Royce Clayton
Royce Clayton was born in Burbank, California, United States on January 2nd, 1970 and is the Baseball Player. At the age of 54, Royce Clayton biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
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Royce Spencer Clayton (born January 2, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop who has appeared in two films.
He is currently the head varsity baseball coach at Oaks Christian School.
Early life
Clayton was born in Burbank, California, on January 2, 1970, and was raised in Inglewood. Royal Sr., a car salesman, and his mother, Antoinette, worked for Trans World Airlines. Royal Jr. is his older brother. Clayton's parents were frustrated with academics, and they did not allow him to play Little League Baseball until he was eight years old. He began playing as a third baseman. from attending a game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium, he began to idolize Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith and moved to playing his position.
Clayton attended St. Bernard High School, a private school in Playa del Rey, rather than attending nearby Inglewood High School. As a shortstop, he played for the school's baseball team. Clayton would sometimes perform a back flip, as Smith was known to do. Clayton had a.448 batting average in 1987, his junior year. He appeared in the Southern Section 1-A championship game at Dodger Stadium, but lost to Whittier Christian High School. He was invited to the United States Olympic Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina, and was able to compete for the national under-18 baseball team for the 1987 World Junior Baseball Championships in Windsor, Ontario. The United States earned the silver medal after losing the championship game to Cuba.
Clayton had a.513 batting average in 26 games played during his senior year. Clayton signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Southern California (USC) in 1988 to play college baseball for the USC Trojans on an athletic scholarship. Over acne State University and Loyola Marymount University, he preferred USC over Florida State University and Loyola Marymount University.
Professional career
Clayton was one of the top amateur prospects in the United States prior to the 1988 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. Clayton was chosen by the San Francisco Giants in the first round, achieving their 15th overall pick of the draft. Rather than going to the United StatesC, he signed with San Francisco for a $195,000 signing bonus rather than attend USC. He was assigned by the Giants to the Everett Giants of the Class A Short Season Northwest League. Clayton batted in.259 (RBIs), with 10 stolen bases in 60 games for Everett in 1988. Clayton, who was with the Clinton Giants in the Class A Midwest League in 1989, had trouble starting off, with a batting average below.200 by the end of May. Clayton was given a promotion to the San Jose Giants of the Class A-Advanced California League after batting.310 in June and July. In 28 games for San Jose since the promotion, he batted.120 and ten stolen bases. Clayton batted.252 in the first half of San Jose in 1990. He was named in the California League's all-star game and hit the game-winning blow. He finished the 1990 season with a.267 average, seven home runs, 71 RBIs, and 33 stolen bases.
Clayton was a member of the Class AA Texas League in 1991. Clayton was involved in the all-star game in the Texas League. During the 1991 season, he batted.280 with 68 RBIs and 36 stolen bases, assisting Shreveport in winning the Texas League championship. Clayton was named the best defensive shortstop and most exciting player in the Texas League by the 1991 season, and The Sporting News named him the best prospect in baseball.
The Giants named Clayton to the major leagues for their final road trip of the season after the Texas League's season ended. On September 20, he made his major league debut. Clayton batted.115 (3-for-26) in nine games. He began training in 1992 with muscle gain, taking his weight from 160 to 79 kg. Clayton was competing for the Giants' starting shortstop position against José Uribe. Clayton was drafted to the Giants' Opening Day roster in 1992 as their starting shortstop. The Giants demoted Clayton to the Phoenix Firebirds of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League after he batted.207 for the Giants through June 20, the Giants demoted him to the Phoenix Firebirds of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. Clayton batted.237 in 43 games for Phoenix, and was recalled to the major leagues on August 19 after Uribe went on the injured list with a torn muscle in his rib cage. Clayton batted.224 in 98 games during his two stints with the Giants in the 1992 season. He made $109,000, the minimum wage in the major leagues, in 1992.
Clayton signed a one-year deal with the Giants worth $160,000 before the 1993 season. Clayton became the Giants' regular shortstop after Uribe's deal came to an end during the 1992 season. He batted.282 in 153 games, tied Chris Speier's franchise record of 70 RBIs for a shortstop, and led all National League shortstops with 103 double plays turned. Clayton was given a four-year contract worth $9.2 million after the 1993 season, but he turned down. Clayton also agreed to a $325,000 salary for the 1994 season. Clayton and several of his teammates had a rough time in 1994; he batted.236 with 30 RBIs. After the 1994 season, the Giants made an offer of a two-year deal, which Clayton rejected. He signed a one-year deal for the 1995 season, worth $475,000. Clayton was batting.244 in 138 games in the 1995 season. He had 223 putouts, 411 assists, and 654 total chances, the most among all National League shortstops.
After the 1995 season, the Giants began talking about moving Clayton to other teams as they were unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension. Rich Aurilia was going to be the Giants' starting shortstop, but the team needed to expand their depth of pitchers.
Ozzie Smith was already on a long-term deal with the Cardinals going into the 1996 season. He was 41 years old and only batted.199 in 44 games during the 1995 season due to a shoulder injury. Tony La Russa and general manager Walt Jocketty tried to find another shortstop as insurance in case Smith could not participate. Walt Weiss and Greg Gagne tried to assemble, but neither wanted to compete in a platoon with Smith, an all-time great.
Clayton and a player were cut by the Giants in 1995, but Doug Creek, Rich DeLucia, and Allen Watson were scheduled later on. Chris Wimmer was sent by the Giants to the Cardinals in January 1996 to complete the trade. Clayton agreed to a $1.6 million deal with St. Louis for the first time in 1996, more than tripling his 1995 salary.
Tony La Russa, the Cardinals' president, reported that Smith and Clayton would compete for the starting position in spring training in 1996. Although Smith had better results in spring training than Clayton, La Russa gave Clayton the starting role prior to Opening Day and gave Clayton the majority of the playing time throughout the season. The Cardinals booed Clayton because they favored Smith over the Cardinals. In 129 games played, Clayton batted.277 with 33 stolen bases and a.972 fielding percentage, the fourth-best among National League shortstops. Smith announced in June that he would retire at the end of the season. The Cardinals made it to the postseason in 1996 National League Division Division Series, defeating the San Diego Padres in the 1996 National League Division Series and losing to the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 National League Championship Series. Clayton had a.346 average in the 1996 playoffs.
Clayton and the Cardinals decided to a one-year deal with a $2.6 million salary for the 1997 season after struggling to come to terms on a multi-year deal. In the 1997honneurs, he was selected as a National League representative as an injury substitute for Barry Larkin. He was batting.261 with six home runs and 19 stolen bases, and had already surpassed his 1996 season totals in RBIs and extra-base hits with 36 and 31, respectively. Clayton made a.266 in 154 games for St. Louis in 1997. With 452 assists, he led all National League shortstops. In his last year before being eligible for free agency, the Cardinals signed Clayton for a $3.5 million salary in his final year. In 90 games for the Cardinals, he batted.234 runs.
The Cardinals traded Clayton and Todd Stottlemyre to the Texas Rangers for Darren Oliver, Fernando Tats, and a player to be announced later today, with the Cardinals struggling during the 1998 season and Clayton hoping to become a free agent after the season. In August, Mark Little was sent to St. Louis to finish the transaction. Clayton took over for the Rangers' shortstop after Kevin Elster, who was out of office in Texas, was named. During the 1998 season, he batted.285 in 52 games for Texas. The Rangers defeated the Anaheim Angels in the American League West division, but the New York Yankees lost in the 1998 American League Division Series.
Clayton, a free agent after the 1998 season, has signed a four-year, $18 million contract to remain with Texas. Clayton batted. During the 1999 season, the Rangers won the division for the second time in 133 games, with 288 in 133 games. In the 1999 American League Division Series, the Rangers lost to the Yankees.
Clayton and his colleague Chad Curtis became engaged in a shoving match after Curtis insisted on removing rap music from Clayton's playing when Curtis objected to the lyrics. Clayton wrote a blog post criticizing Curtis, and Rangers boss Johnny Oates made them apologize to each other. Clayton batted.242 in 148 games for Texas in 2000. With 265 putouts, he led all American shortstops.
The Rangers traded Clayton to the Chicago White Sox for Aaron Myette and Brian Schmack on December 14, 2000, just days after the Rangers signed Alex Rodriguez to a 10-year, $252 million contract to be their new shortstop. José Valentn of the White Sox had led all major league shortstops in errors during the 2000 season, and the White Sox tried to use him as their center fielder for the 2001 season. Clayton struggled offensively in April and May of 2001, batting.099, but the remainder of the season saw him finish with a.263 average in 135 games. Clayton batted.197 in the first 54 games of the 2002 season and was suspended by White Sox coach Jerry Manuel in early June, who increased the playing time for Tony Graffanino. Manuel returned Clayton at shortstop just a week later, alternating playing time with Valentn and Graffanino. Manuel decided at the end of July that ValLPhentn would get the majority of playing time at shortstop for the remainder of the season. Clayton was the White Sox's first child born on September 8. During the 2002 season, he batted.251 with seven home runs and 35 RBIs in 112 games.
The Milwaukee Brewers signed Clayton to a one-year deal worth $1.75 million for the 2003 season, replacing José Hernández as their starting shortstop. For the 2004 season, there was a club option. In 2003, Clayton batted.228 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs. Clayton's contract for the 2004 season was not the best option, with the Brewers opting out for $290,000 instead, making Clayton a free agent.
Clayton signed a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies for the 2004 season, earning $650,000, and was named as their starting shortstop on the Rockies' Opening Day roster. He made.270 with eight home runs and 54 RBIs for the Rockies in 2004 and led all National League shortstops with a.986 fielding percentage. However, the Rockies did not resign Clayton as they decided to give Clint Barmes the starting shortstop job for the 2005 season. Clayton has joined the Arizona Diamondbacks for a one-year deal worth $1.35 million, displacing Alex CTIMON as the starting shortstop. In 143 games for Arizona, Clayton batted.270.
Clayton signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals on February 2, 2006, bringing him as a back-up to their starting shortstop Cristian Guzmán, who had struggled during the 2005 season. Clayton's deal called for him to make $1 million if he was part of the team, and another $250,000 in compensation based on his playing time. Guzmán tore a muscle in his shoulder during spring training, and Clayton opened the 2006 season as the Nationals' starting shortstop. In 87 games for Washington, he batted.269. Clayton, Bill Bray, Brendan Harris, Gary Majewski, Gary Majewski, and Daryl Thompson were traded by the Cincinnati Reds to Austin Kearns, Felipe López, and Ryan Wagner on July 13, 2006. Since being traded, Clayton batted.235 in 50 games for the Reds.
Clayton agreed to a one-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays on November 29, 2006. However, the Blue Jays did not commit to Clayton as their starting shortstop, claiming that he will split playing time with Aaron Hill and John McDonald in the middle infield. Clayton also missed playing time as the Blue Jays played Hill as their second baseman and McDonald as their shortstop by June. Clayton was released by the Blue Jays on August 8, 2007, after batting.254 with one home run and 12 RBIs in 69 games. On August 23, he played for the Boston Red Sox in a minor league, and the Pawtucket Red Sox of the Class AAA International League was assigned to him. In seven games, he had a.143 batting average and three RBIs. Slowley and Julio Lugo and backup Alex Cora on September 1, when rosters expanded, they promoted him to the major leagues to ensure infield depth behind starters Dustin Pedroia and Julio Lugo and backup Alex Cora. Clayton wanted to play for a team in contention for a playoff spot. Clayton's Red Sox were the 11th team to play for, tying the record for position players established by Todd Zeile. Clayton batted 0-for-6 in eight games for the Red Sox. Clayton did not appear in the postseason, but he was given a World Series ring at Fenway Park in April 2008.
Clayton did not get any job offers during the 2007–08 offseason, and then resigned in March 2008. He had a.258 average, 110 home runs, 1,904 hits, and 231 stolen bases during his career. Clayton ran for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 2013 election but did not receive any votes.
Post-playing career
Clayton became an advisory board of the Goldwater Bank in Arizona after his playing career. He also worked in real estate and start-up companies that attempted to produce batters and theme songs for players, including one for Tim Lincecum that aired on Major League Baseball on Fox during Game 5 of the 2010 World Series.
Clayton began coaching youth baseball. He coached Little League Baseball in Malibu, California. Clayton took over as the head varsity baseball coach for Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village, California, on September 12, 2016. Dmitri Young served as an assistant coach for Clayton for three years before becoming head coach at Camarillo High School.