Ken Phelps   |   Major Leaguer   1980-1990

[1976] - Western Athletic Conference All-Star 1B (Southern Division)

Though he did manage 123 home runs in only 1800+ at bats during his career, in addition to a career OPS of 854, Phelps was always thought of as nothing more than a journeyman platoon designated hitter throughout his career.

Phelps was a very good college and minor league hitter who showed outstanding power but his achilles heel was that he progressed too slowly in the power department. He hit 46 home runs in AAA at the age of 27 and this earned him 8 September at bats for the Expos that season.

Perhaps his most famous moment was being involved in a trade which saw him travel across the country from Seattle to New York where the Yankees and George Steinbrenner traded for him in exchange for then minor leaguer Jay Buhner. The trade was famous in New York circles as being a failure because it was a common occurence where the Yankees would trade away top prospects for mediocre major leaguers. The trade became part of pop culture when during a Seinfeld episode, when the father of Yankees employee George Costanza was told by Steinbrenner (played by Larry David) that his son was dead, Frank Costanza was seemingly more upset about the Buhner-Phelps trade rather than the possible death of his own son. The trade is often referred to as a barometer for bad trades.

To his credit, Phelps hung around until the age of 35 and left the game after hitting only 1 home run in more than 100 at bats in 1990.

Ken returned to his alma mater after his playing days to serve as an assistant coach with the Sun Devils baseball team and he has also served as a coach in the Brewers organization before taking a job as an analyst on the Arizona Diamondbacks radio network.

Notes: Phelps was a member of the 1989 Oakland Athletics World Series Championship team where he had 1 at bat.

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