Robert James Schroder is a retired American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional baseball

Professional baseball

Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....

 player. He appeared in 138 games

Games played

Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...

, largely as a second baseman

Second baseman

Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...

 and shortstop

Shortstop

Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...

, over four seasons (–) for the San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

 of Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

. He batted left-handed

Left-handed

Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...

, threw right-handed, and was listed at 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 175 pounds (79.4 kg).

Schroder signed with the Giants in 1964 after attending Loyola University New Orleans

Loyola University New Orleans

Loyola University New Orleans is a private, co-educational and Jesuit university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name of the Jesuit patron, Saint Ignatius of Loyola...

. After a partial rookie pro season spent in the low minor leagues

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

, Schroder was promoted to San Francisco's 40-man roster for 1965 and stayed with the MLB team all season. Under the amended 1962 bonus rule

Bonus Rule

The Bonus Rule was a rule instituted by Major League Baseball in 1947 that prevented teams from assigning certain players to farm clubs. The rule stipulated that when a Major league team signed a player to a contract in excess of $4,000 , the Major League team was required to keep that player on...

, Major League clubs were compelled to keep players like Schroder on their 25-man roster for their first full season in baseball or risk losing them to another team. Schroder, 20, got into only 31 games and had only ten plate appearances for the contending 1965 Giants

1965 San Francisco Giants season

- Offseason :* Prior to 1965 season: Merritt Ranew was acquired by the Giants from the Milwaukee Braves.- Regular season :- Opening Day lineup :*Jesús Alou*Tom Haller*Jim Ray Hart*Harvey Kuenn*Hal Lanier*Juan Marichal*Willie Mays*Willie McCovey...

. He then split the 1966–1968 campaigns between San Francisco and the Triple-A Phoenix Giants. In 1967

1967 San Francisco Giants season

The 1967 San Francisco Giants season saw the Giants finish in second place in the National League with a record of 91 wins and 71 losses, 10½ games behind the NL and World Series champion St...

, he played in 62 games for San Francisco and logged 135 at bats, his MLB career highs. All told, he batted

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 .217 during his time with the Giants; his 48 hits

Hit (baseball)

In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....

 included five doubles

Double (baseball)

In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....

 and one triple

Triple (baseball)

In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....

.

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