"One of the most feared power hitters in baseball in the early 1960s, Maris was a complete ballplayer who was a tremendous defensive right fielder, possessing a cannon arm. His above average speed enabled him to be a daring baserunner who often made heads-up plays on the basepaths.
His career was frequently interrupted by a succession on injuries. Roger reached the big leagues with Cleveland after four seasons in the minors. He broke into the majors with a nine-game hitting streak, and his first major league home run was an 11th inning grand slam (4/18/57). Roger suffered the first of many career injuries in a base path collision in which he fractured two ribs, hindering his rookie season. Traded to Kansas City in mid-season 1958, he posted career highs in games and at-bats in '58. In 1959, Maris was leading the American League in hitting before an appendix operation weakened him, yet he appeared in the first of seven All-Star Games in '59.
Maris was the key man in the big Yankees-Athletics seven-player in the winter of '59. Once again off to a fast start in 1960, he had 27 home runs, 69 RBI and a .320 average at the midway point of the season. Maris excelled against Boston in '60, hitting .361. He drove in 100 runs for the first of three consecutive seasons.
1961 was the season that made Roger the new single-season home run king. He hit 61 homers but struck out only 67 times for a fine home run-strikeout ratio. Roger hit 30 homers at Yankee Stadium, tying the Stadium record. In June he hit 15 homers, the most ever hit in that month in major league history. He hit 13 homers against the White Sox, the most ever hit against one club since the majors expanded in 1961. He hit his 50th home run on August 22, becoming the first player ever to hit his 50th home run in August. His 61st home run also gave Maris the RBI title 142 to 141 over Oriole Jim Gentile.
In 1962 he topped the Yankees in homers for the second straight season and posted a career high 34 doubles. In 1963, a series of injuries limited Roger to only 90 games. He rebounded for a good season in 1964 and was especially tough on the Red Sox again, hitting .410 with five home runs and 15 RBI. His 1964 fielding average (.996) is the highest ever recorded by a Yankee right fielder.
Injuries hit Roger hard in 1965- first a hamstring muscle, and then a fractured hand in May idled him for most of the campaign. Traded in December of 1966 to the St. Louis Cardinals, Roger closed out his career with two solid seasons for the Cardinals. His veteran leadership led the Cardinals to World Series appearances in 1967 and 1968. He was one of the stars of St. Louis' World Series victory in '67.
Roger was a high school standout in football and baseball. Easily distinguishable by his crew cut hairstyle, he served as 1962 Multiple Sclerosis Society volunteer national co-chairman and appeared with Mickey Mantle in Columbia Pictures' motion picture 'Safe at Home.' He also authored (with writer Jim Ogle) 'Roger Maris at Bat,' the story of his 61 home run season.
Maris ran a Budweiser beer distributorship in Gainesville, Florida after his retirement. He enjoyed golf and hunting in his spare time."
-1986 New York Yankees Information Guide
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