Willie Kirkland

Willie Charles Kirkland (born February 17, 1934) is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the San Francisco Giants (1958–1960), Cleveland Indians (1961–1963), Baltimore Orioles (1964) and Washington Senators (1964–1966). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

In a nine-season career, Kirkland posted a .240 batting average with 148 home runs and 509 RBI in 1149 games played.

Following his major league career, Kirkland played six seasons in Japan (1968–1973) for the Hanshin Tigers.

Best seasons

• 1960: Collected double digits in doubles (21), triples (10), home runs (21) and stolen bases (12)
• 1961: Hit 27 home runs with 136 hits and 95 RBI in 146 games (all career-highs), including a three-homer game on July 9, against the White Sox. Kirkland came up in the ninth with the game on the line and Cleveland manager Jimmy Dykes ordered him to bunt, which he successfully did.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Baseball Library