Floyd Rayford
| Floyd Rayford | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Third baseman/Catcher | |
| Born:July 27, 1957 Memphis, Tennessee,U.S. | |
Batted:Right Threw:Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 17, 1980, for the Baltimore Orioles | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 16, 1987, for the Baltimore Orioles | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .244 |
| Home runs | 38 |
| Runs batted in | 117 |
| Teams | |
| |
Floyd Kinnard "Sugar Bear" Rayford(born July 27, 1957) is a retired professional baseball player who played for seven seasons in theMajor leagues.He primarily playedthird baseandcatcherduring his career, but was a utility man who played four different positions during his Major League career. He served as batting coach for two seasons with theRochester Red Wingsof theInternational Leagueuntil his firing on September 9, 2011. He was known as "Sugar Bear" and a fan favorite for his roly-poly physique.[1]
Early career
[edit]Rayford's professional baseball career began in 1975, when he was drafted as a catcher out ofManual Arts High Schoolin the fourth round of theamateur draftby theCalifornia Angels.[2]He spent the 1975 through 1979 seasons in the Angels' minor league system, spending the 1979 season at theTriple-Alevel playing for theSalt Lake City Gulls.In his first Triple-A season, he batted.294 with 13 home runs while playing third base.[3]
Baltimore Orioles (first stint)
[edit]After playing one season for the Gulls, Rayford was traded, along with an undisclosed amount of money, from the Angels organization to theBaltimore Oriolesin exchange forLarry Harlow.[4]In 1980, Rayford made his major league debut for the Orioles; over the course of the season he played in 8 games for the Orioles[4]while spending most of the year with the Triple-ARochester Red Wings.He spent the entire 1981 season with the Red Wings, during which he played on the losing side of thelongest game in baseball historyand caught the 31st inning of that game.[5]In 1982, he returned to the Major League with the Orioles, but hehitonly.132 in 34 games.
WhenCal Ripken Jr.began his streak of2,632 consecutive games playedin 1982, Rayford was the player who Ripken replaced in the lineup. Rayford had been given a day off in the second game of a doubleheader and Ripken started at third base in his place.[6]
He again returned to Rochester in 1983, and hit.371 in 42 games with the Red Wings.[3]
St. Louis Cardinals
[edit]Rayford was traded to theSt. Louis Cardinalson June 13, 1983, in a transaction that was completed2+1⁄2months later whenTito Landrumwas sent to the Orioles on August 31.[7][8]He was the backup third baseman behindKen Oberkfellthat year and hit.212 in 56 games for the Cardinals.[4]
Baltimore Orioles (second stint)
[edit]Less than a year after trading Rayford, the Orioles purchased his contract from the Cardinals before the 1984 season.[4]He served primarily as a backup catcher in his first year back with the Orioles, and his hitting numbers improved, with his average reaching.256 in 1984.[4]Sharing time as the regular third baseman in 1985, he had a career year, hitting.306 with 18home runsand 48runs batted in,all career highs.[4]Entering the1986 season,he was expected to replaceRick DempseyascatcherwithJackie Gutiérrezbecoming the startingthird baseman,[9]but his numbers fell when he batted.176 and was sent back to Rochester.[3]He split the 1987 season between Baltimore and Rochester and batted.220 at the Major League level in what would prove to be his final major league season.[4]
Minor league career
[edit]Before retiring as a player, Rayford played parts of three seasons, from 1989 to 1991, with the Triple-AScranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons,playing in 81 games with the club over the three-year span.[3]During the latter two seasons, Rayford served as a player-coach, starting a long tenure as a minor league coach. Since 1990, he has coached eight separate minor league teams, and in 1996, he spent his only season to date as a minor league manager, doing so for theBatavia Clippers.[10]He has been a member of the Rock Cats' coaching staff since 2005.[10]
References
[edit]- ^Klingaman, Mike (June 30, 2009)."Catching Up With... former Oriole Floyd Rayford".baltimoresun.com.RetrievedJuly 12,2020.
- ^"Baseball Draft: 4th Round of the 1975 June Draft".Sports Reference, LLC.RetrievedOctober 29,2008.
- ^abcd"SABR Minor Leagues Database: Floyd Rayford".Society for American Baseball Research.RetrievedOctober 29,2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^abcdefg"Floyd Rayford Statistics".Baseball-Reference.com.RetrievedOctober 29,2008.
- ^"The Longest Game".Pawtucket Red Sox.RetrievedOctober 29,2008.
- ^"Ripken Ties for 2d in Playing Streak".The New York Times.June 11, 1990.RetrievedOctober 29,2008.
- ^"The Baltimore Orioles will acquire outfielder Tito Landrum from...,"United Press International(UPI), Tuesday, August 30, 1983.Retrieved October 22, 2020
- ^"Baseball,"The Washington Post,Saturday, March 31, 1984.Retrieved October 22, 2020
- ^Justice, Richard. "Orioles Ask League To Check Gutiérrez,"The Washington Post,Tuesday, February 4, 1986.Retrieved October 29, 2020
- ^ab"Floyd Rayford, Coach".New Britain Rock Cats.RetrievedOctober 29,2008.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics and player information fromBaseball Reference,orBaseball Reference (Minors)
- Klingaman, Mike."Catching Up With...former Oriole Floyd Rayford",The Toy Department(The Baltimore Sunsports blog), Tuesday, June 30, 2009
- 1957 births
- Living people
- Major League Baseball third basemen
- Major League Baseball catchers
- Baseball players from Memphis, Tennessee
- African-American baseball players
- Baltimore Orioles players
- St. Louis Cardinals players
- St. Lucie Legends players
- 21st-century African-American sportspeople
- 20th-century African-American sportspeople