Gary Roenicke

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Gary Steven Roenicke (born in Covina, California on December 5, 1954) was an Outfielder for the Montreal Expos (1976), Baltimore Orioles (1978-85), New York Yankees (1986) and Atlanta Braves (1987-88).

Contents

[edit] Early career

He was originally drafted by the Montreal Expos as the eight pick of the first round of the Amateur Draft in 1973. He showed promise in his young career, earning the MVP Award in the Eastern League (U.S. baseball) in 1975. A year later, he made his career debut for the Montreal Expos, hitting .222 in 29 games with two home runs and five runs batted in.

[edit] Traded to the Orioles

A year later, he was traded with Joe Kerrigan and Don Stanhouse to the Baltimore Orioles for Rudy May, Randy Miller, and Bryn Smith. The Orioles received a valuable outfielder in Roenicke and an all-star relief pitcher in Don Stanhouse and the Expos received May and Smith, two pitchers with successful careers.

[edit] Prime Years on the Orioles

Roenicke didn't immediately make his mark on the Orioles, only appearing in 27 big-league games in his first season in '78. A year later, in his first full season, he had perhaps the best season of his 12-year career, appearing in 133 games and hitting .261 with 25 home runs and 64 runs batted in. He even made the top ten in at-bats per home run with the exciting statistic of 15.0 per. The next year, he had visibly regressed from his promising '79 season, appearing in nearly 20 games less and only hitting .239 with 10 home runs 28 runs batted in. A year later he had a better year, hitting .269, but his power numbers were still significantly down, slugging only .384, whereas he had slugged .508 in his rookie season. In 1982, he seemed to have rediscovered what he had in that rookie season, hitting .270 with a slugging percentage of .499 in 137 games.

[edit] Decline

Unfortunately, Roenicke never did establish numbers like his '82 and rookie season. A year later, both his average and slugging were down and, after two more mediocre years, the Orioles traded him to the New York Yankees. The most notable person also included in the trade was Rex Hudler, who was traded from the Yankees to the Orioles. On the Yankees, his role was limited to a bench player and his biggest value, his power was down (he only hit three home runs). He signed as a free agent in 1986 by the Atlanta Braves for nearly half the amount of money he had been making ($380,000). He continued his career on the bench, this year doing better in the power department, hitting nine home runs. The next year, though, all his value was lost. In 49 games, he hit only .228 with a .298 slugging percentage, the worst of his career. He was released mid-way through the season by the Braves on July 26, 1986 and decided to retire.

[edit] Legacy and Aftermath

He left behind a legacy of lost promise, although in two years, 1979 and 1982, he was a very exciting and powerful outfielder. He was also a colorful fan favorite with long hair and a good additude.

Today, Roenicke is an advisor at the Western Canadian Baseball League, as well as a scout for the San Diego Padres. He is part of a great baseball family. His brother, Ron, had an eight-year career from the early- to late-80s, as an outfielder and Gary's son, Josh is a valuable member of both the UCLA football and baseball teams as a wide receiver and outfielder. On the UCLA Bruins, Roenicke had the second-highest on-base percentage, third-highest batting average and compiled a perfect fielding percentage. The baseball gene has truly passed on through the Roenike family.

[edit] External links

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