The Yankees, who had become one of baseball's most successful franchises in the Babe Ruth era of the 1920's, had launched a new dynasty in the late 30's. With Lou Gehrig and Bill Dickey as bridges from the first glory days, the team added Joe DiMaggio in 1936 and reaped a harvest of talented young players from its farm system. One of the latter was Charlie Keller, who joined the team in 1939 after winning two batting titles in the minor leagues.
A Sensational Rookie Season
Keller quickly became the regular left fielder, uniting for the first time with DiMaggio and Tommy Henrich to form one of the premiere outfieds of the next half-decade. Consistent with his minor league record, Keller batted an impressive .334, fifth in the American League, with 11 home runs and 83 runs batted in for a 111-game debut season. In the four-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds that Fall, Keller batted .438 with three home runs, two of them in one game.
His heroics had made him a favorite of Yankee fans, some of whom had awarded him the nickname King Kong because his 5-10, 190-pound frame reminded them of the "hero" of the gorilla film of the early 30's.
A New Yankee Slugger
Because Yankee Stadium was built with a short right field to favor Babe Ruth, Yankee management was inspired by Keller's World Series home run demonstration to exploit his left-handed power in that direction. Gehrig, the team's top left-handed slugger, was tragically gone after that season, and so King Kong was directed to shoot for the stands even at the expense of more consistent hitting.
As a result, he would never bat .300 again for a full season, but beginning in 1940 he would hit 21 to 33 home runs over the next four years and drive in as many as 122 runs as the Yankees added three more league pennants and two more world championships.
Serving in the Merchant Marine in 1944 and part of 1945, Keller was discharged in August in time to play 44 games, hit 10 home runs and drive in 34 runs. In the first full post-war seaon, a disappointing one for many Yankees including DiMaggio, Keller led the team with 30 home runs and 101 runs batted in. He seemed to be in his prime with much more to contribute.
A Sudden End to Stardom
The Yankees looked to 1947 for vindication after a third-place finish. DiMaggio was still troubled with a foot injury and King Kong again took up the early slack by smashing 13 home runs in his first 45 games. However, he injured his back trying for a fly ball and was sidelined for the rest of the season. Ironically, while he had sustained the club in 1946 and in the early going in 1947, he would play no further part in another world championship drive led by a resurgent DiMaggio.
The spinal disc injury proved to be a career-breaker. Keller was a part-time player in 1948, during which he did make some key game-winning pinch hits, and again in1949, after which he was released by the Yanks. His final heroics were as a pinch-hitter for the Detroit Tigers in a nearly successful run at the Yankees in 1950.
Despite the abrupt and premature end to Keller's career, baseball analyst Bill James rates him among the top left fielders of all time.
Sources:
Baseball.Reference.com
The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract
