Highlighted Year: Leon Roberts, 1978

Outfielder, Seattle Mariners

Age:  27

1^st season with Mariners

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’3”    Weight: 200 

Prior to 1978:

A Michigan native, Roberts suffered vision impairment due to a childhood injury, a fact which he hid until after his baseball playing career. He still was a prominent athlete at Portage Northern High School where he played football and basketball in addition to baseball, and also ran track. Much pursued with college scholarship offers, he attended the University of Michigan on a football scholarship and also played baseball, batting .367 and receiving All-Big Ten recognition. Roberts was selected in the tenth round of the 1972 amateur draft by the Detroit Tigers. With teams in the Class A Florida State and Carolina Leagues in 1972 he batted a combined .304 in 80 total games with 15 doubles, 3 triples, 5 home runs, 54 RBIs, a .415 on-base percentage, and a .435 slugging percentage. In 1973 he advanced to the Montgomery Rebels of the Class AA Southern League and hit .295 with 30 doubles, 14 home runs, 70 RBIs, 22 stolen bases, a .382 OBP, and a .446 slugging percentage. Roberts spent 1974 in Class AAA with Evansville of the American Association where he batted .285 with 31 doubles, 12 home runs, 79 RBIs, a.363 OBP, and a .441 slugging percentage. Receiving a late-season call-up to the Tigers, he appeared in 17 games and hit .270. Touted as the successor to long-time star Al Kaline in right field in 1975, Roberts appeared in 129 games and batted .257 with 17 doubles, 5 triples, 10 home runs, 38 RBIs, and a .316 OBP.  In the offseason he went from one last-place club to another, when the Tigers traded him to the Houston Astros as part of a seven-player deal, who were seeking to add promising young players. As a part-time player with Houston in 1976, Roberts hit .289 in 87 games with 7 home runs, 33 RBIs, and a .347 OBP. Strictly a reserve with the Astros in 1977, he was sent down to Class AAA with the Charleston Charlies of the International League in June after having managed only two pinch-hits in 21 at bats. In 73 minor league games he batted .299 with 20 doubles, 2 home runs, 34 RBIs, and a .382 OBP, and publicly expressed his frustration with having not been given a sufficient opportunity to prove himself with the Astros. Roberts was dealt to the Mariners for infielder Jimmy Sexton in the offseason. Initially platooned in right field in 1978, he settled into full-time duty as the season progressed, gaining notice for his hustling outfield play as well as his hitting.

1978 Season Summary

Appeared in 134 games

RF – 128, PH – 11, DH – 2

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 528

At Bats – 472

Runs – 78

Hits – 142

Doubles – 21

Triples – 7 [11, tied with six others]

Home Runs – 22 [17, tied with four others]

RBI – 92 [12]

Bases on Balls – 41

Int. BB – 2

Strikeouts – 52

Stolen Bases – 6

Caught Stealing – 3

Average - .301 [6]

OBP - .364 [16, tied with Jason Thompson]

Slugging Pct. - .515 [6, tied with Gorman Thomas]

Total Bases – 243

GDP – 7

Hit by Pitches – 8 [4, tied with Chet Lemon]

Sac Hits – 3

Sac Flies – 4

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 8, 3B – 2, HR – 11, RBI - 41, AVG. - .305, SLG - .527, OBP – .386

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Most hits, game – 3 on nine occasions

Longest hitting streak – 8 games

HR at home – 9

HR on road – 13

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 4 AB) vs. Baltimore 8/16

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 6 vs. Toronto 5/7

Pinch-hitting – 4 for 8 (.500) with 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI & 2 BB

Fielding

Chances - 307

Put Outs – 289

Assists – 10

Errors – 8

DP – 4

Pct. - .974

Awards & Honors:

33^rd in AL MVP voting (3 points – 1% share)

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The Mariners went 56-104 to finish seventh (last) in the AL Western Division, 35 games behind the division-winning Kansas City Royals. The Mariners dropped into the AL West cellar in April and never rose above fifth place the rest of the way. Disappointing play from some of the standouts of the inaugural season combined with front office instability to damage the club’s chances. Roberts was one of a few stars for the struggling team once he settled into regular duty in right field.

Aftermath of 1978:

Roberts followed up in 1979 with a somewhat lesser season, batting .271 with 24 doubles, 6 triples, 15 home runs, 54 RBIs, a .352 OBP, and a .451 slugging percentage. In a disappointing season for the Mariners in general in 1980, Roberts hit .251 with 18 doubles, 10 home runs, 33 RBIs, and a .325 OBP. Traded to the Texas Rangers in the offseason as part of an eleven-player deal, Roberts split time during the strike-interrupted 1981 season with John Grubb and batted .279 with 17 doubles, 4 home runs, 31 RBIs, and a .345 OBP. Frustrated with his role as a reserve outfielder in 1982 while the Rangers were struggling, Roberts was sold to the Toronto Blue Jays in July. For the year he hit .230 with 9 extra-base hits, 11 RBIs, and a .276 OBP. Traded in 1983 to the Kansas City Royals, he played for two seasons as a reserve and batted a combined .252 with 8 home runs, 27 RBIs, and a .311 OBP. Left off the postseason roster for the ALCS in 1984, he was released following the season. Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates for 1985, he played in the minors and never returned to the major leagues. For his major league career, Roberts batted .267 with 731 hits that included 126 doubles, 28 triples, and 78 home runs. He scored 342 runs and compiled 328 RBIs, a .332 OBP, and a .419 slugging percentage. With the Mariners he batted .276 with 187 runs scored, 358 hits, 63 doubles, 16 triples, 47 home runs, 179 RBIs, a .349 OBP. and a .458 slugging percentage. He never appeared in the postseason and only received MVP votes in 1978, his best major league season. Following his playing career, Roberts coached at the major and minor league levels. He also played in the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball Association.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years. 

Highlighted Year: Craig Reynolds, 1978

Shortstop, Seattle Mariners

Age: 25

2^nd season with Mariners

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 175 

Prior to 1978:

A native of Houston, Texas, Reynolds was named the city’s Top High School Athlete while a senior at John H. Reagan High School. Selected in the first round of the 1971 amateur draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, after signing he was sent to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League where he batted .318 with 8 doubles and a .378 on-base percentage. He also committed 25 errors at shortstop. Moving to Gastonia of the Class A Western Carolinas League in 1972, he hit .240, again with a near total absence of power, but with better results defensively. Reynolds spent most of 1973 with Salem of the Class A Carolina League where he improved his batting average to .287 and displayed more clout with 18 doubles, 5 triples, 13 home runs, 86 RBIs, and a .334 OBP. With teams at Class AA and AAA in 1974, he batted a combined .299 with 12 doubles, 6 home runs, 34 RBIs, and a .359 OBP. In 1975 with the Charleston Charlies of the Class AAA International League, Reynolds hit .308 with 22 doubles, 6 home runs, 42 RBIs, and a .342 OBP. He also saw brief action with the Pirates and batted .224 in 31 games. Back with Charleston in 1976, Reynolds produced a .290 average with 21 extra-base hits, 47 RBIs, and a .337 OBP. He received a September call-up to the Pirates and was traded along with a minor league second baseman to the expansion Mariners in the offseason for reliever Grant Jackson. Moving into the lineup as the new club’s starting shortstop, Reynolds hit a better-than-anticipated .248 with 12 doubles, 4 home runs, 28 RBIs, and a .277 OBP.

1978 Season Summary

Appeared in 148 games

SS – 146, PH – 1, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 604

At Bats – 548

Runs – 57

Hits – 160 [19, tied with Roy Smalley]

Doubles – 16

Triples – 7 [11, tied with six others]

Home Runs – 5

RBI – 44

Bases on Balls – 36

Int. BB – 1

Strikeouts – 41

Stolen Bases – 9

Caught Stealing – 6

Average - .292 [17, tied with Sixto Lezcano]

OBP - .336

Slugging Pct. - .374

Total Bases – 205

GDP – 4

Hit by Pitches – 3

Sac Hits – 11 [18, tied with Dave Chalk & Butch Wynegar]

Sac Flies – 6

Midseason snapshot: 3B – 4, HR - 3, RBI - 29, AVG. - .306, OBP - .344

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 4 AB) at Oakland 8/6, (in 5 AB) vs. Texas 10/1

Longest hitting streak – 16 games

HR at home – 2

HR on road – 3

Most home runs, game – 1 on five occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 at NY Yankees 6/14 – 10 innings

Pinch-hitting/running – 0 for 1 (.000) with 1 R

Fielding

Chances - 733

Put Outs – 243

Assists – 461

Errors – 29

DP – 102

Pct. - .960

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

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The Mariners went 56-104 to finish seventh (last) in the AL Western Division, 35 games behind the division-winning Kansas City Royals. The Mariners dropped into the AL West cellar in April and never rose above fifth place the rest of the way. Disappointing play from some of the standouts of the inaugural season combined with front office instability to damage the club’s chances. Reynolds was one of a few stars for the struggling team.

Aftermath of 1978:

In the offseason Reynolds returned to his hometown as he was dealt to the Houston Astros for LHP Floyd Bannister. The Astros, emphasizing pitching and defense, contended in 1979 and Reynolds batted .265 with 20 doubles, 9 triples, 39 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, and a .292 OBP, often contributing timely hits. His defense was solid and he was once again an All-Star. Reynolds’ offense dropped off in 1980 to .226 with 9 doubles, 6 triples, 3 home runs, 28 RBIs, 2 stolen bases, and a .262 OBP while the Astros won their first ever division title. In the strike-shortened 1981 season Reynolds tied for the NL lead in triples (12, including a record-tying three in one game). Beyond that he hit .260 with 10 doubles, 4 home runs, 31 RBIs, and a .286 OBP. In 1982, Reynolds lost his starting job to Dickie Thon, an up-and-coming shortstop with more batting punch. Transitioning into a new role as a utility infielder, he appeared in 54 games and batted .254 with 6 extra-base hits, 7 RBIs, and a .321 OBP. Making 65 appearances in his backup role in 1983, Reynolds hit .214 with a .260 OBP. Thon suffered impaired vision as the result of an early-season beaning in 1984 and Reynolds was called upon to fill in at shortstop, which he did effectively, batting .260 with 15 doubles, 11 triples, 6 home runs, 60 RBIs, and a .286 OBP. With Thon back in action in 1985, Reynolds was utilized less, but performed well when needed, hitting .272 with 18 doubles, 8 triples, 4 home runs, 32 RBIs, and a .293 OBP. The Astros returned to the top of the NL West in 1986 and Reynolds, splitting time with Thon at short, batted .249 with 6 home runs, 41 RBIs, and a .274 OBP. The club lost to the New York Mets in a six-game NLCS, but Reynolds appeared in four of the games and hit .333. With Thon again hindered by vision problems in 1987, Reynolds saw considerable action at shortstop and batted .254 with 17 doubles, 4 home runs, 28 RBIs, and a .303 OBP. In 1988, with Rafael Ramirez taking over at shortstop, Reynolds returned to a utility role and hit .255 with a .290 OBP while appearing in 78 games. His playing career came to an end after one more season in 1989. For his major league career, he batted .256 with 1142 hits that included 143 doubles, 65 triples, and 42 home runs. He scored 480 runs and produced 377 RBIs, 58 stolen bases, and a .291 OBP. With the Mariners he batted .273 with 98 runs scored, 264 hits, 28 doubles, 10 triples, 9 home runs, 72 RBIs, 15 stolen bases, and a .311 OBP. Reynolds appeared in 12 postseason games with the Pirates and Astros and hit .241 with a double and no RBIs. He was a two-time All-Star. Following his playing career, he worked in wealth management in Houston prior to becoming a Baptist minister.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.