Willie Aikens

Willie Mays Aikens
Born: Oct. 14, 1954 in Seneca, S.C.
Debut: 1977 | Pos: 1B
H: 6'3" | W: 220 | B: L | T: R

Yrs	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	BA
8	774	2492	301	675	110	415	3	.271

>> Visit the Willie Aikens biography on Baseball Almanac for complete statistics.

Willie Aikens, a South Carolina native, put himself into the history books of baseball by becoming the first player to have two multiple home run games in the same World Series.

Early in his career, Aikens showed flashes of greatness. On June 13-14, 1979, Aikens hit grand slams in consecutive games. During that season, his first full season in the major leagues, Aikens hit 21 home runs and drove in 81 runs.

In his career, he hit more than 20 home runs in a season three times. In 1981, he hit 17 home runs and finished seventh in the American League.

During the 1980 World Series, as a member of the Kansas City Royals, Aikens hit a pair of home runs in Game One. In Game Four, he repeated the feat.

His numbers at the plate couldn't make up for his lack of abilities in the area of defense. During his years with the Kansas City Royals, he would have probably played more at designated hitter if it had not been for Hal McRae already holding that job. In 1980, he committed 12 errors playing at first. In 1983, he had 11.

The low point of Aikens' career came during the 1983 season. On Dec. 15, 1983, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announced the suspension of Kansas City Royals Willie Wilson, Willie Aikens and Jerry Martin for one season without pay due to use of illegal drugs. The suspension was later reduced by an arbitrator.

On Dec. 19, Aikens was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. He served his prison sentence and was released prior to the start of the 1984 season. Aikens career didn't recover after the drug incident. He hit .205 in 1984 with Toronto, hitting just 11 home runs and driving in 26 runs. The next year, he appeared in just 12 games, hitting 1 home run and driving in 5 runs.

His full name was Willie Mays Aiken, a tribute to the baseball great. Aikens played for California (1977, 79), Kansas City (1980-83) and Toronto (1984-85).

In 1992, Aikens was arrested on drug charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He remains behind bars today, in Atlanta.