George Brett

Guide Note:

George Brett is a former Major League third baseman who played his entire 21-season career with the Kansas City Royals. The last American League player in history to bat .390 or better for a full season, Brett was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

Fast Facts:

1. Born: May 15, 1953 in Glen Dale, Virginia
2. Raised: El Segundo, California
3. Played third base for the Kansas City Royals
4. Started out as a shortstop
5. 1976: Won his first batting title
6. 1980: Won the AL MVP and hit .390
7. 1983: Involved in infamous "pine tar incident"
8. 1985: Helped the Royals win the World Series
9. His brother Ken Brett also pitched in the majors

Born in Virginia in 1953, Brett grew up in the Los Angeles community of El Segundo. Brett's older brother, Ken Brett, had already established himself as a Major League pitcher, and George followed suit. Drafted by the Kansas City Royals when he was 19, Brett played his first full season with the team as a third baseman in 1974, and finished third in Rookie of the Year balloting. In 1976, the young slugger won his first batting title, finishing the season with a .333 average, and helped lead the Royals to the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees. In 1980, Brett batted .390 for the season, and as late as September 19th, maintained a .400 average. He won the batting title for the second time and received the American League Most Valuable Player Award for his achievements. Brett also led the Royals to the World Series that year, and although he batted .375 in the Series, the Royals lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.

In 1983, Brett was the central figure in a famous incident in baseball history. On July 24, at Yankee Stadium, Brett came up with one on in the top of the ninth and hit a two-run home run off of Goose Gossage. Yankees manager Billy Martin, however, came out of the dugout and informed the umpiring team that Brett had applied too much pine tar to his bat, thus invalidating his home run. The umpires agreed and disallowed the home run. An angry Brett ran out of the dugout and had to be restrained before being ejected. The Royals played the rest of the game under protest, and later in the season, American League President Lee McPhail reversed the umpire's decision and ordered that the game be replayed from the moment after Brett's home run. The Yankees failed to score in the bottom of the ninth and lost the game 5-4. Brett's bat is now on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

In 1985, Brett's Royals would win the World Series, giving the slugger his first and only Series ring. In 1990, Brett won the batting title for the third and last time, batting .324 for the season. In 1999, Brett was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by a nearly unanimous margin in his first year of eligibility.