Ken Boswell was an infielder for the New York Mets and the Houston Astros from 1967-1977. Boswell was drafted by the Mets in 1965. He played in the minors from 1965-1967 and was called up at the end of the '67 season. Ken batted .225 in 40 at bats for the Mets to finish the season.
Boswell split time with Phil Linz at second base in 1968. Ken batted .261 in 284 at bats. He got more playing time in 1969 and batted .279 in 362 at bats. Boswell batted .333 with 2 home runs in the 1969 NLCS and was 1 for 3 in the World Series.
Ken had similar years in 1970 (.254 in 351 AB) and 1971 (.273 in 392 AB). In 1970 he set the major league fielding record for second basemen with a .996 fielding percentage. In 1972 Boswell's hitting dropped off sharply as he batted .211 in 355 at bats.
In 1973 Boswell became a reserve infielder, playing 2B and 3B. He batted .227 in 110 AB in 1973. He was 0 for 1 in the NLCS and was 3 for 3 in three pinch hitting appearances in the World Series. Ken got more playing time in 1974 as a utility infielder and outfielder and batted .216 in 222 at bats. After the 1974 season Ken was traded to the Astros for Alan Gallagher.
Boswell was a backup infielder for the Astros from 1975-1977. In 1975 he batted .242 in 178 at bats. Ken batted .262 in 126 AB in 1976 and .216 in 97 AB in 1977. After the 1977 season Boswell became a free agent and retired.
Liked to face: Gaylord Perry (.471 in 17 AB); Dick Selma (.444 in 18 AB); Bill Singer (.375 in 24 AB)
Hated to face: Clay Carroll (.000 in 18 AB); Burt Hooton (.100 in 40 AB); Lynn McGlothen (.059 in 17 AB)
No logo on the batting helmet? Was Topps slipping back to their 1968-69 Astros licensing problems?
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