Photos: Roz Wyman dies; council member helped bring the Dodgers to L.A.
Los Angeles Times
The Dodgers have lost one of their brightest stars in the last year. The only good news in the days leading to the Dodgers’ 7-3 loss Wednesday to the Angels was that the team’s clubhouse didn’t look like a funeral home.
Lonnie Smith of the Times reports the Dodgers released a statement Thursday evening expressing “deep regrets and sympathy over the passing of the Hall of Fame member and iconic sports figure.”
For the first time in his life, the Dodgers have lost a star player off its biggest stage.
He was 88 years old when he left the team.
Roz Wyman, who in his 15-year big-league career compiled a.320 batting average with 1,427 hits, finished his 15th major league season Wednesday after a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Roz Wyman, whose.320 batting average in his career ranks him 10th on the all-time list, went into the Angels game as a major league-record 15th-place hitter in career hits (826) and 10th-place in hits by a left-handed batter (732).
“Roz was one of my all-time favorite players,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “He was so tough and so aggressive and played a style that was very unique. “We always tried to stay with him and play with him at all times.”
There is no more fitting way to pay respect to a man who has been at the heart of Dodgers baseball since 1956 than to see the Dodgers honor his memory with a win.
As for him as a player, Wyman might be remembered for his hitting, but he was also a superb pitcher and a clutch coach.
Among his many accomplishments while in the Dodgers organization, he became the franchise’s first black player, a role of leadership that he embraced.
“I am proud of him,” Wyman said. “I want him to know my biggest accomplishments were being a Dodger. And I want him to be proud to know that you can make your career