This Clete Boyer New York Yankees Autograph MLB AL Baseball + Case is the exact item you will receive and has been certified Authentic by REM Fine Collectibles.
Cletis Leroy "Clete" Boyer (February 9, 1937 – June 4, 2007) was an American professional baseball third baseman — who occasionally played shortstop and second base — in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Athletics (1955–57), New York Yankees (1959–66), and Atlanta Braves (1967–71).
Boyer also spent four seasons with the Taiyō Whales of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). In his 16-year big league career, Boyer hit 162 home runs, with 654 runs batted in (RBI), and a .242 batting average, in 1,725 games played.[He became the Yankees' regular third baseman in 1960, beating out three others (including Gil McDougald, who had announced in spring training that this, his tenth season in the majors, would be his last) for the starting job.
He batted .242 with 14 home runs and 46 RBIs as the Yankees won the pennant. The 1961 team (with Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Roger Maris, Elston Howard, Yogi Berra and Moose Skowron), which defeated the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series.
It was considered by many as the best ever, with sluggers Mantle and Maris chasing Babe Ruth's 1927 record of 60 home runs (Maris eventually broke the record on the final day of a 162-game season) and Ford winning 25 games and losing four.
Boyer batted only .224 during the regular season, but more than made up for it with his defense in an infield that also featured the double play duo of Tony Kubek at shortstop and Bobby Richardson at second base.
Boyer's offensive numbers improved in 1962: career bests in batting average .272, home runs (18) and runs batted in (68). He also came within nine assists of the third base record of 405 set by Harlond Clift of the 1937 St. Louis Browns.
Once again, the Yankees won the World Series, this time in seven games over the San Francisco Giants. In 1967 Boyer had his best offensive season. Playing in hitter-friendly Atlanta Stadium, he established career highs in home runs (26) and RBIs (96) in a lineup that featured the likes of Hank Aaron, Joe Torre, Felipe Alou, and Mack Jones; Boyer batted cleanup behind Aaron.
He also continued his mastery of the glove, leading National League (NL) third baseman in fielding both in 1967 and 1969. In the latter year, he finally won the Gold Glove Award that had eluded him in his Yankee years; with brother Ken having won the award five times, the Boyers became the first brothers to win a Gold Glove.