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Wally Joyner
Wallace Keith Joyner (born June 16, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for four major league teams during a 16-year career, most notably for the California Angels, for whom he was an All-Star. He was a member of the pennant-winning 1998 San Diego Padres.
Joyner attended Redan High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. He attended college at Brigham Young University. In the 1983 MLB draft, the California Angels selected Joyner in the third round as a compensation pick from the New York Yankees for signing Don Baylor.
Joyner credited a stint with the Mayagüez Indians of the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League as fundamental in his improvement as a slugger. Then-batting coach José Manuel Morales forced him to do power weight training and modify his posture at the batting cage, so as to develop upper body strength. He gained 10 pounds of muscle as a result of his workouts. He was consequently the top hitter on Puerto Rico's winter league on the 1985–86 season, winning the Triple Crown (.356, 14 HR, 48 RBI) in 54 games.
During his rookie season with the California Angels, Joyner became a fan favorite and briefly inspired a sensation in which Anaheim Stadium was dubbed "Wally World", after the fictional theme park in the film National Lampoon's Vacation. ESPN announcer Chris Berman called him Wally "Absorbine" Joyner, a nickname that stuck.
Joyner was the starting first baseman in the 1986 All-Star Game. Joyner tied Darryl Strawberry for first place in that year's Home Run Derby.
When the Angels met the New York Yankees in a game in August 1986, a fan threw a knife at Joyner. Joyner was grazed on the left arm by the butt end of the weapon, escaping injury.
Joyner broke up two no-hit bids in the ninth during the 1986 season. Against the Texas Rangers on June 16, he foiled Charlie Hough's bid with a single with one out in the ninth, scoring Jack Howell (who had reached on a three-base error) to tie the game at 1–1. Joyner, whose hit would be the Angels' only one of the game, eventually scored the winning run on Orlando Mercado's passed ball for a 2–1 Angels victory. Against the Detroit Tigers on August 20, Joyner broke up Walt Terrell's bid for a no-hitter by doubling with two out in the ninth; this would also be the Angels only hit in losing to the Tigers 3–0.
Joyner and the Angels advanced to the 1986 American League Championship Series, where they came within one strike of reaching the franchise's first World Series before losing in seven games. In game 3 of the series, Joyner was running home on an infield hit, and as he stepped on home plate, he unknowingly opened up a previously unseen staph infection on his shin, which led to him having to be hospitalized and miss the rest of the series.
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Wally Joyner
Wallace Keith Joyner (born June 16, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for four major league teams during a 16-year career, most notably for the California Angels, for whom he was an All-Star. He was a member of the pennant-winning 1998 San Diego Padres.
Joyner attended Redan High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. He attended college at Brigham Young University. In the 1983 MLB draft, the California Angels selected Joyner in the third round as a compensation pick from the New York Yankees for signing Don Baylor.
Joyner credited a stint with the Mayagüez Indians of the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League as fundamental in his improvement as a slugger. Then-batting coach José Manuel Morales forced him to do power weight training and modify his posture at the batting cage, so as to develop upper body strength. He gained 10 pounds of muscle as a result of his workouts. He was consequently the top hitter on Puerto Rico's winter league on the 1985–86 season, winning the Triple Crown (.356, 14 HR, 48 RBI) in 54 games.
During his rookie season with the California Angels, Joyner became a fan favorite and briefly inspired a sensation in which Anaheim Stadium was dubbed "Wally World", after the fictional theme park in the film National Lampoon's Vacation. ESPN announcer Chris Berman called him Wally "Absorbine" Joyner, a nickname that stuck.
Joyner was the starting first baseman in the 1986 All-Star Game. Joyner tied Darryl Strawberry for first place in that year's Home Run Derby.
When the Angels met the New York Yankees in a game in August 1986, a fan threw a knife at Joyner. Joyner was grazed on the left arm by the butt end of the weapon, escaping injury.
Joyner broke up two no-hit bids in the ninth during the 1986 season. Against the Texas Rangers on June 16, he foiled Charlie Hough's bid with a single with one out in the ninth, scoring Jack Howell (who had reached on a three-base error) to tie the game at 1–1. Joyner, whose hit would be the Angels' only one of the game, eventually scored the winning run on Orlando Mercado's passed ball for a 2–1 Angels victory. Against the Detroit Tigers on August 20, Joyner broke up Walt Terrell's bid for a no-hitter by doubling with two out in the ninth; this would also be the Angels only hit in losing to the Tigers 3–0.
Joyner and the Angels advanced to the 1986 American League Championship Series, where they came within one strike of reaching the franchise's first World Series before losing in seven games. In game 3 of the series, Joyner was running home on an infield hit, and as he stepped on home plate, he unknowingly opened up a previously unseen staph infection on his shin, which led to him having to be hospitalized and miss the rest of the series.