Ray Oyler--1966
Before the Mendoza Line was drawn
in the sand of baseball minds, there
was the Ray Olyer Divide. It was a
mark well under .200 during the
1960s that divided hitters from... well
the Ray Oylers of the game.
A slick fielding shortstop for the
Detroit Tigers in the mid-60s, Oyler
exemplified ineptitude at the plate.
During his six seasons in the bigs,
Oyler posted batting averages of
.186, .171, .207, .135, .165 and .083.
He was the poster child for the "all
field, no-hit" infielders who graced
major league diamonds and gave
hope to all amateurs who couldn't hit
the curve ball.
Amazingly, Oyler did enjoy a couple
of days with the lumber. Oyler's
career best day at the plate came
during 1967, his lone season above
.200. It was May 14th and the Tiger
shortstop went 3-for-3 against the
Red Sox.
The rangy middle infielder started his
personal hit parade off Jim Lonborg
with a single to center in the third
inning. He followed that with a double
to lead-off the fifth inning, a stanza
that saw Detroit score two runs off
Lonborg. Oyler would add an
RBI-double in the sixth.
Content that he had harvested all of
Oyler's offense and with another
game to play that day, manager
Mayo Smith replaced him in the field
with Dick Tracewski in the bottom of
the seventh. Naturally, Tracewski
fanned in his only plate appearance.
Again, the big surprise was that all of
this Ray Oyler hitting came against
the pitching of Jim Lonborg. Oyler
would finish the day hitting .232, en
route to his .207 season average.
Lonborg would ultimately beat the
Tigers to move to 3-1 at the end of
the day, as he hurled his way to a
22-9 record to help the Sox to the
American League pennant as the
right-hander won the Cy Young
Award.
Rumor has it, Lonborg received a
fruit basket that next Christmas from
Oyler with the note, "Thanks, see you
next season."
(3/11/09)
in the sand of baseball minds, there
was the Ray Olyer Divide. It was a
mark well under .200 during the
1960s that divided hitters from... well
the Ray Oylers of the game.
A slick fielding shortstop for the
Detroit Tigers in the mid-60s, Oyler
exemplified ineptitude at the plate.
During his six seasons in the bigs,
Oyler posted batting averages of
.186, .171, .207, .135, .165 and .083.
He was the poster child for the "all
field, no-hit" infielders who graced
major league diamonds and gave
hope to all amateurs who couldn't hit
the curve ball.
Amazingly, Oyler did enjoy a couple
of days with the lumber. Oyler's
career best day at the plate came
during 1967, his lone season above
.200. It was May 14th and the Tiger
shortstop went 3-for-3 against the
Red Sox.
The rangy middle infielder started his
personal hit parade off Jim Lonborg
with a single to center in the third
inning. He followed that with a double
to lead-off the fifth inning, a stanza
that saw Detroit score two runs off
Lonborg. Oyler would add an
RBI-double in the sixth.
Content that he had harvested all of
Oyler's offense and with another
game to play that day, manager
Mayo Smith replaced him in the field
with Dick Tracewski in the bottom of
the seventh. Naturally, Tracewski
fanned in his only plate appearance.
Again, the big surprise was that all of
this Ray Oyler hitting came against
the pitching of Jim Lonborg. Oyler
would finish the day hitting .232, en
route to his .207 season average.
Lonborg would ultimately beat the
Tigers to move to 3-1 at the end of
the day, as he hurled his way to a
22-9 record to help the Sox to the
American League pennant as the
right-hander won the Cy Young
Award.
Rumor has it, Lonborg received a
fruit basket that next Christmas from
Oyler with the note, "Thanks, see you
next season."
(3/11/09)
