The Ray Oyler "S.O.C. I.T. T.O. M.E. .300 Club" in Seattle (1969)
Oyler was left unprotected in the expansion draft after the 1968 season and was the third player drafted by the Seattle Pilots. Before the Pilots even played their first game in 1969, Seattle radio disc jockey Robert E. Lee "Bob" Hardwick looked over the list of players drafted by the Pilots, discovered Oyler's batting average and created the "Ray Oyler Fan Club," initially as a radio bit on his radio show. (Fred Cavinder, "More Amazing Tales from Indiana" (Indiana Univ. Press 2003) p. 188)
Grabbing onto the popularity of the late-60s Laugh-In TV show's "Sock it to Me" catchphrase, the fan club was called the Ray Oyler "S.O.C. I.T. T.O. M.E. .300" Club, meaning "Slugger Oyler Can, In Time, Top Our Manager's Estimate" and hit .300. Some 15,000 baseball-starved fans signed up, and former Pilots' relief pitcher, Jack Aker recalled that the Ray Oyler Fan Club was out in great number at Sicks Stadium on the Pilots' Opening Day. The fan club even gave Oyler a car to use and an apartment too. When Oyler came to bat for the first time on Opening Day, the Oyler Fan Club went wild. "He got cheers, horns blew, confetti filled the air in his first time at bat." (Fred Cavinder, "More Amazing Tales from Indiana" p. 188) Oyler rewarded his fan club by hitting a game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the game.
In April 1969, Jim Campanis of the Kansas City Royals punched Oyler during a game. The Ray Oyler Fan Club sent a telegram to Royals general manager Cedric Tallis, protesting Campanis' actions and saying: "Please do not misinterpret our motto 'Sock it to Ray Oyler,' as this is an expression of encouragement." (Fred Cavinder, "More Amazing Tales from Indiana" p. 188) The Oyler Fan Club also developed and sang songs, such as "Hey Ray Oyler yer Bat's Too Small." Former fan club members still boast that Oyler holds the all-time Pilots records for assists, putouts, and home runs by a shortstop. (The Pilots played only one year, and Oyler was their shortstop.)
In Ball Four, Seattle teammate Jim Bouton wrote that Oyler's nickname was "Oil Can Harry" because "he always looks as though he had just changed a set of rings."
Oyler loved Seattle, hitting seven home runs for the Pilots and increased his batting average by 30 points to .165, just 10 points below his lifetime average.
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