Michael Dennis Kekich (born April 2, 1945) is an American former professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

who played for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

, Texas Rangers and

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

in parts of nine seasons spanning 1965–1977. In 1974, he played in Japan for the Nippon-Ham Fighters.

Career

Kekich was a left-handed

who began his career as a starter but later moved to the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

as a reliever. He had a modestly successful career in the Major Leagues, but he is best remembered for trading families with fellow Yankees pitcher Fritz Peterson before the 1973 season. The trade worked out better for Peterson, who later married Kekich's wife, Susanne, than it did for Kekich, who soon broke up with Peterson's wife, Marilyn. Shortly after, Kekich was traded to the Cleveland Indians. After his big league career ended, Kekich attempted a comeback in the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

, but this proved unsuccessful. He is remarried and currently resides near

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

References

External links

Mike Kekich
at Baseball Almanac 1945 births Living people Albuquerque Dodgers players American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American people of Serbian descent Arizona Instructional League Dodgers players Baseball players from San Diego Cleveland Indians players Gold Coast Suns (baseball) players Indios de Ciudad Juárez (minor league) players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Minor league baseball managers New York Yankees players Nippon Ham Fighters players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers San Jose Missions players Santa Barbara Dodgers players Santo Domingo Azucareros players Seattle Mariners players Spokane Indians players St. Petersburg Saints players Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo players Texas Rangers players Tiburones de La Guaira players Tigres de Aragua players 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1940s-stub