Buddy Biancalana | |||
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Shortstop | |||
Born: Larkspur, California |
February 2, 1960 |||
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MLB debut | |||
September 12, 1982, for the Kansas City Royals | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
October 4, 1987, for the Houston Astros | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Hits | 113 | ||
Batting average | .205 | ||
Games | 311 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Roland Americo "Buddy" Biancalana, Jr. (/biˌɑːŋkəˈlɑːnə/; born February 2, 1960) is a retired Major League Baseball (MLB) shortstop. Biancalana played for two teams in his career: the Kansas City Royals (1982–1987) and Houston Astros (1987).
Born in Larkspur, California, Biancalana attended Redwood High School. He played baseball all four of his years at Redwood, 1975 through 1978, garnering local and national honors along the way. In 1977 he was named to the Mythical National Champion Team, a squad composed of the best high school baseball players in America. Biancalana was drafted by the Royals in the first round (25th overall pick) of the 1978 June Regular Phase draft. He made his MLB debut on September 12, 1982, and played his final game on October 4, 1987.
Biancalana was a member of the Royals team that won the World Series in 1985. Although he had only started 35 games all season, manager Dick Howser benched regular shortstop Onix Concepcion in favor of Biancalana on September 20. Biancalana started 13 of the next 15 games as the Royals won the American League West division by one game over the California Angels.