John Mayberry facts for kids
Quick facts for kids John Mayberry |
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| First baseman | |||
| Born: February 18, 1949 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| September 10, 1968, for the Houston Astros | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| September 28, 1982, for the New York Yankees | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .253 | ||
| Home runs | 255 | ||
| Runs batted in | 879 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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John Claiborn Mayberry Sr. (born February 18, 1949) is a former American baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1982. He played for teams like the Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, and New York Yankees. John Mayberry was chosen as an All-Star twice during his career.
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Early Baseball Years: High School and Minor Leagues
John Mayberry went to Northwestern High School and finished in 1967. He was a very talented athlete in high school. He played baseball, football, and basketball. The Detroit News even named him to their All-State Basketball Team twice.
After high school, the Houston Astros picked Mayberry in the first round of the 1967 Major League Baseball draft. He was the sixth player chosen overall. He was the second first baseman picked in that draft.
Starting in the Minor Leagues
When he was 18, Mayberry played for the Covington Astros in the Appalachian League. In 1967, he hit .252 and had 4 home runs. The next year, he played at three different levels of minor league baseball. His batting average was .320 for the 1968 season. He hit 23 home runs and had a strong slugging percentage of .552.
Mayberry made his first appearance in the major leagues that same year. He played in four games but did not get any hits. He remembered meeting the famous baseball player Hank Aaron for the first time. Mayberry said he just stood there looking at him, thinking, "so this is the Hammer, this is Henry Aaron."
At 20 years old, Mayberry played 123 games for the Oklahoma City 89ers. This team was at the AAA-level. He hit 21 home runs and had a .303 batting average. He also had a .522 slugging percentage. He batted in 78 runs and scored 95 runs. He also walked more times than he struck out. Mayberry's second short time in the major leagues did not result in his first hit. He did get on base once with a walk. His first major league hit came the next year. After playing 70 games in Oklahoma City, he was called up to the Houston Astros.
Major League Career Highlights
Playing for the Houston Astros
Mayberry played in 50 games during his first longer stay in the major leagues. He got his first career hit in April 1970. It was a single against the San Francisco Giants. He hit it off pitcher Frank Reberger.
The 1971 season was another year where he split time between the minor and major leagues. He hit .324 with 13 home runs in the minors. But with Houston, he only hit .182 in 46 games. He hit seven home runs and struck out 32 times. The Astros tried to make Mayberry a slap hitter. This meant they wanted him to hit for contact instead of power. Mayberry said this made him strike out more and not hit as many home runs.
On December 2, 1971, Mayberry was traded from the Astros to the Kansas City Royals. He was traded along with minor league player Dave Grangaard for Jim York and Lance Clemons. This trade turned out to be very good for the Royals.
Success with the Kansas City Royals
Mayberry was known as a strong first baseman who batted left-handed. In his first year with the Royals, he hit 25 home runs. He also drove in 100 runs. He walked more times than he struck out. His batting average was .298. He found his power again.
In 1973, he had similar great numbers. Mayberry led the league in walks (122) and on-base percentage (.417). He still hit .278, with 26 home runs, and drove in 100 runs again. Mayberry's stats were even more impressive because the Royals did not have many other power hitters. Only Amos Otis hit as many home runs as Mayberry that year.
Mayberry's best season in Kansas City was in 1975. He set new personal records for doubles, home runs, runs scored, and RBI. His 34 home runs that season was a Royals team record when he retired. He was named the American League Player of the Month in July 1975. That month, he hit 12 home runs and had a .365 batting average. He also hit three home runs in one game against Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins. Mayberry finished second in the voting for the American League MVP. Fred Lynn won the award that year.
Mayberry's performance went down in 1976 and 1977. In 1976, his batting average was .232, and he hit only 13 home runs. In 1977, his home run numbers went back up to 23. This tied him for the team lead with Al Cowens. But his batting average stayed low at .230.
On August 5, 1977, Mayberry had a great game against the Chicago White Sox. He got 4 hits in 5 tries. He hit a single, a home run, a triple, and a double. This meant he completed the cycle. The Royals won that game 12–2.
During the 1977 American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees, Mayberry played poorly in Game Four. He struck out twice and made defensive errors. Because of this, manager Whitey Herzog took him out of the game. Mayberry also did not start the final Game Five. Herzog later wanted Mayberry removed from the team. So, before the 1978 season, the Royals sold Mayberry to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Time with the Toronto Blue Jays
Mayberry played for Toronto from 1978 to 1981, and part of 1982. He hit above .250 only in 1979. His highest numbers with the Blue Jays were 30 home runs and 82 RBIs in 1980. His production never reached his 1975 level again. In his last three seasons, he started to strike out more than he walked. This was different from his early career. With the Blue Jays, he played in 549 games. He batted .256 with 92 home runs and 272 RBIs. In May 1982, Toronto traded Mayberry to the New York Yankees.
Finishing with the New York Yankees
Mayberry played in 69 games for the Yankees. He had a .209 batting average. His playing time was less in August and September. For the whole 1982 season, Mayberry batted .218. He hit 10 home runs and had 30 RBIs. After finishing the season with the Yankees, he decided to retire from playing baseball.
Life After Playing Baseball
After he retired, Mayberry worked as a coach. He spent five years coaching in the Blue Jays' minor league system. He also coached for the Royals for two years. Later, he worked for the Royals' Community Affairs Department. In 1996, he was added to the Royals Hall of Fame.
Family Life
John Mayberry's son, John Jr., also became a major league baseball player. He played as an outfielder from 2009 to 2015, mostly for the Philadelphia Phillies. Once, when watching his son play at Yankee Stadium, a TV broadcast mistakenly identified Mayberry Sr. in the stands. John Jr. thought it was funny. John Jr. hit his first two career home runs in 2009 against his father's last two teams.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
- List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
- List of second-generation Major League Baseball players
