As manager Kenton Lloyd Boyer (May 20, 1931 – September 7, 1982) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman, coach and manager who played with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers for 15 seasons, 1955 through 1969.

[1] Boyer signed with the Cardinals in 1949, and was initially assigned to the Rochester Red Wings, where his brother Cloyd was his teammate.

Boyer did not appear in any games before the organization opened a roster spot for him at a lower level, where the Cardinals initially tried him as a pitcher.

In 1956, he received his first of seven NL All-Star selections and started at third base (first of five starts at third base) batting cleanup for the National League All-Star team; he finished the season with a .306 batting average, 26 home runs and 98 RBI, and led NL third basemen in assists (309) and double plays (37).

He hit for the cycle, with an additional single, in the second game of a doubleheader on September 14, 1961, against the Cubs, becoming the first player in MLB history to complete the cycle with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning for a 6–5 victory; his RBI double in the 9th inning had tied the game.

[4] On September 19, 1962, Boyer broke Rogers Hornsby's team record for home runs by a right-handed hitter with his 194th career round-tripper, a two-run shot off Billy O'Dell in the first inning of a 7–4 loss to the San Francisco Giants.

He finished the season with 98 RBI, equaling his career best to that point, and started both All-Star games, also leading the league in double plays for the last time with 34.

On June 7, 1963, Boyer became the second Cardinals player to hit 200 career homers, connecting off Al Jackson in the 4th inning of a 3–2 road loss to the New York Mets.

He was again named to the NL All-Star starting lineup, increased his RBI season total to 111 that year, and won his fifth Gold Glove award.

He enjoyed his career highlight against the New York Yankees in the 1964 World Series, hitting a grand slam in Game 4 off pitcher Al Downing to give the Cardinals a 4–3 victory; the home run came after Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson misplayed a double play ground ball off the bat of Dick Groat, which would have ended the inning without any damage done.

It was also his seventh consecutive season of 90 or more RBI, tying Pie Traynor's major league record for third basemen.

After 11 years with the Cardinals, Boyer began to suffer back problems in 1965, though still led the league in fielding percentage (.968) for the only time in his career; after batting just .260 with 13 homers and 75 RBI.

In October 1965, Boyer was traded to the New York Mets for Al Jackson and third baseman Charley Smith.

[7] Boyer's 12 career walk-off hits for the Cardinals remain a record for any player since 1950, equaled only by Lou Brock and Albert Pujols.

[8] On April 28, 2007, Pujols broke his Cardinals record for right-handed hitters with his 256th career home run, in an 8–1 loss to the Cubs.

Among the players he developed in the minors were Keith Hernandez, Garry Templeton, Mike Easler, Tito Landrum, and Larry Herndon.

[12][13] The Golden Days Committee voted for the first time in December 2021, for induction into the Hall of Fame's class of 2022, but Boyer once again fell short.