Charlie Keller - Legacy

Legacy

In a 13-season career, Keller was a .286 hitter with 189 home runs and 760 RBI in 1170 games. A five-time All-Star selection, he compiled a career .410 on base percentage and a .518 slugging average for a combined .928 OPS. In his four World Series appearances, he batted .306 with five home runs, and 18 RBI in 19 games.

His career Adjusted On-base Percentage plus Slugging (OPS+) of 152, the sum of his On-base percentage plus Slugging Average adjusted for era, stadium, and other cross-time considerations, places him number 28 on the all-time list, ahead of a retinue of dozens of Hall of Famers that includes Honus Wagner, Mike Schmidt, and Reggie Jackson.

Beginning with his first of two 30-20-10 seasons in 1941 only three other players have matched the feat: Joe DiMaggio (who had done it twice before that), Willie Mays, and Duke Snider. The list of players who managed it only once - which includes Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Stan Musial, Rudy York, Ernie Banks, Dick Allen, Mike Schmidt, Andre Dawson, Dave Parker, Nomar Garciaparra, Vladimir Guerrero, and Jimmy Rollins - gives some indication of the power and versatility Keller brought to the game.

Following his retirement as a player, Keller founded Yankeeland Farm and had a successful career as a horse breeder – pacers and trotters – near his hometown of Middletown, Maryland. He named many of his horses after the franchises he played for: Fresh Yankee, Handsome Yankee, Yankee Slugger and Guy Yankee. He also benefited by owning syndicated shares of several stallions, which entitled him to free stud fees.

Keller was elected to the Frederick County and Maryland Sports Hall of Fame, the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, the International League Hall of Fame and the University of Maryland Hall of Fame.

Charlie Keller died in Frederick, Maryland, at age of 73. He is buried at the Christ Reformed Cemetery in his hometown of Middletown.