Phil Roof

[William Malone]

Philip Anthony Roof was born on March 5, 1941 in Paducah, Kentucky.

The Milwaukee Braves signed him as an amateur free agent in 1959. He reached the Major Leagues in 1961, and had a lengthy career as a journeyman backup catcher. Roof played for the Braves (1961 and 1964), Los Angeles Angels (1965), Cleveland Indians (1965), Kansas City/Oakland Athletics (1966-69), Milwaukee Brewers (1970-71), Minnesota Twins (1971-76), Chicago White Sox (1976) and Toronto Blue Jays (1977).

He slashed .228/.282/.338 during his six seasons in Minnesota, never playing more than 61 games in any one season. These offensive numbers are actually slightly better than his whole career averages, as Roof was known more for his defensive abilities behind the plate.

Roof managed 15 years in the Twins minor league postseason, working at various levels. He reached the minor league postseason six times, and his league's finals four times. Teams managed by Roof were 0-4 in the championship series. He retired from full time work in 2005, but remained a spring training instructor for the Twins until 2020.

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[Met Stadium Usher]

"Phil Roof hit two home runs on May 30, 1972 as a member of the Minnesota Twins against the Kansas City Royals. He hit the first off Paul Splittorff and the second off Bruce Dal Canton. The Twins won the game 3-2." from baseball-reference.com.

I was there, one of a throng of 6,164 at the Met that day. 😊  Jim Perry was the winning pitcher.

In the 1980s he was a coach for the Mariners, where I had moved, and I met him on Photoday (remember those?) at the old Kingdome. I told him I had been there on his big day. He said, "don't go away," and dashed off to bring witnesses, to whom I repeated the story. He had the biggest smile ever.