KEKICH
Michael

• 1. Career

Michael Dennis Kekich is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners 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 pitcher who began his career as a starter but later moved to the bullpen 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.

During the NBC Game of the Week on October 4, 1986 announcer Vin Scully stated Kekich was the first player he ever saw ejected from an MLB game before the player had ever played in an MLB game. The incident occurred during the 1965 season and Kekich, a member of the Dodgers, was thrown out for heckling on the bench.

After his big league career ended, Kekich attempted a comeback in the Mexican League, but this proved unsuccessful. He is remarried and currently resides near Albuquerque, New Mexico.