| Roy Smalley | |
|---|---|
| Shortstop | |
| Born: (1952-10-25)October 25, 1952 (age 72) 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 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Roy Frederick Smalley III (born October 25, 1952) is an American former professionalbaseballshortstop who played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) from 1975 through 1987 for theTexas Rangers (1975–76),Minnesota Twins (1976–82; 1985–87),New York Yankees (1982–84), andChicago White Sox (1984). Smalley was aswitch-hitter and threw right-handed. His father,Roy Jr., was also an MLB league shortstop, and his uncle,Gene Mauch, was a long-time MLBmanager andinfielder.
Drafted out ofWestchester High School in Los Angeles in 1970 by theMontreal Expos,[1] Smalley playedcollege baseball for one year atLos Angeles City College, then transferred to theUniversity of Southern California.[2] He was part of the1972 and1973College World Series championship teams under longtime head coachRod Dedeaux. Smalley was named anAll-American and received All-College World Series honors in 1973.
He was drafted four times by major league teams between 1970 and 1973 without signing. Smalley was selected by theMontreal Expos in the 35th round of theJune 1970 draft, by theBoston Red Sox in the 4th round of theJanuary 1971 draft, by theSt. Louis Cardinals in the 2nd round of theJune 1971 draft, and again by the Red Sox in the 5th round of theJanuary 1972 draft. Smalley was the number one overall pick in theJanuary 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]
After signing in January, Smalley had wrist surgery in February, injured while playingsemi-pro ball in December.[4] He was sent to thePittsfield Rangers in theDouble-AEastern League, hitting .251 with 14 home runs and 42 RBI. Following a brief stint with theTriple-ASpokane Indians in thePacific Coast League, Smalley was promoted to the big leagues for good, seeing time in 78 games for the Rangers in1975, despite hitting only .228 with 3 home runs.[5] Smalley started the1976 season back in Texas, but did not improve on his 1975 average. On June 1, his career would take a major turn.
Under the ownership tenure ofCalvin 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 infielderMike Cubbage, pitchersJim Gideon andBill Singer and cash, for Twins' aceBert Blyleven and shortstopDanny Thompson, who was battlingleukemia.[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 in1979, when he was voted the starting shortstop for the American League in theAll-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 onThe 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 in1980 and 56 in1981.
After showing that he'd recovered from his injuries, Smalley was traded in1982 on April 10 to theYankees for pitchersRon Davis andPaul Boris and shortstopGreg Gagne. With the Yankees, Smalley showed a glimpse of the player he had been in 1979, hitting 20 home runs in 1982 and 18 in1983. He was not as good defensively, however. Yankee pitcherTommy John thought he was best as adesignated 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 ofBucky 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 the1984 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 theWhite Sox for middle relieverKevin Hickey and futurePittsburgh Pirates Cy Young and 155-game winnerDoug Drabek.[5]
Smalley was a member of Minnesota's1987 World Championship team. He hit .275 with 8 home runs and 34 RBI in 110 games in his last major league season.
In a 13-season career, Smalley posted a .257batting average with 163home runs and 694RBI in 1653games played.
He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.[8] Smalley now works forBally Sports North as an analyst during Minnesota Twins games. In 2010, Smalley opened a restaurant nearTarget Field, called Smalley's '87 Club, which closed in February 2012.[9][10] Smalley serves as the President on theBoard of Directors for thenonprofit organizationPitch in for Baseball.[11] He was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013.[citation needed]