio and Gene Woodling, but the following day, relieving starting pitcher Larry Jansen in Game 5, he surrendered a two-run home run to Phil Rizzuto. The Yankees won both games, as they took the Series' final three contests to come from behind to defeat the Giants in six games.