George Spriggs (baseball)

George Herman Spriggs (May 22, 1937 – December 22, 2020) was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Kansas City Royals in parts of four seasons spanning 1965–1970.

Spriggs was signed as an amateur free agent prior to the 1963 season by the Pittsburgh Pirates after attending Wiley H. Bates High School in Annapolis, MD.

Previously, Spriggs played for various Negro league clubs, most prominently with the Detroit-New Orleans Stars in 1960.

In 1966, during his minor league career, Spriggs led the International League with 34 stolen bases and hit .300 for the Columbus Jets. Overall, in seasons years with the Jets he stole 170 bases.

In 1967, he was selected by the Boston Red Sox during the Rule 5 draft, but was returned to the Pirates in April 1968 when he did not make the Red Sox major league roster. His contract then was purchased by the Kansas City Royals in the month of October from the Pirates. Afterwards, the New York Mets purchased his contract in 1971, but he never played a major league game with them.

Springs won the 1970 American Association Most Valuable Player Award with the Omaha Royals.