Bobby Kielty #23

Robert Michael Kielty was originally signed by Minnesota scout John Leavitt...graduated from Canyon Springs (CA) High School in 1994...attended the University of Southern California from 1994-95, Riverside Junior College from 1996-97 and the University of Mississippi in 1998...was named 1998 Cape Cod League Most Valuable Player after leading the league in batting (.384) and RBI (45)...named 1998 Summer Player of the Year by *Baseball America*...is married, Meredith (Baxter).

2007

Signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox on August 6 and closed the season in Boston after having his contract purchased from Triple-A Pawtucket on August 18...Spent the first half of the season in the Oakland A's organization before being designated for assignment on July 21 and released on July 31...The switch hitter appeared in 20 games (10 games/6 starts in right field and 10 games/5 starts in left) for the Red Sox down the stretch, batting .231 (12-for-52) with a homer and 12 RBI...Was hampered by lower back soreness after crashing into the right field wall to make a catch in his first game as a Red Sox, August 19 vs. the Angels...Hit .237 with 2 homers and 5 RBI in 10 games with the PawSox before his promotion to Boston...Batted .200 (7-35) with 3 RBI in 13 overall games with the A's...After missing most of spring training due to a cartilage tear in his left knee, began the season with Oakland but was placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 1 with a strained left calf...Went on rehab assignment on June 27 to Triple-A Sacramento, where he hit .394 (13-33) with one RBI in 9 games...Was activated by the A's on July 8 and was 3-for-12 in 4 games before being designated for assignment.

2006

Kielty was one of five players to make at least 60 starts in the A's outfield in 2006. Kielty's .270 average was his best since 2002 with the Twins (.291). His 81 games played were the lowest over a full season of his career. The switch-hitter had seven of his eight homers come against left-handers, and he batted .325 from the right side. For his career, he hits .299 against southpaws, compared to .230 against right-handers. Kielty thrived in the first half of the season when Frank Thomas and Milton Bradley went on the disabled list with injuries. He led the team in batting before the All-Star break with a .298 average. Kielty hit .274 with runners in scoring position, and the A's were 6-2 in games in which he homered. For his career, the A's are 21-3 when Kielty hits a homer.

2005

Batted .263 with 10 home runs and 57 RBIs in 116 games with the A's...the RBI total matched his career high from 2003 and the batting average was second best to his .291 in 2002...the switch-hitter batted .322 (46-for-143) with four of his 10 home runs against left-handed pitching, compared to .226 (53-for-234) against right-handers...now has a .293 (157-for-535) career average against lefties, compared to .230 (207-for-900) against righties...has hit 23 of his 44 career home runs off southpaws...batted .288 (72-for-250) with seven home runs over the first six innings of a game and .213 (27-for-127) with three home runs from the seventh inning on...hit two extra-inning home runs, and both were game-winners...had the A's only walk-off home run of the season on July 17 against Texas when he homered off Kameron Loe in the bottom of the 14th inning for a 5-4 A's win...it was his second career game-ending home run...homered in the top of the 11th inning on Aug. 30 at Los Angeles off Francisco Rodriguez for a 2-1 A's win...the A's were 9-1 in games in which he homered, and are 15-1 in games in which he has homered over the last two years...his teams are 35-7 in his career when he homers...six of his 10 home runs either tied a game or put the A's ahead, as have 13 of his 17 career home runs as an Athletic...batted .393 (22-for-56) in Interleague Play and hit .240 (77-for-321) against American League teams...had the sixth best batting average in Interleague Play in the Majors...hit .542 (13-for-24) in six games against San Francisco, the fourth best batting average by an A's player against one team since 1972 with a minimum of 25 plate appearances...now has a .485 (16-for-33) career average against the Giants...batted .368 (28-for-76) with a .442 on-base percentage when leading off an inning...both marks ranked third best in the AL...is a .302 (92-for-305) career hitter when leading off an inning, with a .390 on-base percentage...was 4-for-9 (.444) with seven RBIs with the bases loaded...hit .296 (53-for-179) in Oakland and .232 (46-for-198) on the road...hit .283 (65-for-230) with 38 RBIs in 69 games before the All-Star break and .231 (34-for-147) with 19 RBIs in 47 games after the break...made a team-leading 52 starts in left field for the A's, and also started 37 games in right field...batted .326 (47-for-144) in 42 games total while playing right field and .206 (37-for-180) in 58 games as a left fielder...also hit .283 (13-for-46) as the designated hitter and was 2-for-11 (.182) with three walks as a pinch-hitter...is now 4-for-25 (.160) in the pinch in his two seasons with Oakland...started games at every spot in the order from three through eight and made a team-leading 43 starts hitting fifth, where he also had his best success, batting .308 (48-for-156)...got off to a slow start, as he began the season 0-for-14 and hit just .111 (3-for-27) over his first 10 games...hit .308 (70-for-227) over a 66-game span from April 26 to July 21, which raised his average to .287...followed that up by going 21-for-110 (.191) over his next 34 games through Sept. 4...strained his left oblique muscle in his final at-bat on Sept. 4 against New York and missed 16 games from Sept. 5-to-21...returned on Sept. 23 against Texas and went 5-for-13 (.385) over his final six games...reached base safely via hit or walk in 20 consecutive games from April 26 to May 25...hit .394 (28-for-71) with 13 walks (.488 on-base percentage) over that span...matched his career high with four hits on May 20 against San Francisco after missing three games with bruised ribs...it was his fourth career four-hit game...put together his best batting average in May when he hit .329 (26-for-79) with 17 walks in 24 games for a .448 on-base percentage...had back-to-back two-double games on June 26 against San Francisco and June 28 against Seattle...had a season-high four RBIs in the game against the Mariners...finished June with 17 RBIs in 25 games, his most RBIs in a month in 2005...put together an A's season-best 14-game hitting streak from July 3-22, but hit just .302 (16-for-53) during the streak as he had only one hit in 12 of the 14 games...had his lowest batting average in a month in 2005 in August, when he hit .173 (13-for-75).

2004

Was the A's Opening Night starter in left field and started 23 of the A's first 39 games through May 19...was batting .250 (24 for 96) with four home runs and 14 RBI in 26 games total over that span but then hit just .190 (27 for 142) with three home runs and 17 RBI over his final 57 games...started just 36 of the A's final 123 games from May 20 until the end of the season...made 40 starts in left field, 10 in right field and nine at designated hitter...ended up batting .214 with seven home runs and 31 RBI in 83 games overall...the switch hitter batted .259 (30 for 116) with six of his seven home runs against left handed pitching and .172 (21 for 122) against right-handers...now has a .281 (72 for 256) average against left-handers over the last two years with 14 of his 20 home runs compared to .203 (83 for 409) against right-handers...all seven of his home runs in 2004 gave the A's the lead and the A's were 6-0 in games in which he homered...his teams are now 26-6 in games in which he homers in his career...10 of his 31 RBI put the A's ahead...hit six of his seven home runs in Oakland...hit in every spot in the order but batted .288 (30 for 104) with five of his seven home runs when hitting second and .157 (21 for 134) in all other spots...had a .307 (42 for 137) career average when hitting second...batted .144 (13 for 90) during the day compared to .257 (38 for 148) at night...was 2 for 14 (.143) as a pinch-hitter after entering the season with a .333 (14 for 42) career pinch-hitting average...batted .258 (23 for 89) with five home runs and 18 RBI in 29 games against American League Central teams and .188 (28 for 149) with two home runs and 13 RBI in 54 games against all other teams...hit .214 in April and .268 in May but then batted under .200 in each of the next three months...hit .125 in June, .176 in July and .192 in August before going 5 for 14 (.357) in September...now has a .292 (45 for 154) career average in September, his best for any month of the season...had four multiple hit games over his first six games (9 for 27, .333) but had just nine the rest of the season...had a career high tying three walks on April 17 at Anaheim...also walked three times on August 9 at Minnesota and has five career three-walk games...had a 0 for 13 streak from April 18 to 28...had his second career two-homer game on May 19 against Detroit...other two-homer game also came against Detroit on April 17, 2003...had a season high four RBI on May 19 against the Tigers, his third career game of four or more RBI...it was his first since May 16, 2003 against Chicago (AL) when he had a career high five RBI...hit four of his seven home runs in May and then hit his first career "walk-off" home run on June 1 against Chicago...hit a two-run home run off Neal Cotts in the bottom of the 12th inning for a 6-4 A's win...went 0 for his next 20 following the home run before singling in the sixth inning on June 23 against Anaheim...had a 0 for 22 streak from July 21 to July 31...his average dropped to a season low .201 on September 2 but he had three hits on September 3 at Toronto, including a home run and three RBI, and went 6 for 14 (.429) with a home run and six RBI over his final nine games to finish the year at .214...snapped a 0 for 9 streak as a pinch-hitter with a pinch-hit single on September 22 at Texas.

2003

Began the year with Minnesota but was traded to Toronto on July 16 in exchange for Shannon Stewart and a player to be named later...hit .252 with nine home runs and 32 RBI in 75 games with the Twins and .233 with four home runs and 25 RBI in 62 games with the Blue Jays...overall numbers were .244 with 13 HR and 57 RBI in 137 games...added 71 walks for a .358 on-base percentage...batted .300 (42 for 140) with eight home runs against left handed pitching and .216 (62 for 287) with five home runs against right-handers...appeared in 89 games in right field, making 76 starts, and also batted .245 (26 for 106) in 32 games at designated hitter...also made four starts in left field and two each at first base and center field...was 5 for 14 (.357) with a home run and seven RBI as a pinch-hitter...tied for second in the American League in pinch RBI...hit in every spot in the batting order but saw most of his action hitting sixth (49 for 198, .247)...began the season with a 12-game hitting streak from April 3 to 21, going 16 for 45 (.356)...also hit safely in his final six games of 2002, giving him a career best 18- game hitting streak dating back to September 18, 2002...had his first career two-homer game on April 17 against Detroit...ended up hitting .324 in 19 games in April but then hit .224 over his final 56 games with Minnesota...had a career high five RBI on May 16 against the Chicago White Sox...hit the game winning pinch-hit three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning on May 27 against Oakland off Barry Zito in a 4-3 Minnesota win...it was his second career pinch-hit home run...traded to Toronto during the All-Star Break and went 3 for 4 with a home run and three runs scored in his Blue Jays debut on July 17 at Boston...hit safely in each of his first six games with Toronto (10 for 23, .435) and scored nine runs...then went 16 for 101 (.158) over his next 33 games before going 18 for 65 (.277) over his final 23 games starting on September 4...had a "walk-off" pinch-hit RBI single in the 10th inning of a 1-0 win against Detroit on September 6...had his first career two steal game on September 21 at Baltimore.

2002

Began the season at Edmonton...recalled to Minnesota on April 7...had a tworun pinch-homer on April 14 vs. Detroit...had his first career four hit game, May 17 at New York...had his first career four RBI game, June 26 vs. Chicago...had his second career four hit game, July 20 at Detroit...had the game winning two run home run in the eighth inning on September 28 vs. Chicago...hit another game winning two run homer in the eighth inning, September 29 vs. Chicago...went 0 for 4 in three ALDS games against Oakland and 0 for 3 with a walk and a RBI in four ALCS games against Anaheim...was 24 for 91 (.264) with four home runs against lefthanders and 60 for 198 (.303) with eight home runs vs. right-handers...was 8 for 23 (.348) with one home run as a pinch-hitter...won the Bill Boni Award as the Twins' Outstanding Rookie...tied for fourth in the American League Rookie of the Year Voting.

2001

Began the season at Edmonton...had his contract selected and made his Major League debut, April 10 vs. Detroit...doubled off Mark Buehrle for first Major League hit, April 13, vs. Chicago...optioned to Edmonton on April 21 but was recalled by Minnesota on July 31...hit his first Major League home run off Chris Carpenter and had a season high three hits, August 2 at Toronto...optioned to Edmonton, August 17...hit safely in 12 of his final 14 games at Triple-A, going 24 for 53 (.453) with five doubles, four homers and nine RBI, August 19 to September 3...recalled to Minnesota, September 4...hit safely in six of eight games, going 9 for 22 (.409), September 18-29...started 28 of 37 games with Minnesota...was 15 for 45 (.333) with one home run against lefthanders.

2000

Began the season at New Britain...had grand slams on April 8 vs. Portland and May 26 at Erie...had a season high 10-game hitting streak, June 2-10...played in the Double-A All-Star Game, July 12 at Bowie...was 34 for 120 (.283) with three home runs against left-handers...was 5 for 14 (.357) with two home runs and 18 RBI with bases loaded...led the club in home runs, was second in RBI and third in hits...led the league in walks...promoted to Salt Lake, August 26...rated the Twins' eighth best prospect and the ninth-best prospect in the Eastern League by Baseball America...played for Grand Canyon in the Arizona Fall League.

1999

Disabled with eye problems, May 21-June 24...had a season high eight-game hitting streak, going 12 for 28 (.429), June 25 to July 2...had a grand slam and a season high tying four RBI, July 29 at Burlington...tied his season high with three hits, August 12 at Burlington...homered in three consecutive games, August 14- 16...was disabled with a strained right hamstring, August 25-September 3...batted .339 against lefthanders.