"One of the reasons the Yankees have been moving up in the standings the last three years is that Roy White has been steadily improving, too. In 1968 Roy hit .267, and in the following year he raised his average to .290. Last year the 27-year-old switch-hitter batted .296. Only a mid-season slump kept the lightweight (5-11, 160 pounds) outfielder from reaching the .300 mark. Roy led the Yankees in runs scored (109), in hits (180), in RBI's (94) and in walks (96). He tied for the lead in stolen bases, with 23, and in sacrifice flies, with seven, and was one off the pace in home runs, with 22."
-Brenda Zanger and Dick Kaplan, Major League Baseball 1971
"The most complete player the Yankees own. He led the team in runs scored, runs batted in, hits, doubles and stolen bases. White became the first Yankee since 1961 to score as many as 100 runs. With surprising power for a man his size, he hit homers from both sides of the plate in a game against Oakland last season. He missed a chance to bat .300 for the first time when he went hitless in the final game against Boston. An All-Star selection in each of the last two seasons, Roy constantly changes his stances and his bats to suit his mood.
'Joe Cunningham was called the man with a thousand stances,' he says. 'As a switch-hitter, I must have 2,000. I change bats all the time, even during a game.'
Born December 27, 1943 in Los Angeles, White overcame a mild case of polio at the age of six. He's a heavy reader, mostly autobiographies and science fiction, and an articulate speaker.
Roy is married, with one daughter."
-Joe Gergen, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1971 Edition
"In 1970, Roy put together his greatest season yet. He tied for the American League lead in games played (162); topped the club in runs (109), becoming the first Yankee since 1961 to score over 100; led the club in hits with 180; led in doubles (31); was second in homers and triples; and led the club with 94 RBI's and 95 walks. Roy was tops in stolen bases with 24 and tied Horace Clarke for the lead in sacrifice flies (7).
Roy had an amazing streak in the first half of June when he had eight hits in ten trips to the plate against Kansas City and was 14 for 21 against Chicago. In a game against Oakland, Roy hit homers from both sides of the plate, each time with two on. He got five hits in a game against Kansas City, one hit sparking a five-run 12th inning in which the Yankees won.
White, now 27, started with the Yankee organization in 1962 as an infielder. In 1968 Ralph Houk decided that if Roy was to make it, he would be a left fielder. Roy set out to make himself the best defensive left fielder in Yankee history. He has committed only six errors in the last three years and has made the last two All-Star teams.
Roy is a good example of how to succeed in baseball by really trying. A man with a lively bat but no defensive position when he started, he showed how well three years of hard work and determination can pay off.
Roy lives in West Patterson, New Jersey, is married and has a three-year-old daughter."
-The New York Yankees Official 1971 Yearbook
"White showed continued improvement last year as he made the American League All-Star team for the second straight season, and many believe he has not yet reached his top potential.
He ranked 13th in hitting (.296) and 10th in RBIs (94) and was the Yanks' biggest all-around offensive threat as he led the club in runs (109), hits (180), doubles (31), RBIs, walks (95), stolen bases (24) and was just one behind Bobby Murcer for the club lead in homers- Bobby had 23, Roy had 22. His 162 games led the American League and tied a Yankee record- Bobby Richardson played in 162 in 1962. Roy set personal highs for himself last year in the following categories: games played, at-bats (609), runs scored, hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs, walks, stolen bases and batting average.
Roy tied a major league record last year when he hit homers right-handed and left-handed in the same game. He also switch-hit triples in one game, another major league record.
He was originally signed as an infielder and played there all through his minor league career. He was switched to the outfield in 1966 and won the James P. Dawson Award as the outstanding rookie in the Yankee spring training camp that same year.
Roy has spent the last two off-seasons as a 'time salesman' for CBS radio."
-1971 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
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