1979 Profile: Fred Stanley

"Fred Stanley has been deemed one of the finest utility infielders in baseball today. He is the Yankees' ace in the hole, and the infield suffers no letdown when he is called upon to perform.
The number one Yankee shortstop in '75 and '76, Stanley found himself moving to the bench when Bucky Dent arrived, and there he showed his versatility and ability to play second base and third base as well as shortstop.
Last year, Freddie filled in more than adequately when Dent was hampered by injuries. His grand slam home run off Mike Torrez in Boston on June 20 keyed the Yankees' 10-4 victory, and he added a ninth-inning single to beat the Tigers in Detroit a couple of days later.
'Chicken' has hit one other grand slam as a Yankee: September 8, 1973 in Yankee Stadium, the last one ever hit in the 'old' Stadium. But Fred Stanley is more than the answer to a trivia question ... he provides the answer when Bob Lemon turns to his bench for infield support. And Lem feels a certain security from knowing he has one of the best in the business to turn to."

-The New York Yankees Official 1979 Yearbook

"The Yanks' number one shortstop in 1975 and 1976, Fred has backed up Bucky Dent the last two years and has become one of the outstanding utility infielders in baseball. He can also fill in at second and third.
Fred did a very respectable job filling in for Dent when Bucky suffered his pulled hamstring last year. He hit a grand slam off Mike Torrez in Boston on June 20 to key the Yanks' 10-4 win. He had a ninth-inning single to beat the Tigers two days later in Detroit. Fred started off well offensively last year and was hitting as high as .276 in July.
He had his best season with the bat in 1976, his average reaching as high as .277, and batted a respectable .261 in 1977.
Fred has hit four Yankee home runs, two of them being grand slammers. His first was the last grand slam hit in the 'old' Yankee Stadium (September 8, 1973 against Milwaukee), and his third Yankee homer won a ball game on July 2, 1977 when he connected for a two-run shot off John Hiller to beat the Tigers, 6-4.
Known to his teammates as 'Chicken,' Fred was with the Pilots, Brewers, Indians and Padres before coming to the Yankees. He was originally signed by the Houston organization in 1966.
Raised in Whittier, California, where he played Little League, Pony League and American Legion ball, Fred played baseball, football, basketball and ran track in high school. A business major in college, later a sergeant in the Army, he works as a sales representative for a toy company in the winter. He enjoys golf, racquetball and hunting.
Fred switch hit briefly but is now strictly a right-hander. He went 3-for-3 against the California Angels in his first major league game."

-New York Yankees 1979 Media Guide