Project Baseball 1976: Jerry Royster

Friday, October 22, 2010

Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1972
Played in 30 games for the Pirates in 1975 (.164 in 61 AB)
Was traded with Dock Ellis and Ken Brett to the New York Yankees after the 1975 season for Doc Medich
Started at 2B for the Yankees from 1976-1988
1976: Batted .267 in 125 games
1977: Batted .274 in 147 games
1978: Batted .279 in 134 games

Started the 1990 season with the Dodgers (.271 in 26 games) but was traded to the Oakland A's in May 1990 for Stan Javier
Played for the A's in 1990 (.257 in 93 games), the Milwaukee Brewers in 1991 (.327 in 124 games), and the New York Mets (.252 in 90 games) in 1992.
All Star appearances:

Won the NL East in 2006
Mets had one of the worst collapses in history in 2007. They had a 7-game lead in the NL East with 17 games to play but were overtaken by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Liked to face: Greg Harris/Bill Krueger (.524 in 21 AB); Steve Trout (.406 in 32 AB)
Hated to face: Mike Scott (.053 in 19 AB); Bill Swift (.095 in 21 AB); Nolan Ryan (.115 in 26 AB)

Signed by the Minnesota Twins in 1971
Played in the minors from 1971-1975
Came up to Minnesota in August 1975 and batted .256 in 125 at bats
Started the 1976 season with the Twins and batted .203 in 45 games
Sent down to AAA in June and stayed there for the rest of the year
Selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the expansion draft
Batted .197 in 95 games as a utility infielder in 1977
Started at 2B in 1978 and batted .238 in 145 games
Started the 1979 season in Toronto and sent to AAA in mid-May
Came back to the Blue Jays in September and ended up batting .218 in 47 games
Released after the 1979 season
Tried out for the A's in spring training in 1980 and made the club
Batted .244 in 123 games as a utility infielder in 1980
Batted .263 in 79 games in 1981
Batted .198 in 78 games in 1982
Played in the minors in 1983 and retired after the season
Coached for the Oakland A's (1984-1995) and for the St. Louis Cardinals (1996-present).

Co-wrote a book (Strength Training for Baseball) with Jose Canseco about proper weight training techniques.

Jerry was a versatile player who saw action at every position except P, C, and 1B during his major league career.
Signed by the LA Dodgers in 1970
Despite having seasons of .303, .275, and .333 in AAA Albuquerque from 1973-1975, Royster was unable to break into the Dodgers' lineup.
Jerry batted .211 in ten games in 1973.
Royster appeared in six games in 1974 but didn't bat. He scored two runs in pinch running appearances.
In 1975 Jerry went 9 for 36 (.250) in 13 games for the Dodgers.
Traded to the Atlanta Braves (with Jimmy Wynn, Lee Lacy, and Tom Paciorek) for Dusty Baker and Ed Goodson after the 1975 season.
Became the Braves' starting third baseman in 1976. For the next several seasons played several different positions but managed to stay in the lineup most of the time.

1976: Batted .248 with 24 stolen bases in 149 games
1977: Batted .216 with 28 stolen bases in 140 games
1978: Batted .259 with 27 stolen bases in 140 games
1979: Probably his best season -- batted .273 with 35 stolen bases and 103 runs scored in 154 games
1980: Batted .242 with 22 stolen bases in 123 games
1981: Batted .204 in 64 games but had only 93 at bats
1982: Batted .295 in 108 games (261 AB).

1983: Batted .235 in 91 games.
1984: Batted .207 in 81 games
Became a free agent after the 1984 season and signed with the San Diego Padres
1985: Played five different positions and batted .281 in 90 games
1986: Batted .257 in 118 games
Became a free agent and signed with the Chicago White Sox after the 1986 season.
Batted .240 in 55 games for the White Sox in 1987
Traded with a minor leaguer to the New York Yankees for Ken Patterson and a minor leaguer on August 29, 1987
Batted .357 in 18 games for the Yankees to finish the 1987 season
Released at the end of spring training in 1988. Signed with the Braves on May 17
Batted .176 in 68 games in 1988 and retired after the season
Coached and managed for various clubs in the minors after his retirement
Coached under Davey Lopes in Milwaukee in 2002 and was named interim manager when Lopes was fired after 15 games. Jerry finished the season but was not brought back
Has managed the Lotte Giants in South Korea since 2008.
Liked to face: Pedro Borbon (.421 in 19 AB); Doug Rau (.400 in 20 AB)
Hated to face: Nolan Ryan (.000 in 14 AB); Bill Gullickson/Bill Lee (.059 in 17 AB);

First round pick of the New York Mets in 1970
Played in the minors from 1970-1975.
Went 3 for 19 (.158) in a brief September trial in 1975.
Batted .220 in 304 at bats for the Mets in 1976.
Started the 1977 season with the Mets but was sent to AAA Tidewater in mid-June. Came back in September and ended up batting .252 in 123 at bats for the Mets.
Traded to the New York Yankees after the 1977 season for Sergio Ferrer.
Spent the entire 1978 season in AAA Tacoma
Played in AAA Columbus in 1979.
Played in four games and went 4 for 13 (.273) for the Yankees at the end of the 1979 season.
Played in Columbus in 1980 and retired after the season.

Project Baseball 1976