Win–loss record 9–10 Role Baseball player Name Ken Hunt | Earned run average 3.96 Strikeouts 75 | |
Died January 27, 2008, Morgan, Utah, United States | ||
Education Brigham Young University | ||
Kenneth Raymond Hunt (December 14, 1938 – January 27, 2008) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Cincinnati Reds during the 1961 season. Listed at 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), 200 lb (91 kg), Hunt batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Ogden, Utah.
In his only major league season, Hunt was a member of the Cincinnati Reds 1961 National League champions who faced the New York Yankees in the World Series. Hunt got off to a fast start, sporting an 8–3 win–loss record and a 2.73 earned run average (ERA) through his first 14 games (13 as a starter). However, after that, he struggled to a 1–7 record and a 6.27 ERA over the rest of the season. He started only one game after August 5 as the Reds went to a four-man rotation down the stretch. In the World Series, he made only one appearance, pitching the 9th inning in the fifth and final game, a blowout 13–5 loss, striking out one and walking one.
Despite his late fade, Hunt won the TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award, after going 9–10 with 75 strikeouts in 136⅓ innings of work, and his 3.96 ERA ranked him fourth in the Reds rotation behind Jim O'Toole (3.10), Joey Jay (3.53) and Bob Purkey (3.73).
Following his major league career, Hunt pitched in the minors for four years before leaving professional baseball at age 26. Hunt earned a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in 1983. After retiring, he taught English and coached basketball and baseball at Morgan (UT) High School. In 2004, he was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame.
Hunt died in Morgan, Utah at age 69.