Ronald Lawrence Woods (born February 1, 1943) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player who appeared in all or part of six seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

from to , primarily as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

, for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

and

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

. He also played two seasons in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

for the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011 ...

in 1975–1976. Born in

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Cincinnati along the Great Miami River, Hamilton is the second-most populous city in the Cincinnati metropolitan area and the List of municipaliti ...

, Woods threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Woods graduated from

Compton High School Compton High School is a high school in Compton, California, United States, part of the Compton Unified School District. History Compton Union High School opened in 1896. Both the high school and Compton Junior High School were severely damag ...

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, and entered pro baseball in the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization in June 1961. However, after five years in the Pittsburgh

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

, he had risen only as high as the Double-A level. Early in 1966, the Detroit Tigers acquired his contract. After a strong 1968 season with the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

, Woods made the roster of the defending

World Series champion The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) and concludes the MLB postseason. First played in 1903, the World Series championship is a best-of-seven playoff and is a contest between the champions of base ...

Tigers out of

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. He appeared in 17 early-season games for Detroit, largely as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

pinch runner In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running. Description A pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been s ...

and defensive replacement, before being traded June 14 to the New York Yankees for veteran outfielder Tom Tresh. Although he struggled offensively, Woods was able to solidify his hold on a major league job with the Yankees, appearing in 192 games (starting 147) from June 1969 to June . On June 25 of the latter year, the Yankees sent Woods to the Montreal Expos for former

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

outfielder

Ron Swoboda Ronald Alan Swoboda (born June 30, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from through , most notably as a member of the New York Met ...

. Despite a brief detour to Triple-A

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

in 1971, Woods spent the next 3 years on the Expo roster, appearing in 373 games and batting a cumulative .245. In , he was Montreal's most-used

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

, starting 72 games and platooning with left-handed hitters

Boots Day Charles Frederick "Boots" Day (born August 31, 1947) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and Montreal Expos. Day was bench coach for the Evan ...

and

Jim Lyttle James Lawrence Lyttle Jr. (born May 20, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player from Logan, Indiana. He played as an outfielder for the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Montreal Expos, and Los Angeles Dodgers of the Major L ...

, as the Expos, a fifth-year

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

, battled for the

National League East Division The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central, it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. After having internal, informal divisions for ...

title before falling short by 3 games. That off-season, however, the Expos traded for veteran center fielder Willie Davis of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, relegating Woods to part-time status in 1974. He started 21 games all season, batted .205 in 127

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

, and departed for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball. He played the 1975 and 1976 seasons in Japan, appearing in 192 total games and hitting .263 with 160

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

and 19

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

. Doing Woods' six seasons in the major leagues, Woods batted .233. His 290 hits in 1,247 at bats included 34 doubles, 12

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, and 26 career home runs. He compiled 130 RBIs, and 27

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

Sources

1943 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Asheville Tourists players Baseball players from Compton, California Batavia Pirates players 20th-century American sportsmen Chunichi Dragons players Detroit Tigers players Hobbs Pirates players Kinston Eagles players Major League Baseball outfielders Montgomery Rebels players Montreal Expos players New York Yankees players Rocky Mount Leafs players Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ohio Baseball players from Butler County, Ohio Toledo Mud Hens players Winnipeg Whips players Compton High School alumni {{US-baseball-outfielder-1940s-stub