John Mayberry was drafted by the Houston Astros in the first round in 1967. John had trouble breaking into the Houston lineup. He had short stints with the Astros in 1968 (.000 in 9 AB) and in 1969 (.000 in 4 AB).
- Mayberry split the 1970 and 1971 seasons between AAA and the Astros. In 1970 he batted .216 in 148 AB and in 1971 he batted .182 in 137 AB. After the 1971 season John was traded with a minor leaguer to the Kansas City Royals for Lance Clemons and Jim York.
- The trade was beneficial for Mayberry and the Royals. John became the starting first baseman for the Royals and finished 12th in AL MVP voting in 1972. He batted .298 with 25 HR and 100 RBI. In 1973 Mayberry batted .278 with 26 HR and 100 RBI and led the AL with 122 walks and a .417 on base percentage. John was the starting first baseman in the 1973 All Star Game and was 1 for 3 with a double. Big John Mayberry: An Emerging Slugger - September 1973 Baseball Digest
- Mayberry missed about three weeks in August of 1974 with an injury. He batted .234 with 22 HR and 69 RBI. John was an AL All Star again in 1974 and was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
- John’s best season was probably 1975. He finished second to Fred Lynn in AL MVP voting. Mayberry batted .291 with 34 HR and 106 RBI and also led the AL with 119 walks.
- Just as the Royals started winning AL West titles John’s production started to drop. In 1976 he batted .232 with 13 HR and 95 RBI. Mayberry batted .222 with 1 HR in the 1976 ALCS. Mayberry batted .230 with 23 HR and 80 RBI for the Royals in 1977 and batted .167 with 1 HR in the 1977 NLCS. Apparently he partied pretty hard before game 4 of the ALCS and didn’t perform well. Royals manager Whitey Herzog demanded that John be moved from the team and just before the 1978 season John was purchased by the Toronto Blue Jays.
- Mayberry batted .250 with 22 HR and 70 RBI for the Blue Jays in 1978. In 1979 John batted .274 with 21 HR and 74 RBI. Mayberry had his best year as a Blue Jay in 1980. He batted .248 with 30 HR and 82 RBI.
- In the strike-shortened 1981 season John batted .248 with 17 HR and 43 RBI. Mayberry started the 1982 season with the Blue Jays and batted .273 with 2 home runs in 17 games. On May 5 John was traded with a minor leaguer to the New York Yankees for Dave Revering and Tom Dodd. Mayberry played in 69 games for the Yankees and batted .209 with 8 HR and 27 RBI. John didn’t make the Yankee ballclub in 1983 and was released in spring training.
- After his playing career Mayberry coached in the Blue Jays’ system for five years and then for the Royals for two more years. He also worked in the Royals’ Community Affairs Department. His son John Jr. played for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2009.
- Liked to face: Dennis Leonard (.458 in 24 AB); Moose Haas (.440 in 25 AB); Fergie Jenkins (.324 with 6 HR in 71 AB)
- Hated to face: Floyd Bannister/Bob McClure (.000 in 14 AB); Rick Waits (.067 in 30 AB); Rick Langford (.071 in 42 AB)
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