Garry Templeton

Shortstop
Montreal Voyageurs (DEN, WAS, CLE, STL)
1976-1992

Garry Templeton was a durable and consistent shortstop who was a first-class base stealer, decent fielder, and average hitter. Though he struck out too much and didn't walk enough for a leadoff hitter, Garry managed to accumulate close to 2500 hits and 726 stolen bases over a 17-year career. He led the league in at-bats three times, had over 600 plate appearances times 10 times, and was the shortstop on World Series winners in Montreal in 1982 and Washington in 1987.

Garry Lewis Templeton was in 1956 in the panhandle of Texas. His father Spiavia was a backup infielder in the Negro Leagues who played with Satchel Paige. He was nicknamed “Jumpsteady” by his cousin, who said he jumped more than danced to the Aretha Franklin 1971 song “Rock Steady.” When he was a teenager, Garry's family moved to southern California, where he became a star athlete at Santa Ana Valley High School. He was offered a football scholarship at UCLA, but chose ultimately chose baseball.

The #2 pick of the 1976 draft, Templeton went to the Denver 14ers, an expansion team heading into its third season. The 14ers had drafted SS Tim Foli first overall in the 1974 expansion draft and 2B Willie Randolph fourth overall in the 1975 rookie draft, giving the new club a stockpile of young middle infielders. Garry skipped the minors entirely and became a full-time starter at the age of 19. He hit .266 and led the league in triples in his first season. That January, he was traded to the other expansion team, the Montréal Voyageurs, where he would make his name and become a star over the next decade.

Under first-year GM Jo Lima, Templeton was the weak link in a strong defensive team that featured Gary Carter, Bobby Grich, George Brett, and Rich Coggins, but the Canoeists immediately benefitted from his offensive contributions, climbing from 10th to 4th in scoring and qualifying for their second postseason in just four years. In 1978, Templeton batted .278 with a career-high 186 hits, and again hit .282 in 1980. 1982 was a down year at the plate, but Garry ramped up his running game, swiping 59 bases and helping the Voyageurs, as the V's allowed just eight runs in their five-game Series win over Detroit. As of this writing (in 1994), that was Montreal's last playoff appearance, and in 1986 Templeton was traded to Washington as part of Montreal rebuild.

In D.C., Templeton joined a perennial contender in the midst of seven playoff seasons in nine years under GM Mark Waller. In his first full season as a Monument, he hit 36 doubles and stole a career-high 74 bases, helping Washington to the 1987 UL title. In a 4-2 Series win over St. Louis, Templeton starred in Game 2, batting 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs. His homer in Game 4 was the Monuments' only run in a 2-1 loss in the longest World Series game in UL history (21 innings). Garry played the 1989 and '90 seasons with Cleveland and St. Louis before returning to the Voyageurs organization as a free agent in 1991, where he won one final trophy at age 35: the 1993 Governor's Cup as with the Quebec Carnivals.

Templeton ranks 4th all-time in stolen bases and in the top 20 in doubles, triples, games, and at-bats. Among UL shortstops, he ranks 6th all-time in hits—ahead of Hall of Famers Rico Petrocelli and Ernie Banks—and 7th in total bases—ahead of Hall of Famer Dick McAuliffe. Though never named to an All-UL or Gold Glove team, Templeton brought a rare consistency and reliability to the shortstop position. (TJS)