Jim Kern
Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right • Throws: Right 6-5, 185lb (196cm, 83kg)
Born: March 15, 1949 in Gladwin, MI
Debut: September 6, 1974 (13,555th in major league history) vs. BAL 9.0 IP, 5 H, 4 SO, 5 BB, 1 ER, L
Last Game: May 30, 1986 vs. MIL 0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 SO, 2 BB, 4 ER
Full Name: James Lester Kern
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Nine Players Who Debuted in 1974
Robin Yount
Gary Carter
Jim Rice
Keith Hernandez
Fred Lynn
Jim Sundberg
Kent Tekulve
Dennis Leonard
John Montefusco
All-Time Teammate Team
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Notable Events and Chronology
Biography
The eccentric, intelligent 6’5″ prankster was nicknamed Emu because he looked and acted like a big bird. Kern and Sparky Lyle, in the Rangers’ bullpen for two seasons, were known as Craziness, Inc. for their antics and off-the-field misadventures. Kern was hit in the mouth with a throw from his catcher while watching a foul ball in Texas in August 1980. He fell backward off the mound, suffering a concussion. The temporary amnesia he reportedly suffered may have been the result of an opportunistic sense of humor. His overpowering fastball and lunatic reputation made him an intimidating short reliever; he averaged 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings, 1976-79, when he won 41 games and saved 75.
Though he lost an AL-high 10 in relief for Cleveland in 1977, he turned it around in 1979 with Texas, where he was 13-5 with 29 saves and a 1.57 ERA, earning him Fireman of the Year cohonors with Mike Marshall and finished 4th in the AL Cy Young Award voting. That was his last effective season, as he injured his elbow in 1980. Unhappy in Cincinnati, Kern forced the Reds to trade him in 1982 by regrowing his scraggly beard, breaking the Reds’ unwritten “no facial hair” rule. In his 13-year career (1974-1986), Jim had 88 saves & 3.32 ERA in 416 games and Kern was a 3X All-Star.
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