John Mayberry

John Claiborn Mayberry (born February 18, 1949, in Detroit, Michigan) is a 1967 graduate of Northwestern High School, and former Major League Baseball player who played for Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees from 1968 to 1982. John Mayberry was an extraordinarily gifted high school athlete, playing baseball, football, and basketball at Northwestern; John was twice named to the Detroit News All-State Basketball Team. Mayberry was a classic slugging first baseman, who batted left-handed. His best years were with the Royals during the early to mid 1970's. Unfortunately he and Royals manager Whitey Herzog did not get along due to Herzog's perception, rightly or wrongly, that Mayberry lacked the proper work ethic. As a result, he was traded to the Blue Jays, who at that time were only in their second year of operation and were one of the worst teams in the American League. His place with the Royals was taken by Clint Hurdle.

Mayberry was an all-star twice (1973, '74). In 15 seasons, he compiled a .253 batting average with 255 home runs and 879 RBIs. He had 1379 career hits in 5447 at bats.

His son John Jr. is currently an outfielder in the Philadelphia Phillies minor-league system, having been traded by the Texas Rangers for Greg Golson on November 20, 2008.

He has one of the more famous knicknames used by ESPN announcer Chris Berman. John Mayberry 'RFD'

[edit] See also

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• Hitting for the cycle
• Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game

Description by Wikipedia