Career
He played in Major League Baseball for the Saint Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, and California Angels. He coached for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Tigers, and the New York Yankees. Minor Leagues
As a minor league shortstop with the Tulsa Oilers in 1972, Kelleher set an American Association record for shortstops with a.979 fielding percentage.
Playing career
Perhaps Kelleher"s most famous moment as a Major Leaguer came as a Cub in 1977.
That August 7, in the second game of a doubleheader against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field, Kelleher, at 5–9 and 170 pounds, responded to Dave Kingman"s hard slide into him on a double play attempt (Kingman was apparently angered over being hit by a Steve Renko pitch) by jumping on the 6–6, 210-pound Kingman"s back and pummeling him with blows. The ensuing bench-clearing brawl resulted in the ejections of both players.
The two became teammates the following season, after Kingman signed with the Cubs as a free agent. In 11 seasons, Kelleher was an infielder for the Saint Louis Cardinals (1972-1973 and 1975), Houston Astros (1974), Chicago Cubs (1976-1980), Detroit Tigers (1981-1982) and California Angels (1982).
He did not appear in the playoffs.
Playing in 622 games, Kelleher recorded a career.213 batting average in 1,081 at bats. He is the most recently retired non-pitcher to have more than 1,000 at-bats and no home runs. Coaching career
Kelleher consistently worked in major league baseball after his playing career ended.
He was a minor league coach and a scout.
He also served as a first base coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986 and for the Detroit Tigers from 2003 to 2005. Prior to being named first base coach for the Yankees, he was a defensive coordinator for the Yankees’ minor league system.
His main assignment with the Yankees was originally to monitor the development of Robinson Canó, whom he coached in the minor leagues. On October 10th, the Yankees announced Kelleher would not return for the 2015 season.
He subsequently retired from baseball on October 20th.