Ken Landreaux                   Elected 1995

Left Fielder
Brooklyn Superbas (LA, MON)
1979-1993

As Brooklyn's 41st pick in the 1977 rookie draft, not much was expected of the  21-year-old from the former Arizona State Sun Devil from Compton, California. But Kenneth Francis Landreaux developed quickly at the Superba's farm team in Quebec, and after batting .375 in 72 games in 1979, he got a call-up to the big club, where he immediately broke into the Bas lineup.

Brooklyn in the late '70s was a competitive team. They made the World Series in 1976, and Landreaux' bat help them return to the postseason in 1979 and '80. The latter was Kenny's first full season as a regular, and he made the most of it, batting .322 with a .367 OBP for a 4.6 WAR. It was the first of seven .300 seasons and earned the young left fielder Rookie of the Year honors.

He quickly earned a reputation as an iron man who could hit for average, with a dose of power, and draw decent amount of walks, steal bases, and play solid defense. His career year came in 1982, when he hit a career-best 224 hits and 96 RBI, batted .356 with a .428 OBP and .930 OPS, and accumulated 8.7 WAR. He was 4th in batting, 3rd in WAR, and 2nd in OBP, but was passed over by the All-UL Committee in favor of L.A. superstar Dave Winfield. In many ways, Landreaux was a poor man's Winfield. Though he lacked Winfield's power and longevity, he made up for it with greater speed and better defense.

Landreaux won four Gold Glove Awards, including one in 1991 for his age-35 season, which coincided with the last year of his 13-year initial run with Brooklyn, though he would return in 1993 after splitting 1992 between Montreal and Los Angeles. In that final season, he would get his first and only taste of the World Series, though he had just two at-bats in three appearances and Brooklyn lost to Chicago 4-1.

Upon Landreaux' retirement in 1993, he ranked 2nd among Brooklyn Superbas in career WAR. Put another way, he racked up more WAR than Brooklyn Hall of Famers Granny Hamner, Dick McAuliffe, and club legends Minnie Minoso and Sandy Amoros. Despite never making an All-UL Team, he was named to the All-Decade Team for 1981-90 as the fourth outfielder. Though he was overshadowed for much of his career by the likes of Winfield and Tony Gwynn, Kenny ended his career with a .306 average and .373 OBP, nearly 2200 hits, and a 65 WAR that surpasses that of 11 current Hall of Famers, including Tom Grieve, Hamner, and Joe Adcock. (TJS)