Roy Smalley III
| Roy Smalley | |
|---|---|
Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 30, 1975, for the Texas Rangers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 4, 1987, for the Minnesota Twins | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .257 |
| Home runs | 163 |
| Runs batted in | 694 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Roy Frederick Smalley III (born October 25, 1952) is an American former
Amateur career
Drafted out of
He was drafted four times by major league teams between 1970 and 1973 without signing. Smalley was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 35th round of the June 1970 draft, by the Boston Red Sox in the 4th round of the January 1971 draft, by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2nd round of the June 1971 draft, and again by the Red Sox in the 5th round of the January 1972 draft. Smalley was the number one overall pick in the January 1974 amateur draft by the Rangers. Following his junior year, he stayed out of school in the fall of 1973 to be eligible for the January free agent draft.[3]
Professional career
Rangers
After signing in January, Smalley had wrist surgery in February, injured while playing
Twins
Under the ownership tenure of Calvin Griffith, the Minnesota Twins made few headlines in the transaction department, but Smalley's arrival and departure from the Twins both involved blockbuster trades. On June 1, 1976, Smalley was traded to the Twins, along with Texas infielder Mike Cubbage, pitchers Jim Gideon and Bill Singer and cash, for Twins' ace Bert Blyleven and shortstop Danny Thompson, who was battling leukemia.[6] Smalley was inserted into the Twins' starting lineup and manned shortstop until 1982. During his first go around with the Twins, Smalley developed into an all-star.
Smalley's best season came in 1979, when he was voted the starting shortstop for the American League in the All-Star game. Smalley had a sensational first half of the season, entering the break with the second-highest batting average in the major leagues (.341). Though he tailed off in the second half, Smalley established career highs in runs, RBIs, and home runs, and was named the shortstop on The Sporting News AL All-Star team. He also led the league in games played, plate appearances, all fielders in assists, and all shortstops in putouts,[5] while hitting .271 and leading the team with 24 home runs and 95 RBI. He did not build on this season with the Twins, as injuries struck, and he played only 133 games in 1980 and 56 in 1981.
Yankees and White Sox
After showing that he'd recovered from his injuries, Smalley was traded in 1982 on April 10 to the Yankees for pitchers Ron Davis and Paul Boris and shortstop Greg Gagne. With the Yankees, Smalley showed a glimpse of the player he had been in 1979, hitting 20 home runs in 1982 and 18 in 1983. He was not as good defensively, however. Yankee pitcher Tommy John thought he was best as a designated hitter. "He had no range at short. No range at all. He was bad news for a pitching staff," opined John, who had benefitted from the fine defense of Bucky Dent for the past several years.[7] John did note that Smalley was a much better hitter than Dent.[7] After a bad start to the 1984 season, in which he hit only .239 with 7 home runs and 26 RBI over the first 67 games of the season, Smalley was traded again, this time to the White Sox for middle reliever Kevin Hickey and future Pittsburgh Pirates Cy Young and 155-game winner Doug Drabek.[5]
Back to the Twins
Smalley was a member of Minnesota's 1987 World Championship team. He hit .275 with 8 home runs and 34 RBI in 110 games in his last major league season.
Career summary
In a 13-season career, Smalley posted a .257 batting average with 163 home runs and 694 RBI in 1653 games played.
Post-playing career
He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.
See also
References
- ^ Roach, Ron (June 8, 1973). "Young Smalley hits long ball". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. 26.
- ^ "Roy Smalley appreciates all advantages he's had". Wilmington Morning Star. North Carolina. UPI. June 7, 1973. p. 4D.
- ^ Bock, Hal (January 10, 1974). "Smalley no. 1 pick in baseball draft". Nashua Telegraph. New Hampshire. Associated Press. p. 22.
- ^ "Rangers' top draft pick has surgery". Victoria Advocate. Texas. Associated Press. February 14, 1974. p. 2B.
- ^ a b c Roy Smalley at Baseball-Reference
- ^ John Kuenster (August 1979). "Roy Smalley Making His Mark as one of the Best All Around Shortstops". Baseball Digest. p. 17.
- ^ ISBN 0-553-07184-X.
- ^ Sports Standouts, USC Trojan Family Magazine, Spring 2007, Accessed May 21, 2010.
- ^ Vomhof Jr, John (March 18, 2010). "Roy Smalley's Club 87 to replace Champps downtown".
- ^ "Smalley's 87 club closing this weekend - Minneapolis Restaurants and Dining - the Hot Dish". Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2012-03-16.
- ^ "Pitch in for Baseball - Front Office". www.pitchinforbaseball.org. Archived from the original on 11 August 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Roy Smalley III at Baseball Biography