Gary Roenicke
Quotes About Roenicke
"I'm going to play Roenicke as much as I can. I still might take him out against certain right-handed pitchers, but we've got to get him between 500 and 600 at-bats. Who knows, he might hit 35 to 40 homers if he comes up that many times." — Earl Weaver in 1980. Roenicke got fewer at-bats (297) in '80 than he had the previous season.
Played For
Montreal Expos (1976)
Baltimore Orioles (1978-1985)
New York Yankees (1986)
Atlanta Braves (1987-1988)
Best Season: 1979
In just 376 at-bats, Gary slugged 25 homers (17 against RHP), and drove in and scored more than 60 runs. He also walked 61 times. He was instrumental in helping the O's to the AL pennant.
Where He Played
Roenicke could play any of the outfield positions. Generally, however, Earl Weaver preferred to use him in left field.
Born
Gary Steven Roenicke was born on December 5, 1954, in Covina, CA.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Primary Position: OF
Primary Team: BAL
College: Whittier
Major League Debut
June 8, 1976
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1976
Andre Dawson
Dale Murphy
Willie Wilson
Garry Templeton
Dennis Martinez
Bruce Sutter
Rick Sutcliffe
Joaquin Andujar
Mark Fidrych
Related Players
His platoon partner in Baltimore was left-handed slugger John Lowenstein, who is indelibly linked with Roenicke... Earl Weaver
Post-Season Appearances
1979 American League Championship Series
1979 World Series
1983 American League Championship Series
1983 World Series
Injuries and Explanation for Missed Playing Time
In 1979, Roenicke was hit in the face by a Lerrin LaGrow pitch. he required 25 stitches to close the wound.
"I was taking batting practice four days after I got beaned," Roenicke said. "[Orioles' coach] Frank [Robinson] got me to do that soon. He knew a lot of guys who got hit in the face and went down the tube, and I think he felt it was important for me to get back in there."
Roenicke was back in the lineup in less than a week, and wore a special face mask the remainder of that season, and into the 1980 season.
Transactions
June 5, 1973: Drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 1st round (8th pick) of the 1973 amateur draft.
December 7, 1977: Traded by the Montreal Expos with Joe Kerrigan and Don Stanhouse to the Baltimore Orioles for Rudy May, Randy Miller, and Bryn Smith.
The Orioles acquired Roenicke based on the recommendation of their scout, Bob Zuk, who had signed Gary in the Montreal organization.
December 12, 1985: Traded by the Baltimore Orioles with a player to be named later to the New York Yankees for Rich Bordi and Rex Hudler. The Baltimore Orioles sent Leo Hernandez (December 16, 1985) to the New York Yankees to complete the trade.
November 2, 1986: Granted Free Agency.
January 23, 1987: Signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.
July 26, 1988: Released by the Atlanta Braves.
Best Strength as a Player
Power against left-handed pitchers. Roenicke slugged .454 against lefties, and .412 vs. RHP. He was also excellent with the bases loaded: hitting .296 with five grand slams and a .535 SLG percentage in that situation.
Largest Weakness as a Player
Hitting right-handers. Roenicke was never really given a chance to play regularly against RHP, but in more than 1,200 at-bats against them, he hit .238 with a .412 SLG mark.
Learn More about Gary Roenicke
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