Roger McCardell

Roger Morton McCardell

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 200 lb.
• School Boston University
• High School West Nottingham Academy
• Debut May 8, 1959
• Final Game June 8, 1959
• Born August 29, 1932 in Gorsuch Mills, MD USA
• Died November 13, 1996 in Perry Point, MD USA

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Biographical Information

Catcher Roger McCardell attended Boston University. He was obtained by the Boston Braves from the Harlan Smokies of the Mountain States League in August of 1950 where, as a 17-year-old, he had played in 71 games and hit .337 with 10 home runs. Roger spent 1951 and 1952 with the Quebec Braves of the Provincial League with a poor .215 average in 1951, but he popped back up to .285 in 1952. McCardell then spent the next two years (1953-1954) in military service during the Korean War.

After his tour of duty, Roger spent the next five seasons (1955-1959) climbing up the ladder towards his shot at the major leagues. Along the way, he had two very noticeable years, one in 1957 when he hit .303 with 22 homers for the Sioux City Soos of the Western League and the second when he hit .306 with 10 homers in a split season with the Springfield Giants and the Phoenix Giants in 1958. This all came about after Roger had been drafted by the New York Giants from the Milwaukee Braves in the minor league phase of the 1956 Rule V Draft.

Roger made his debut in the major leagues with the now-San Francisco Giants on May 8, 1959 and went hitless in four plate appearances in four games. So after about 30 days in the big leagues, this was it for Roger and he went back to Phoenix where he finished out the year hitting .260 with 7 home runs. On November 30th, he was traded along with Jackie Brandt and Gordon Jones to the Baltimore Orioles for Billy Loes and Billy O'Dell.

McCardell spent the next three years in the minors with average success with several different teams. He finished up his 11-year minor league run with the San Antonio Missions of the Texas League, hitting .267 with 8 home runs. This gave Roger a career record of .271 at the plate along with 81 home runs while appearing in 911 games. After baseball, Roger worked in home construction and died November 13, 1996, at age 64 in Perry Point, MD.

See also: Baseball Players of the 1950s