American baseball player (1933?2023)
Baseball player
Melvin Earl Roach
(January 25, 1933 ? July 31, 2023) was an American
professional baseball
player
. His career derailed by his bonus player status, military service and injury, he appeared in 227
games played
over all or parts of eight years in
Major League Baseball
as a
utilityman
for the
Milwaukee Braves
(1953?54 and 1957?61),
Chicago Cubs
(1961) and
Philadelphia Phillies
(1962). Roach was born in
Richmond, Virginia
and attended
John Marshall High School
;
[1]
he threw and batted right-handed and was listed as 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and 190 pounds (86 kg).
Career
[
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]
A standout
second baseman
at the
University of Virginia
, he signed a $40,000 contract
[1]
with Milwaukee in
1953
but was compelled by the era's
Bonus Rule
to spend his first two professional years on the Braves' major-league roster, appearing in only eight games and going
hitless
in six total
plate appearances
. Then, he lost two full seasons (1955?56) to service in the
United States Navy
. When his pro career began in earnest in
1957
, Roach
hit
.304 in 107 games in the
high minors
. After his early-August recall by the
1957 Braves
?en route to the world championship?he sat on the bench as a seldom-used
pinch hitter
and backup
infielder
. He appeared in only six regular-season games, and was idle during the
1957 World Series
.
In
1958
, Roach made the Braves' roster out of
spring training
and an early-season injury to
centerfielder
Bill Bruton
opened a spot for Roach as the
right fielder
in the Milwaukee lineup (with
Baseball Hall of Famer
Hank Aaron
switching from right-field to Bruton's position). Roach started three games and collected seven hits in 15
at bats
(.467), but when the roster had to be trimmed from 28 to 25 players in mid-May, Roach was optioned to
Triple-A
Wichita
, where he appeared in 20 games over a full month before getting recalled to the majors. Over the next two months he got into 39 games, largely as a backup to
Hall of Fame
second baseman
Red Schoendienst
, and was hitting .309 with 42 hits and three
home runs
on August 3 when
Daryl Spencer
of the
San Francisco Giants
slid hard into Roach at second base, badly injuring Roach's left knee.
[1]
He underwent surgery, missing the remainder of 1958 (and the
1958 World Series
), and the first two months of the
1959
campaign.
Although the knee injury didn't end Roach's career, as had been initially feared,
[1]
his diminished infield range damaged his chances of regular second base duty.
[1]
He batted only .097 in 19 games for the
1959 Braves
and spent more time as a utility outfielder and third baseman as his career progressed. In
1960
, he produced a near-
carbon copy
of his 1958 campaign. Appearing in 42 total games, he batted an even .300 with three home runs and 42 hits. But he was destined for journeyman status for the remaining two years of his MLB tenure. On May 9,
1961
, the Braves dealt Roach to the Chicago Cubs straight-up for veteran outfielder
Frank Thomas
.
[2]
After a half-season in Chicago, the Cubs traded Roach to the Phillies during spring training of
1962
. Although he spent both 1961 and 1962 in the majors, Roach lost his batting stroke, hitting only .147 and .190 respectively, then retired from baseball after the 1962 campaign.
In all or parts of his eight MLB seasons, Roach played in 227 games and had 499
at-bats
, 42 runs, 119 hits, 25 doubles, seven
home runs
, 43 RBI, one
stolen base
, 24 walks, .238
batting average
, .275
on-base percentage
, .331
slugging percentage
, 165
total bases
and nine
sacrifice hits
.
Personal life
[
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]
Roach died on July 31, 2023, at the age of 90.
[3]
References
[
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]
External links
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]