Kelly Jay Paris (October 17, 1957 – May 27, 2019) was a professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, and the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. He played as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

and

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

Career

Paris was born in Encino,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, and attended William Howard Taft High School in

Woodland Hills, Los Angeles Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of C ...

. While at Taft, he was teammates with future star and hall of fame player

Robin Yount Robin R. Yount (; born September 16, 1955), nicknamed "the Kid", and "Rockin' Robin", is an American former professional baseball player. He spent his entire 20-year career in Major League Baseball as a shortstop and center fielder for the Milwau ...

, NFL player and head coach Jeff Fisher and NBA referee Bill Spooner. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round of the

1975 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1975 Major League Baseball draft. Many baseball draft experts consider the 1975 draft to be the weakest in MLB history. Other notable selections ''*'' Did not sign N ...

on June 3, 1975, and made his major league debut on September 1, 1982 with the Cardinals. On March 31, 1983, Paris was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Jim Strichek. It was with the Reds that Paris played the majority of his Major League games. In November 1983, the

purchased his contract from Cincinnati. He was released at the end of spring training and signed a minor league deal with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

and spent the season with their Triple-A club, the

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

. He then signed with the

and later spent time playing in the minor league system of the White Sox and then the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

before finishing his pro career with the

Mexico City Reds Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. In 1976, while playing for the Johnson City Cardinals, Kelly and his older brother Bret, achieved what is believed to be a first in professional baseball. The two brothers hit home runs for the same team in the same inning. All three of Paris' career major league

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

s were hit in in 44 at-bats while a member of the Chicago White Sox. He died on May 27, 2019 after a battle with lung cancer.

Return to MLB

After playing with Cincinnati, Paris spent the next part of his career playing for the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field, located in do ...

, the Triple-A team for the

at the time. It was during his time with the Reds that Paris developed a drinking problem, which led to him ending up in Baltimore. While in Cincinnati, he checked into rehab, but the stay was brief. He was drinking the night he nearly lost his life in an accident that left him with a bruised sternum, a broken back, and broken ribs. Paris would spend the 1987 season out of baseball, working in a dental lab making dentures for $4.25 an hour. Paris would later sign a contract with the

, playing in the minors until he was called up in the summer of 1988. In one of his first games back in the big leagues, he hit a homer run to help the White Sox defeat the Angels 6-3. His stay in the big leagues would be brief. He'd play his last major league game on August 30 against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and the White Sox released him on November 8, 1988.

References

External links

Kelly Paris
at Baseball Almanac
Kelly Paris Stats
at Baseball Library
The Baseball PagePura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paris, Kelly 1957 births 2019 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Arkansas Travelers players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from California Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Reds players Diablos Rojos del México players Gastonia Cardinals players Gulf Coast Cardinals players Hawaii Islanders players Indianapolis Indians players Johnson City Cardinals players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball third basemen Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Omaha Royals players People from Encino, Los Angeles Rochester Red Wings players Springfield Redbirds players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Vancouver Canadians players William Howard Taft Charter High School alumni Deaths from lung cancer Deaths from cancer in North Carolina