Phil Roof

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Phil Roof
Runs batted in
210
Teams

Philip Anthony Roof (born March 5, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and minor league manager.[1][2] He played for 15 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball in 1961 and from 1964 to 1977, most notably for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and the Minnesota Twins.[1] Although Roof did not produce impressive offensive statistics, he excelled defensively as a catcher which enabled him to sustain a lengthy career in the major leagues due to his valuable defensive abilities.[3] He was the first player acquired by the expansion Toronto Blue Jays.

Early years

Roof was born in

Milwaukee Braves in 1959 upon graduation from St. Mary High School. His brother, Paul, a pitcher, signed with the Braves out of high school the following year.[4]

After two minor league seasons in which he

Yakima Braves of the Northwest League on the cutdown date.[6]

Roof again appeared in a single game for the Braves in

Baseball Hall of Famer Warren Spahn were arrested at a Houston night club a week into the 1964 season.[8]

Roof appeared in nine games for the Angels in

Winter meetings, he and Joe Rudi were traded to the Kansas City Athletics for Jim Landis and Jim Rittwage.[10]

Kansas City/Oakland Athletics

Roof got off to a fast start with his new franchise, and soon won the starting catching job over incumbent

Washington Senators on May 23, 1966.[11] A week later, he broke up a Denny McLain no-hitter with a two-run double.[12] For the season, he posted career-highs in games played (127), hits (77), doubles (14) and RBIs (44).[1]

Roof remained the Athletics' starting catcher until a torn muscle in his left shoulder early in the 1968 season limited him to just 34 games the Athletics' first season in their new home, Oakland, California. He returned to starting duties in 1969, but was traded to the Seattle Pilots in January 1970 in a package for All-Star first baseman Don Mincher.[13]

Milwaukee Brewers/Minnesota Twins

The Pilots moved to

Milwaukee during spring training, 1970, and were renamed the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers narrowly avoided 100 losses in 1970 despite the fact that Roof hit a career-high thirteen home runs.[1] He suffered a concussion early in the 1971 season after getting hit on the helmet by a pitch thrown by Minnesota Twins pitcher Bert Blyleven.[14] Ironically, Roof was dealt to the Twins for fellow catcher Paul Ratliff three months later, and caught Blyleven in his second game with the Twins.[15]

Roof spent most of his five seasons in Minnesota as the backup to Glenn Borgmann. He had his only career multi-home run game on May 30, 1972 against the Kansas City Royals,[16] and had arguably his best season in a backup role in 1975, when he batted .302 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs in 63 games.[1]

Chicago White Sox/Toronto Blue Jays

When top prospect catcher Butch Wynegar joined the Twins for the 1976 season, Roof became the odd man out, and was eventually placed on waivers and selected by the Chicago White Sox.

Roof became the first player for the Toronto Blue Jays when they acquired him for a player to be named later two weeks before the 1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft.[17] The player they eventually named was pitcher Larry Anderson. Roof only played in three games for the Blue Jays, appearing in his final major league game on May 30, 1977, at the age of 36, although he remained with the club as a bullpen catcher / coach throughout the season.[18]

Career statistics

In a fifteen-year major league career, Roof played in 857

runs batted in and an on-base percentage of .283. He ended his career with a .986 fielding percentage.[1] Roof was a good defensive player with a strong throwing arm, finishing second among American League catchers in caught stealing percentage in 1974 with a 48.8% success rate.[19]

Coaching and managing career

Roof also served as bullpen coach for the San Diego Padres (1978), Seattle Mariners (1983–88) and Chicago Cubs (1990–91). He managed for 16 years in the Twins organization and won his 1,000th game as a manager in 2004 before his retirement in 2005.[20]

Roof served as bullpen coach for the Minnesota Twins during spring training and the first month of the 2011 season while Rick Stelmaszek was recovering from eye surgery. Roof worked as a spring training coach during retirement until March 2020 when the season was put on hold for COVID-19.

Personal life

Roof's first wife, Marie, died after a lengthy cancer battle in 2005 while he was managing the

University of Missouri at St. Louis
.

His brother, Gene, played in the majors from 1981 through 1983, and later was an MLB coach and minor-league manager and instructor for the Detroit Tigers.

In addition to Paul and Gene, brothers Adrian and David played professional baseball. Gene's sons Shawn and Eric were infielders in the Tigers' organization, and Gene's son, Jonathan, an outfielder and infielder, had a seven-year pro career. Shawn Roof was the 2019 manager of the Visalia Rawhide, a minor-league affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He is currently working his way up through the minor leagues and is the head coach for the Amarillo Sod Poodles, AA affiliate for the Diamondbacks. The elder Roofs' first cousin, Eddie Haas, is a former major league player, coach, scout and manager; another cousin, Louis Haas, played minor league baseball.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Phil Roof statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  2. ^ "Phil Roof minor league managing statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  3. ^ Doyle, Al (November 2002). "Sustaining a Long Career". Baseball Digest. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  4. ^ "Braves Sign Another Roof". The Milwaukee Sentinel. June 16, 1960.
  5. ^ "San Francisco Giants 7, Milwaukee Braves 3". Baseball-Reference.com. April 29, 1961.
  6. ^ "Majors Whittle Rosters". The Rock Hill Herald. May 11, 1961.
  7. ^ "Chicago Cubs 4, Milwaukee Braves 3". Baseball-Reference.com. May 31, 1964.
  8. ^ "Spahn, Roof Escape Fine for Late Stay at Night Club". Lewiston Morning Tribune. April 21, 1964.
  9. ^ "Trading Deadline Brings Few Major League Roster Changes". St. Joseph News-Press. June 16, 1965.
  10. ^ "Conflict May Stop Smith; Alou In Trade". The Palm Beach Post. December 2, 1965. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  11. ^ "Kansas City Athletics 5, Washington Senators 3". Baseball-Reference.com. May 23, 1966.
  12. ^ "Phil Roof's Double Halts McLain's Bid for No-hitter". Charleston S.C. News and Courier. May 31, 1966.
  13. ^ "Baseball Trade Winds Blow". The Palm Beach Post. Associated Press. January 16, 1970. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  14. ^ "Roof Gets Beaned". The Milwaukee Sentinel. April 8, 1971.
  15. ^ "Boston Red Sox 9, Minnesota Twins 4". Baseball-Reference.com. July 16, 1971.
  16. ^ "Minnesota Twins 3, Kansas City Royals 2". Baseball-Reference.com. May 30, 1972.
  17. ^ "Blue Jays Sign First". The Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. 23 October 1976. p. 16. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  18. ^ "Kansas City Royals 4, Toronto Blue Jays 1". Baseball-Reference.com. May 30, 1977.
  19. ^ "1974 American League Fielding Leaders". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  20. ^ "Roof Gets 1000th Win". The Star Tribune. 24 June 2004. Retrieved 22 October 2011.

External links