Rowland Office

{{Infobox baseball biography

| name = Rowland Office

| image = rowlandoffice.jpg

| caption = Office with the New York Yankees

| position = Center fielder

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|10|25}}

| birth_place = Sacramento, California, U.S.

| death_date =

| bats = Left

| throws = Left

|debutleague = MLB

| debutdate = August 5

| debutyear = 1972

| debutteam = Atlanta Braves

|finalleague = MLB

| finaldate = April 20

| finalyear = 1983

| finalteam = New York Yankees

|statleague = MLB

| stat1label = Batting average

| stat1value = .259

| stat2label = Home runs

| stat2value = 32

| stat3label = Runs batted in

| stat3value = 242

| teams =

Atlanta Braves ({{mlby|1972}}, {{mlby|1974}}–{{mlby|1979}})
Montreal Expos ({{mlby|1980}}–{{mlby|1982}})
New York Yankees ({{mlby|1983}})

}}

Rowland Johnie Office (born October 25, 1952) is a former outfielder for the Atlanta Braves, Montreal Expos and New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1972 and 1983.

Biography

Born in Sacramento, California, Office played baseball there at C. K. McClatchy High School and Sacramento City College. He played against future MLB teammate Jerry Royster in Sacramento's Metro League.

Office debuted with the Atlanta Braves in 1972, making him the youngest MLB player that year. After spending the 1973 season in the minor leagues, he started to become a regular in the Braves lineup in 1974. Office shared left field responsibilities with future Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, who was nearing the end of his career. Biographers Mark L. Stewart and Mike Kennedy described Office as "an impossibly skinny 21-year-old who played his position with tremendous enthusiasm, if not always the highest regard for his body."{{cite book|last1=Stewart|first1=Mark|last2=Kennedy|first2=Mike|title=Hammering Hank: How the Media Made Henry Aaron|url=https://archive.org/details/hammeringhankhow0000stew|url-access=registration|accessdate=November 21, 2015|year=2006|publisher=Lyons Press|isbn=978-1-59228-930-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/hammeringhankhow0000stew/page/216 216]}} Office made one of the most well-known defensive plays in the history of Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in 1975, when he leaped to catch a ball that appeared to be on its way over the outfield wall.

In 1976, with the Braves in the middle of a string of several losing seasons, Office had a 29-game hitting streak. However, he injured his knee in July, which limited his productivity for the rest of the year.{{cite book|last=Caruso|first=Gary|title=The Braves Encyclopedia|url=https://archive.org/details/bravesencycloped00caru|url-access=registration|accessdate=November 21, 2015|year=1995|publisher=Temple University Press|isbn=978-1-56639-384-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bravesencycloped00caru/page/106 106]–107}} Remaining with the Braves through 1979, Office next signed as a free agent with the Expos. The team released him in early 1982, and he joined the minor league system of the Philadelphia Phillies.{{cite book|last=Faber|first=Charles F.|title=Major League Careers Cut Short: Leading Players Gone by 30|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gEGNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA165|accessdate=November 21, 2015|date=22 October 2010|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-6209-4|page=165}}

Office got an opportunity with the New York Yankees in 1983, but he only appeared in two MLB games that season. Spending most of that year in the minor leagues with the Columbus Clippers, Office had a .297 batting average with eight home runs and 45 runs batted in in 87 games.{{cite web|title=Rowland Office Minor Leagues Statistics & History|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=office001row|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=November 21, 2015}} In 11 seasons, Office played in 899 games and had a .259 batting average.{{cite web|title=Rowland Office Statistics and History|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/officro01.shtml|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=November 21, 2015}}