Wally Joyner

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Wallace Keith Joyner
First Base
Batted: Left	Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 8, 1986 for the California Angels
Final game
June 14, 2001 for the Anaheim Angels
Career statistics
Home Runs	204
Batting Average	.289
Hits	2060
Teams
California Angels (1986-1991) Kansas City Royals (1991-1995) San Diego Padres (1996-1999) Atlanta Braves (2000) Anaheim Angels (2001)
Career highlights and awards
All Star - 1996

Wallace Keith "Wally" Joyner (born June 16, 1962 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball. He attended high school at Redan High in Stone Mountain (suburb of Atlanta) and college at Brigham Young University and played for five different major league teams in his career: the California Angels, Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves and Anaheim Angels. He now resides in Mapleton, Utah. Joyner has invested and appeared in movies marketed to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon church), including playing "Brother Jensen" in the 2003 movie, The R.M. [1]

He credited a stint in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico's winter baseball league), playing first base for the Mayagüez Indians as fundamental in his improvement as a slugger. Then-batting coach José Manuel Morales forced him to do power weight training and modify his posture at the batting cage as to develop upper body strength. He was consequently the top hitter on Puerto Rico's winter league on the 1985-86 season.

During his rookie season in MLB with the California Angels, Joyner became a fan favorite and briefly inspired a craze called Wallyworld, a term describing the Angels' home stadium, drawn from references to Disneyland and the film National Lampoon's Vacation. Competing with the likes of Jose Canseco, in 1986, Joyner became the first rookie to be voted in by the fans to start in the All-Star Game. Representing the Angels, Joyner tied Darryl Strawberry for first place in that year's Home Run Derby.

When the Angels met the New York Yankees in a game in August 1986, a fan threw a knife at Joyner. Joyner was grazed on the left arm by the butt end of the weapon, escaping injury. Said Joyner: "I picked it up and gave it to [Angels' manager] Gene Mauch."

In a November 2005 interview with ESPN The Magazine, Joyner admitted to briefly having used steroids. He was given information on how to obtain them by Ken Caminiti while they were both with the 1998 Padres [2].