Roy Smalley Was An Iconic Twins Shortstop & Was Traded For An Iconic Twins Shortstop

[Al from SoDak]

Roy Smalley has a significant place in Minnesota Twins history as an All-Star shortstop in the 1970s, a utility player on a 1980s championship team, and a broadcaster into the 2020s. He was a focal point in a couple of blockbuster trades, both coming to and leaving the Twins. His Twins playing career started in 1976, and he is still here 48 years later as a broadcaster.

Roy Frederick Smalley III (Roy Smalley) was born October 25, 1952, in Los Angeles, into a baseball family. His father, Roy Smalley, Jr., was a major league shortstop, as was his uncle, Gene Mauch, who also later managed 26 seasons, five with the Twins. Roy Federick Smalley, Jr. played 11 seasons from 1948 to 1958 with the Chicago Cubs (where he preceded Ernie Banks), Milwaukee Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies. He batted .227/.300/.360 with 61 home runs and 305 runs batted in during his career. He was known for his strong but wild throwing arm. Roy was a teammate of second baseman Wayne Terwilliger with the Cubs from 1949-1951. Many will remember the beloved “Twig,” who served as a Twins coach from 1986 to 1994, and one of the players he coached was his former double-play partner’s son, Roy III.

With the MLB pedigree, Roy was brought up in a baseball household and became very good, easily getting the attention of scouts. So much so that he was drafted five times. The first time was after high school, but instead, he chose to attend college, first at Los Angeles City College, then at the University of Southern California. He played two seasons with USC, where he was an All-American and a key piece on back-to-back national championship teams. Following his junior season, he was selected in the first round of the MLB draft by the Texas Rangers. This time, he decided to turn pro and signed with the Rangers. 

Smalley played parts of two seasons in the minor leagues before debuting with the Rangers on April 30, 1975, as a 22-year-old. He came in during the fourth inning to replace Toby Harrah, who had been hit by a pitch. Smalley got up to bat three times, did not record a hit, but did get an RBI with a fielder’s choice. The Rangers beat the White Sox 8-2. The following day, Smalley started and got his first two hits, both singles, in another Texas win over the Sox. Those first two hits came off former Twin and future Hall of Famer Jim Kaat. Smalley’s first home run would come on May 11 at Detroit. Smalley hit the home run in the ninth inning of an 11-7 win for the Rangers.

In Smalley’s second season, unbeknownst to him, trouble was brewing in Minnesota. Star pitcher Bert Blyleven had requested a trade over an intense salary dispute with the Twins. His relationship with new manager Gene Mauch, Smalley’s uncle, was also contentious. Owner Calvin Griffith had previously turned down multiple trade offers. Still, finally, on June 1, 1976, Blyleven and shortstop Danny Thompson (who was battling leukemia) were traded to Texas for Smalley, pitchers Bill Singer and Jim Gideon, and third baseman Mike Cubbage. 

Losing Blyleven was inevitable. He had the salary dispute (as many Twins did in the 1970s), the new manager, and was just frustrated and unhappy. The Twins did well in dealing with him for the package they received from Texas. Blyleven pitched very well in parts of only two seasons in Texas, while Smalley would be the Twins starting shortstop for most of the next seven seasons. The Twins also got five useful seasons from Cubbage. Tragically, Danny Thompson succumbed to his ailment and passed away after the 1976 season (I don’t know what more to say about this; he deserves his write-up about his life and career).

During what would turn out to be his first stint in Minnesota, Smalley hit .263 with 70 home runs and 349 runs batted in, and this period included Smalley’s incredible first half in 1979 when he was selected as the starting shortstop for the All-Star Game. Smalley’s statistics in the first half 1979 included a slash line of .341/.424/.535 for a .959 OPS. He had 15 home runs at the break, with 65 runs batted in. In the All-Star Game, Smalley batted leadoff for the American League. He went 0-3 and was walked intentionally in the American League’s 7-6 loss to the National League. He cooled off in the second half of the season but still finished 16^th in Most Valuable Player voting.

Smalley continued as a good-hitting shortstop in 1980 and 1981 but battled injuries (and a strike), playing only 133 and 56 games, respectively. By 1982, the Twins were tearing down the roster and rebuilding with rookies all over the field. Smalley saw the writing on the wall, and just four games into the 1982 season, the Twins traded him to the New York Yankees for Paul Boris, Ron Davis, and Greg Gagne. Smalley was worth 6.1 WAR with the Yankees. Despite the abysmal Ron Davis, the Twins still won that trade because Gagne became an essential piece of their 1987 and 1991 World Series championship teams. Gagne was a great fielder and had a little pop with the bat, hitting 111 home runs in his career. Gagne alone achieved a 17.9 WAR with the Twins. In Tales from the Minnesota Twins Dugout, Kent Hrbek said, “Getting Gagne made it one of the best trades in Twins History.”

Smalley played parts of three seasons in New York. While he had been almost exclusively a shortstop with the Twins, the Yankees began using him at third base and shortstop. He became more of a utility player. He hit .261/.340/.426 for the Yankees with 45 home runs and 155 runs batted in. He was traded to the White Sox in July of 1984. His half-season in Chicago was, is it too harsh to say, a disaster. He hit only .170 with an OPS of .574.

Just before the 1985 season, Smalley was traded back to Minnesota for Ron Scheer and Randy Johnson. I call this trade a win for the Twins again – the third winning trade involving Smalley. While Smalley’s career was winding down, he still provided 2.1 WAR. He was a valuable backup infielder, designated hitter, and pinch hitter on the 1987 World Series team. Scheer never made it to MLB. Randy Johnson, who had played parts of two MLB seasons, never played at the major league level after the trade.

Smalley did not play in the 1987 American League Championship Series; however, he did appear in four World Series games – each time being used as a pinch hitter. He was 1-4 with a double and two walks – an impressive .750 on-base percentage. His pinch-hit walk in the sixth inning of the deciding Game Seven came when the game was tied. Smalley’s walk filled the bases. Two batters later, Greg Gagne’s infield single drove in what proved to be the winning run. That was Smalley’s final game. He retired that offseason. 

For his career, Roy Smalley III hit .257/.345/.395. His OPS+ was 103. He hit 163 home runs and had 694 runs batted in – all good numbers for a shortstop of his era.

After finishing his playing career, Smalley has been a financial advisor and has been involved in various businesses. He has served on the Board of Directors for Pitch in for Baseball & Softball, a non-profit dedicated to collecting and distributing new and gently used baseball and softball equipment. 

Roy Smalley has been part of the Twins' television broadcasts for 22 years. He has been an analyst during games and on their pre-and post-game shows. 

Smalley is in the USC Athletic Hall of Fame and the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Roy Smalley’s Major League Baseball career resembles a roller coaster. First-round draft pick, traded four times, was an All-Star on bad teams, a veteran player jettisoned on a rebuilding team, and a part-time player on a World Series-winning team. But after all the ups and downs, what a way to finish!

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[UpstateNewYorker]

Nice article, thanks for posting it!

[big dog]

I think you mean his WS pinch-hitting was 1-2 with a double and two walks.  
I remember him as a better than average fielder with the Twins, maybe that’s not right. I know he was not a good fielder with NY but that was after his pretty severe back injury. I don’t think he ever really fully recovered from that. 
Thanks for the article. I enjoyed watching him play and was glad he helped out in the WS. 

[gil4]

Quote

Just before the 1985 season, Smalley was traded back to Minnesota for Ron Scheer and Randy Johnson.

Here is the correct link.  If your link was accurate, it would have been the worst trade in baseball history. 🙂

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnsra03.shtml

[Linus]

Thanks for these articles. You do a nice job with them. 

[Doctor Wu]

Very good article and a fun trip down memory lane! I had totally forgotten that the Twins had received Gagne in that trade for Smalley. I used to see the Twins play in spring training in Orlando every year and Smalley was always one of the most popular players and autograph requests. Very well loved. 

[LambchoP]

Roy Smalley has to be the worst announcer I've ever heard on a live broadcast. The dude makes completing a full sentence sound harder than rocket science ....

 

I like Provus a lot, but I still find myself missing the legend of Dick Bremer. That guy truly got screwed. He seemed like the type of guy that would broadcast until the day he died, because he loved what he did, and it showed 

[Al from SoDak]

On 9/14/2024 at 11:10 AM, big dog said:

I think you mean his WS pinch-hitting was 1-2 with a double and two walks.  
I remember him as a better than average fielder with the Twins, maybe that’s not right. I know he was not a good fielder with NY but that was after his pretty severe back injury. I don’t think he ever really fully recovered from that. 
Thanks for the article. I enjoyed watching him play and was glad he helped out in the WS. 

You are 100% correct. He was 1-2 with two walks. Just a total brain fart on my part.

[Al from SoDak]

On 9/14/2024 at 6:56 PM, gil4 said:

Here is the correct link.  If your link was accurate, it would have been the worst trade in baseball history. 🙂

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnsra03.shtml

Whoopsie! Thanks for catching that.

[C-Gangster]

On 9/15/2024 at 8:35 AM, LambchoP said:

Roy Smalley has to be the worst announcer I've ever heard on a live broadcast. The dude makes completing a full sentence sound harder than rocket science ....

 

I like Provus a lot, but I still find myself missing the legend of Dick Bremer. That guy truly got screwed. He seemed like the type of guy that would broadcast until the day he died, because he loved what he did, and it showed 

In my opinion smalley isn't awful if anyone is bad it's tim Laudner. 

[twinstalker]

I'm not sure the first trade involving Smalley was a win.  It depends on what would have happened with Blyleven.  Was he a free agent at the end of 1976?  The fact he was with Texas the following year says no.

So, 1977 with the Twins would have been very interesting.  Smalley and Cubbage were contributors, but they weren't above average and likely only somewhat above replacement.  The Twins hit the hell out of the ball but couldn't pitch, except for Goltz and reliever Tom Johnson.  The Twins surely would have fought KC down to the end with Blyleven instead of their worst pitcher.  Just eating innings would have kept Johnson fresher and more able to help in the other games.  I think the Twins, who faded, would have not only beaten KC a few more times but would have maybe won a ton more themselves.   They did finish 17.5 game back, so I realize this argument has holes.

Not to mention, they didn't finish that far back in 1976, though they were hot the 2nd half, so the difference with Blyleven might have been minimal.  Twins finished 5 games back, so maybe Blyleven leads them into Yankee Stadium for the postseason.

The Twins did have a hole at SS with Thompson sick, so they may have had to make n different trade.

Mostly, though, you don't cut the salary of one of the five best pitchers in the AL.

[Al from SoDak]

On 9/16/2024 at 11:36 PM, twinstalker said:

I'm not sure the first trade involving Smalley was a win.  It depends on what would have happened with Blyleven.  Was he a free agent at the end of 1976?  The fact he was with Texas the following year says no.

So, 1977 with the Twins would have been very interesting.  Smalley and Cubbage were contributors, but they weren't above average and likely only somewhat above replacement.  The Twins hit the hell out of the ball but couldn't pitch, except for Goltz and reliever Tom Johnson.  The Twins surely would have fought KC down to the end with Blyleven instead of their worst pitcher.  Just eating innings would have kept Johnson fresher and more able to help in the other games.  I think the Twins, who faded, would have not only beaten KC a few more times but would have maybe won a ton more themselves.   They did finish 17.5 game back, so I realize this argument has holes.

Not to mention, they didn't finish that far back in 1976, though they were hot the 2nd half, so the difference with Blyleven might have been minimal.  Twins finished 5 games back, so maybe Blyleven leads them into Yankee Stadium for the postseason.

The Twins did have a hole at SS with Thompson sick, so they may have had to make n different trade.

Mostly, though, you don't cut the salary of one of the five best pitchers in the AL.

You bring up some valid points to think about. Thanks for reading.