"Roy seemed to be slipping a little last year but has done well with his ability. He hit .290 or better in 1969-70-71 but has headed downward the last two years. Roy always had good speed and used the Yankee Stadium porch to produce pretty good home run totals; he still had 18 in 1973.
He's a hustler who can run down balls in the outfield; the problem is that when he throws, one can hear glass shattering all over the Bronx. He throws like Orlando Cepeda runs.
Born in Los Angeles, Roy attended Compton Junior College."
-Peter Gammons, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1974 Edition
"Roy can be proud of his many accomplishments during his Yankee career.
He has twice led the league in games played. He holds the longest-running consecutive games streak in the league today. He has been a two-time All-Star. He tied Dick Allen for the league lead in walks in 1972. Three years in a row he batted .290 or better. He set a record by being the only outfielder in Yankee history to field 1.000 for a whole season. He holds the American League record for sacrifice flies in one season. He has career highs of 22 homers and 94 runs batted in with 109 runs scored. He's high on the all-time stolen base list of the Yankees. In short, a career of accomplishment.
But the soft-spoken Roy, now in his ninth season with the Yankees, is still waiting for his first World Series, and when it comes you'll know he's played a big part in achieving it. As an important daily cog in the Yankee attack, it could be achieved in no other way.
Roy turned 30 last December and is now living a comfortable life in Wayne, New Jersey with his wife Linda and two children, made possible by his outstanding seasons with the Yankees. Both Roy and the Yankees are thankful for each other."
-The New York Yankees Official 1974 Yearbook
"Roy has accomplished a great deal during his Yankee career including hitting .290 or better three straight years, making two All-Star teams, leading the league in games played twice, setting an American League for sacrifice flies (17 in 1971), tying Dick Allen for the league lead in walks in 1972, tying a major league record and becoming the first Yankee outfielder to field over 1.000 in a season (1971), switch-hitting home runs in one game twice, switch-hitting triples in a game for a record, and holding the currently longest-running playing streak in the American League, 346 straight games, going back to August 31, 1971.
Roy has been the Yanks' regular left fielder for the past six seasons. Originally a second baseman, he was switched to the outfield in 1967 after his bat came alive while playing third base on loan to Spokane where he hit .343. This brought him back to the Yankees, and he hasn't departed the lineup since. Two earlier trials had found Roy overswinging and, by his own admission, pressing for home runs. His newfound attack didn't hurt his home run production, however, and he's hit as many as 22, a good total for a man of his modest stature. His 102 career homers are six behind George Selkirk for 20th on the all-time Yankee list.
Roy experimented with karate this past winter to help him with his concentration.
The Wayne, New Jersey resident comes from the baseball hotbed of Compton, California, where he played with or against such future big leaguers as Reggie Smith, Don Wilson, Paul Schaal, Dave Nelson, Dock Ellis and Bobby Tolan."
-1974 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
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