Royce Clayton

From SoSH

Royce Spencer Clayton (born January 2, 1970) is a veteran infielder known for his speed on the basepaths and his accurate arm and excellent range in the field, with a career .974 fielding percentage at shortstop. Seeking a skilled and experienced late-inning defender for the stretch run, the Red Sox signed Clayton to a minor league contract on August 27, 2007. After playing 7 games with AAA Pawtucket, Boston purchased his contract and he joined his 11th major league club on September 1, 2007. As of October 1, 2007, Clayton's 1,904 career hits rank 28th among all active major leaguers. Royce ranks second to Omar Vizquel among active shortstops in games (2,053), starts (1,971), innings (17,370.1), total chances (9,239), putouts (3,095), assists (5,902) and double plays (1,223). He carries a career batting average of .258 with 110 home runs, 231 stolen bases, and 935 runs scored in 2,108 games.

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Moments in the Sun 3 Trivia 4 Transactions 5 External Links

Overall Career

Clayton signed with the Giants just days after being drafted and was assigned to low-class-A Everett. He gradually climbed through the San Francisco system, playing for class-A Clinton and earning All-Star honors with high-class-A San Jose. Prior to the 1991 season, he was ranked the Giants' #1 prospect by Baseball America. Clayton played that season at AA Shreveport, batting .280 with 36 steals and 84 runs scored. Royce was promoted to the Giants later that season, skipping AAA and making his major league debut as starting shortstop and the #2 hitter on September 20, 1991 in San Diego against the Padres. He doubled that night off reliever Jeremy Hernandez for his first major league hit.

Heading into 1992, Baseball America rated Clayton the 6th best prospect in the nation, ahead of Red Sox stud Frankie Rodriguez and a young Dodgers pitcher named Pedro Martinez. Royce was named the Giants' opening day shortstop, only the third rookie in team history to earn that honor. He hit his first career homer in Montreal's Olympic Stadium on May 8, 1992 off Expos' pitcher Mark Gardner, leading off the 7th inning with a solo shot. After spending part of 1992 with AAA Phoenix, Clayton remained with the Giants for all of 1993, logging a career-high 70 RBI. He led all MLB shortstops with a .282 batting average and converted 103 double plays, tops in the NL. In 1995, Clayton played 30 straight games at short without committing an error.

After being traded to St. Louis before the 1996 season, Royce stole a career-high 33 bases for the Cardinals, 12th in the NL. He also hit safely in 25 straight starts from June 11 to July 24. In the postseason, Clayton hit safely in all seven of his playoff games, batting a combined .346 with a .433 on-base percentage. After making the NL All-Star team in 1997, Royce was traded to the Texas Rangers in a 1998 deadline deal. He stole 24 bases between the two clubs, his 5th straight season with 20 or more steals.

In 1999, Clayton hit a career-high .288 for the Rangers and set another career mark with 14 home runs. On September 29, 1999 against the Seattle Mariners, he collected his 1,000th career hit. In 2000, Royce matched his career best with 14 homers.

During his stint with Texas, Clayton played in the 1998 and 1999 AL Divisional Series against the Yankees. He hit just .102 (a combined 2-for-19), though the Rangers as a team hit only .147 (27-for-184) as they were swept 3-0 in both years.

Moving on to Chicago for the 2001 season, Royce set a White Sox team record for shortstops with a .988 fielding percentage, and ranked second in the AL only behind Omar Vizquel (.989) while playing his last 30 games without committing an error. Clayton also led the team with a .323 batting average after the All-Star break, and led all AL hitters with a .392 average in September. In 2002, Royce broke his own team record with a .989 fielding percentage at shortstop, finishing 3rd behind Mike Bordick (.998) and Vizquel (.990).

Despite his stellar defense, the White Sox released him late in the 2002 season. Latching on with Milwaukee for the 2003 campaign, Clayton slumped badly at the plate, hitting just .228. He rebounded the following season with Colorado, hitting .279 and scoring a career-best 95 runs, though he also set a career high with 125 strikeouts.

While with the Brewers, Royce spoke out on the subject of drug testing. Clayton is well-versed on the topic since his wife is a former Olympic sprinter. His comments were published in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel on April 23, 2003, about 9 weeks after Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died of an amphetamine overdose, and just days after future Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn said in a New York Times interview that amphetamine abuse in baseball was "a rampant problem":

"I have a lot of respect for the way the Olympics handle it, because they try to make it as level as possible and I think that's what is most important," Clayton said. "But if you want to get into Olympic-type testing, I think it's gradual steps. I'm sure they didn't just rush into it.

"I think we need to do whatever is necessary to keep the playing field level and preserve the integrity of the game. I think the fans need to know we're setting a good example for kids."

Clayton said he would like to see the issue of steroids and human growth hormones and other substances addressed before stimulants.

"If we can clean that up, then if other questions and issues arise, we can go from there," he said. "We probably need to do more (testing for amphetamines), but the question is, how far do you take it? With the Olympics, there are even levels of caffeine that are illegal. If we had that kind of testing, I'd probably be banned right now, because I'm taking Sudafed for my cold."

Clayton said he couldn't guess how widespread the use of illegal stimulants is in baseball, but agreed that addiction did not seem to be a problem.

"I think it's doing guys more harm than good, but you can drink 20 cups of coffee and basically get the same results," he said. "I think if you ask anybody who ever played this game, they'll tell you, 'I drank a lot of coffee.' I'm sure Tony (Gwynn) has had his share of cups of coffee in the past."

After being called up to the Red Sox, Royce replaced Mike Lowell in the seventh inning against the Orioles September 8, 2007, making his first appearance at third base since May 29, 1992, with San Francisco. Clayton played in 8 games down the stretch with the Red Sox, going 0-for-6 with 3 strikeouts and 2 GIDPs, and was charged with a throwing error in his lone start at shortstop.

As of October 1, 2007, Clayton ranks 59th all-time in strikeouts (1,415) and has grounded into 218 double plays to tie for 55th all-time. He stands 5th among all active players with 113 sacrifice hits, having led the majors in 2004 with 24.

Moments in the Sun

• When he took the field at Detroit's Comerica Park with the rest of his Blue Jays teammates in the bottom of the first inning on April 2, 2007, Royce set a record by starting a game at shortstop for his 10th major league team. That broke the previous mark of 9 teams shared by Jack Glasscock (1879-95) and Rey Sanchez (1991-2005). Clayton extended his record to 11 teams when he made his first start at short for the Red Sox on September 29, 2007.
• In 1997, Royce was named an All-Star for the only time in his career as a National League reserve. He entered the game in the bottom of the 5th inning, replacing Jeff Blauser at shortstop, and struck out in the 7th inning in his only plate appearance. Royce also set career highs that season in doubles (39), RBI (61) and extra base hits (53).
• In 2001, Clayton had a career-best 5 hits on June 3 vs Colorado. He also hit lead-off home runs April 11 vs. Houston and July 26 vs. Florida.
• On April 7, 2000, Royce had his first multi-homer game, slugging a pair off Toronto's Frank Castillo and John Frascatore.
• Clayton hit his first career grand slam off the Angels' Scott Schoenweis on May 12, 2000 at Anaheim…
• After cleanly fielding 319 chances over 69 straight games, his errorless streak was snapped May 17, 2001 with a first-inning miscue against the Angels in Anaheim.

Trivia

• His wife, Samantha Davies, is a former track and field star for the United Kingdom. She participated in the 200-meter sprint and the 4x100-meter relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
• In 1997, he founded the Royce Clayton Foundation, through which he has promoted fundraising for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. One of the foundation's primary events is the annual Royce Clayton Celebrity Golf Classic.
• Has dabbled in acting, making a cameo appearance on the television show Martial Law. He played a bomb squad officer in an episode that aired February 13, 1999.
• Worked as an analyst for ESPN during the 1999 World Series
• Honored with the Texas Rangers' Jim Sundberg Community Achievement Award in 1999. He was also the Rangers' nominee in 1999 and 2000 for the Roberto Clemente Man of the Year Award.
• In the 2001 movie Thir13en Ghosts, one of the spirits is a baseball player named Royce Clayton, portrayed by Craig Olejnik.
• In the 2002 film The Rookie, the role of Royce Clayton is played by Jorge Sanchez. The movie is based on the true story of Jimmy Morris, who at age 35 made his major league debut for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays against Texas on September 18, 1999. The first batter Morris faced was Clayton, who struck out.
• Served as executive producer of Straight Clownin', a 2002 comedy film starring Alex Thomas and featuring Tyra Banks, Dr. Dre, Jamie Foxx, Shaquille O'Neal and Will Smith.
• Clayton owns Isaac Charles Ameru, a high-end European/American fashion line, and serves as its president and CEO.
• Royce and his wife welcomed a son, Royce Jr., on January 10, 2004. In October 2005, Samantha gave birth to triplets: Imani, Niya and Elijah.
• In January 2007, Royce, an avid golfer, participated in a celebrity golf tournament televised on FOX in conjunction with the Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida.

Transactions

• December 14, 1995: Traded by the San Francisco Giants with a player to be named later (Chris Wimmer) to the St. Louis Cardinals for Allen Watson, Rich DeLucia, and Doug Creek.
• July 31, 1998: Traded by the St. Louis Cardinals with Todd Stottlemyre to the Texas Rangers for Darren Oliver, Fernando Tatis, and a player to be named later (Mark Little).
• December 2, 1998: Signed with the Texas Rangers.
• December 14, 2000: Traded by the Texas Rangers to the Chicago White Sox for Aaron Myette and Brian Schmack.
• September 8, 2002: Released by the Chicago White Sox.
• December 11, 2002: Signed with the Milwaukee Brewers.
• January 9, 2004: Signed with the Colorado Rockies.
• December 16, 2004: Signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• February 2, 2006: Signed with the Washington Nationals.
• July 13, 2006: Traded by the Washington Nationals with Daryl Thompson, Bill Bray, Brendan Harris, and Gary Majewski to the Cincinnati Reds for Austin Kearns, Felipe Lopez, and Ryan Wagner.
• November 29, 2006: Signed with the Toronto Blue Jays.
• August 7, 2007: Released by the Toronto Blue Jays.
• August 23, 2007: Signed with the Boston Red Sox to a minor league contract, assigned to Pawtucket (AAA)
• September 1, 2007: Contract purchased by the Boston Red Sox from Pawtucket.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis
• TheBaseballCube.com - Career Statistics and Analysis
• Royce Clayton's page at imdb.com