"There was much humility in the Yankees' admission that it may take as many as five years to restore the club to the role of a contender. There was also much reality to it, for the Yankees have plenty of ground to make up.
To get their rebuilding movement underway, the Yanks did some house cleaning over the winter. Dispatched to other locales were Roger Maris, Clete Boyer and Pedro Ramos, among others ; but, to point out the dearth of young prospects from a farm system that was once the most productive in the majors, they had to pick up Charley Smith, Dick Howser and Chi-Chi Olivo, a relief pitcher reputed to be 37 going on 45.
Chief among the problems staring Manager Ralph Houk squarely in the eyes is what to do about Mickey Mantle. Mickey can still ride the ball, but his position in the field is a shaky question. Houk would like to play him at first base so that he can free Joe Pepitone to roam center field. But the quick, sudden moves required to play first may be even harder on Mick's legs than the outfield. Aside from the obvious decision of keeping Pep on first, Houk could use Elston Howard there, or play young Mike Hegan when he comes out of the service. Hegan has the defensive qualifications.
At second base it figures to be Horace Clarke, and he may soon make the fans at Yankee Stadium forget the retired Bobby Richardson. Shortstop is wide open. The job has been held out to Bobby Murcer, but it's up to him to polish his fielding and improve on his .266 mark at Toledo last year. Otherwise, veterans Ruben Amaro and Howser, neither of whom has played regularly for a couple of years, will get a crack at the job. Smith may not be another Boyer at third base, but he'll do a workmanlike job with his glove and bat until some rookie proves he's ready to take over. Eventually, it could turn out to be Mike Ferraro, who batted .248 at Toledo last year, or Roy White, who didn't make it as an outfielder last year after being switched from the infield. The Yanks like White's ability with a bat.
In the outfield, Tom Tresh will probably stay permanently in left, his days as an infielder ended. Mantle or Pepitone will play center, and rookies Bill Robinson and Steve Whitaker will be platooned in right field. Robinson was rated by the Yanks as the best player in the minors last year when he hit .312 at Richmond with 20 homers. Scouts say he has one of the strongest throwing arms in baseball. Whitaker rapped 30 homers for three different minor league clubs last year - and not much else - but he impressed everyone when he came up at the end of the year as a potential star. His biggest problem is that he gets down on himself.
Jake Gibbs is now the No. 1 catcher with Howard behind him. Rookie Frank Fernandez might benefit from another year in the minors so the third-string job may go to Charlie Sands, a receiver drafted from the Baltimore Orioles.
The pitching may be better than anyone expects if the hitting and defense improve (the Yankees lost 38 one-run games last year). Houk's starters are Mel Stottlemyre, Fritz Peterson, Al Downing, Fred Talbot and rookie Stan Bahnsen, who was 10-7 at Toledo in '66. Jim Bouton could move back into the rotation, and Whitey Ford, a nonroster player this spring, may pull off another miraculous recovery after a second operation on his left arm. The bullpen is no more than adequate, with Steve Hamilton, Hal Reniff and Olivo as the short men and improving Dooley Womack as the long man. Rookies with the best chance of making the club are Bill Burbach and Gary Girouard."
-Jack Zanger, Major League Baseball 1967
IN BRIEF
Probable 1967 Finish: 9th
Strengths: some good young pitchers such as Peterson, Stottlemyre and Bahnsen, outfield prospects Robinson and Whitaker, plus old pros Tresh and Pepitone.
Biggest Needs: help on the left side of the infield, another full-fledged starter and a solution to the Mantle situation.
1966 Finish: 10th
-Jack Zanger, Major League Baseball 1967
1967 Yankees Depth Chart
C Jake Gibbs, Elston Howard
1B Joe Pepitone, Mike Hegan
2B Horace Clarke
3B Charley Smith, Mike Ferraro
SS Bobby Murcer, Ruben Amaro
LF Tom Tresh
CF Mickey Mantle
RF Bill Robinson, Steve Whitaker
UTILITY:
Roy White
Dick Howser
PITCHERS:
Mel Stottlemyre Stan Bahnsen
Whitey Ford Hal Reniff
Al Downing Steve Hamilton
Fritz Peterson Dooley Womack
Fred Talbot Chi-Chi Olivo
-Jack Zanger, Major League Baseball 1967
"The Yankees have nowhere to go but up, and how high they climb depends on their ability to win the one-run games they'll undoubtedly be involved in. Prediction: Eighth.
Now that the American League 'friends' of the New York Yankees have had a winter to enjoy the spectacle of their one-time majesties in last place, they must face up to the fact that the situation is about to change.
Lee MacPhail, a key figure in the development of the Baltimore Orioles into World Champions, is firmly situated in the front office and Ralph Houk, who led the Yankees to successive pennants in 1961, 1962 and 1963, has returned to his first love as field boss.
Yankee-haters in the United States would love to hear that the Yankees are down and out forever. They aren't. They finished 10th on merit in 1966, but they figure to improve themselves by at least two positions in 1967.
The first major decision in the reconstruction of the team was to trade Roger Maris. The man who set baseball's all-time home run record of 61 during the 1961 season had become excess baggage.
Having cleared the air by dismissing Maris, the Yankees then disposed of Clete Boyer, the light-hitting third baseman whose magic glove had become a luxury the Yankees could no longer afford. These two moves served notice on Houk's players that the old guard has passed at the Stadium and that new, young blood would be given every chance to make the team.
One problem remained from previous years - and will probably remain for another season or so: Mickey Mantle. Mickey's great career is very near its end and both the Yankees and Mantle want it to end with dignity and good will. But Mantle's legs are a problem and how can young players stand the day-to-day crises of Mickey going in and out of the lineup? An obvious possible solution is for Mickey to play first base - an idea that will get a full trial.
The 1967 Yankee outfield - without Mantle - would undoubtedly be Joe Pepitone in center, flanked by Tom Tresh in left and Bill Robinson and Steve Whitaker platooning in right. Pepitone has demonstrated that he is a remarkable ball hawk and comes off a season in which he hit .255 with 31 homers. Tresh hit 27 homers although his average was only .233, Whitaker looked good in a short trial and Robinson, acquired from the Atlanta Braves in the deal for Boyer, batted .312 with 20 homers and 79 runs batted in for Richmond of the International League last season.
Elston Howard, 38 and tiring fast, will start the season as the first-string catcher but may give way to Jake Gibbs before the end of the year. Gibbs, 28, is still a question mark with only three homers and a .258 average in 62 games last year.
The infield looks weak with Horace Clarke slated for second base, Ruben Amaro or Dick Howser for short and Charley Smith for third. Houk could have trouble at all three positions all season. And don't forget Mantle playing first. Will his legs hold up there? Will he be more of an asset than a liability? All Houk and MacPhail know is that Mantle hit .288 with 23 homers despite all his 1966 problems and that they would like to have his bat in the lineup.
Mel Stottlemyre is considered one of the star pitchers in the league despite a 12-20 record that made him the circuit's biggest loser in '66. Fritz Peterson, 12-11 with a 3.31 ERA, looks like the No. 2 man but Jim Bouton and Al Downing must be regarded as question marks. Both have had two very poor seasons after excellent performances in 1964. Hal Reniff, Steve Hamilton and Dooley Womack are ticketed for the bullpen and Stan Bahnsen, 10-7 with a 2.91 ERA for Toledo in 1966, is the most important rookie.
From 10th place to pennant contention is a long jump, but baseball is a game in which tiny margins mean a lot. The Yankees, for example, lost 38 games by one run in 1966. Had they won half of those games they would have finished with an 89-70 record, one and one-half games ahead of the second-place Minnesota Twins.
Scares you doesn't it?"
-Allan Roth, Baseball 1967 Guidebook
SECOND DIVISION SEEMS YANKEES' FATE AGAIN
"The once-mighty New York Yankees slipped from first place five straight seasons and 14 years out of 16 to sixth place in 1965 to last place in 1966. They may not finish in the American League cellar in 1967, but they're almost certain to wind up in the second division again.
Manager Ralph Houk traded away three veterans and hopes to begin rebuilding the Yanks with youngsters like shortstop Bobby Murcer and outfielder Bill Robinson.
The Yankee pitching could turn out to be respectable and the hitters should improve average-wise. That would leave the defense, particularly on the left side of the infield, as the most glaring weakness.
Shortstop is the No. 1 problem, and Houk will give Murcer, the 20-year-old who batted .266, hit 15 homers and knocked in 62 runs at Toledo last year, the first crack at the regular job. If he fails again as he did last spring and is sent out for more seasoning, veteran Ruben Amaro (.217, 0, 3), who played in only 14 games for the Yanks last year before suffering a crippling knee injury, or Dick Howser (.229, 2, 4 in 67 games), obtained from Cleveland, will take over.
Charley Smith (.266, 10, 43), secured from St. Louis in the Roger Maris deal, gets first call at third base and is expected to beat out Roy White (.225, 7, 20), who can also play the outfield, and rookie Mike Ferraro (.246, 9, 50 at Toledo).
Horace Clarke (.266, 6, 28 in in 96 games), who won't remind anyone of the retired Bobby Richardson, apparently has a lock on the second base job, as has Joe Pepitone (.255, 31, 83), the Yanks' top 1966 slugger, on the berth at first, although Mickey Mantle is expected to go through the motions of giving first base a try.
Mantle (.288, 23, 56) would be replaced in center by Pepitone, which would improve the Yankee outfield defensively. If Mantle remains in center, Ray Barker (.187, 3, 13 in 61 games), not on the Yank roster at present, might make the club.
No matter what happens in center, left field is set with Tommy Tresh (.233, 27, 68) settled there after an unsuccessful attempt to play third base last season. Tresh, who hit extremely poorly last spring, can be expected to raise his average considerably this time.
Two highly regarded rookies, Bill Robinson and Steve Whitaker, may be platooned in right. Robinson (.312, 20, 79 at Richmond), taken from the Braves in the Clete Boyer trade, will face the left-handed pitchers if he has overcome his arm troubles, and Whitaker, who hit .311 at Columbus and .271 at Toledo in addition to playing over 30 games with the Yanks (.246, 7, 15), will play against the right-handers.
Lou Clinton (.220, 5, 21 in 80 games) and White are available as outfield reserves.
Houk is hopeful that veteran catcher Elston Howard (.256, 6, 35) will return to form this season, for neither Jake Gibbs (.258, 3, 20 in 62 games) nor Bill Bryan (.172, 4, 12 in 59 games) appears able to perform more than reserve duty.
The Yankee pitching staff has some attractive names, not counting Whitey Ford, the one-time ace lefty who won only two games, lost five and had an earned run average of 2.47 last year when continued arm trouble plagued him. He'll give it one more try this spring.
Figured to be Yankee starters are Mel Stottlemyre (12-20, 3.80), who could easily bounce back to a winning record; Jim Bouton (3-8, 2.70), who has apparently overcome his arm problems; southpaw Al Downing (10-11, 3.56), lefty Fritz Peterson (12-11, 3.31) and Fred Talbot (11-11, 4.36). Stan Bahnsen (10-7, 2.91 at Toledo) looks like the most likely rookie to break through.
Heading the bullpen corps again will be Hal Reniff (3-7, 3.22), Steve Hamilton (8-3, 3.00) and Dooley Womack (7-3, 2.64). Joe Verbanic (8-1, 2.67 at San Diego), obtained from the Phillies, veteran Chi-Chi Olivo (5-4, 4.23 at Atlanta) and Thad Tillotson, former Los Angeles Dodger farmhand, could also earn berths."
-Allen Lewis, Philadelphia Inquirer (Baseball Digest, April 1967)
QUICK RUNDOWN ON THE YANKEES
Strengths: potentially strong pitching staff.
Greatest Need: top flight big league shortstop.
Outlook: another second-division finish, but should leave tenth.
-Allen Lewis, Philadelphia Inquirer (Baseball Digest, April 1967)
1967 Yankees Spring Training Depth Chart
C Jake Gibbs
1B Joe Pepitone
2B Horace Clarke
3B Charley Smith
SS Bobby Murcer
LF Tom Tresh
CF Mickey Mantle
RF Bill Robinson
UTILITY:
C Elston Howard
C Billy Bryan (1B)
2B Dick Howser (3B)
SS Ruben Amaro
CF Ross Moschitto
RF Steve Whitaker
PH Lou Clinton (OF)
PITCHERS:
Mel Stottlemyre
Al Downing
Fritz Peterson
Fred Talbot
Stan Bahnsen
Jim Bouton
RELIEF PITCHERS:
Dooley Womack
Steve Hamilton
Joe Verbanic
Hal Reniff
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