Name: Roy Smalley
Rank: 261
Position: 3B
Year With White Sox: 1984
Roy Smalley came to the White Sox on July 18, 1984 from the Yankees in exchange for Kevin Hickey and future Cy Young award winner Doug Drabek. The Sox took a chance that Smalley could help wake up their struggling club and help them to repeat as champions of the American League West. He hit .239 with the Yankees, but the change of scenery didn’t end his struggles. Smalley appeared hesitant defensively at third base and out of sync at the plate, hitting an anemic .170 in 48 games with the Sox.
The next February, the White Sox sent Smalley to the Twins, in exchange for minor leaguers Ron Scheer and Randy Johnson (no, not that Randy Johnson). Under an unusual arrangement, the Twins had to keep Smalley for at least two years, at which point they had the option of returning him to the Sox. Smalley ended up playing three years with the Twins before he, and the 3 years and $1.6 remaining on his contract, was shipped back to Chicago.
After adjusting things to make room for him during spring training, the White Sox made Smalley their final cut coming out of spring training. “They’ve got a direction they are going in,” Smalley said. “It was obvious from the beginning that the direction didn’t include me.” Despite not making the team, Smalley impressed the Sox brass. “He’s a fine young man,” said Sox manager Jim Fregosi. “He handled himself very well.” The 35-year old Smalley never played in the major leagues again.
Smalley’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: