Roger Henry Metzger (pronounced "Met-ZEE-ger", born October 10, 1947) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

who played most of this career for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

(1971–1978). He also played for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

(1970) and the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

(1978–1980). A light-hitting shortstop, he was known for his strong defense and good running speed. He retired at age 32 because of the after-effects of a hand injury.

Career

Metzger graduated high school from

Holy Cross of San Antonio Holy Cross of San Antonio is a Catholic, coeducational college preparatory secondary school located in the Loma Vista neighborhood of San Antonio, Texas, on the west side of the city, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio. History Holy ...

and then attended St Edward's University. He was selected in the 1st round (16th overall) of the

1969 Major League Baseball draft The 1969 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft took place prior to the 1969 MLB season. The draft featured future Hall of Famers Bert Blyleven (pick 55) and Dave Winfield (pick 882). First round selections The following are the first round picks ...

by the

, and he made his debut for them a year later. Metzger won the 1973

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

Award at Shortstop. He led the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

in triples in 1971 (11) and 1973 (14). He led the National League in outs (528) in 1972. On November 29, 1979, Metzger lost the tips of four fingers on his right hand (index to pinky) in an electric table-saw accident. He had been building a wooden playhouse for his children as a Christmas present. Metzger attempted a comeback for the 1980 season, but was released by the San Francisco Giants on August 10, 1980, after only hitting .074 in 28 games. Immediately after being released, he was re-signed by the Giants as a coach for the remainder of the season.Associated Press
"Giants' Metzger Becomes Coach,"
New York Times (Aug. 16, 1980). In 11 seasons Metzger played in 1,219 games and had 4,201 at bats, 453 runs, 972 hits, 101 doubles, 71 triples, five home runs, 254 RBI, 83 stolen bases, 355 walks, .231 batting average, .291 on-base percentage, .293 slugging percentage, 1,230 total bases, 90 sacrifice hits, 22 sacrifice flies and 34 intentional walks.

Personal life

A graduate of

St. Edward's University St. Edward's University is a private, Catholic university in Austin, Texas. It was founded and is operated in the Holy Cross tradition. History Founding and early history St. Edward's University was founded by the Reverend Edward Sorin, CSC ...

in 1970, the schoo
retired his jersey
in June 2005. He resides with his wife, Tamy Metzger in

Brenham, Texas Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County. Washington County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas, ...

, and they have two sons – Roger Kurt Metzger and Ryan Evans Metzger.

Notes

Sources

, o
RetrosheetPelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metzger, Roger 1947 births Living people Arizona Instructional League Cubs players Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Baseball players from Texas Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Chicago Cubs players Gold Glove Award winners Houston Astros players Major League Baseball shortstops People from Fredericksburg, Texas San Francisco Giants players San Francisco Giants scouts St. Edward's Hilltoppers baseball players Tacoma Cubs players

Career

Personal life

See also

Notes

Sources