1979 Profile: Willie Randolph

"Willie displayed maturity to go with his natural talent in 1978.
'The more I see him, the more I like him,' says former coach Gene Michael. 'Not only his great tools, but the way he takes charge and the way he plays the game. He's a winner.' Willie missed the playoffs and World Series because of a pulled hamstring muscle.
He was born in Holly Hills, South Carolina but grew up in Brooklyn. Signed by the Pirates and later traded to the Yanks, Willie may someday be remembered as one of the best Yankee second basemen ever. His quick hands make him adept at turning double plays."

-Phil Pepe and Jim Hawkins, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1979 Edition

"He's been with the Yankees for three years and all three years they've gone to the World Series. He's been named to the All-Star team two times. Twice in his career he's stolen 35 or more bases and scored over 85 runs. In 1978 he finished fifth in the league in on-base percentage, led the Yanks in walks and hit a fine .279. Sounds like this man has had a heck of a career.
But Willie Randolph has accomplished all that and much more ... and he won't even be 25 years old until July! His career, most obviously, is still far ahead of him. Willie has already served notice that he is one of the finest, if not the finest, of all the A.L.'s second basemen. And he teams with Bucky Dent to give the Yankees one of the best young double play combinations in baseball.
Willie has been somewhat hampered by injuries in the past, but through hard work it looks as though he's quite ready for this season. This quiet New Jersey resident was raised in Brooklyn and played his high school ball at Tilden. With proven success at each level of his career, Willie would like to keep one record constant: his record of having been on World Series teams in each of his Yankee years."

-The New York Yankees Official 1979 Yearbook

"Willie, just 24 years old, has now spent three full seasons in the majors. He plays a solid second base, teaming with Bucky Dent to give the Yankees one of the best young double play combos in baseball. Willie has been on the All-Star team twice in three years but missed the 1976 game due to injuries.
Unfortunately for Willie, he was bothered by injuries on and off last year, suffering a bruised right knee and a pulled left hamstring, the hamstring injury keeping him out of the playoffs and World Series. Willie pulled the hamstring beating out an infield single against the Indians on September 29, and it was his last action for the year.
He still managed a very productive season, though, batting .279 and finishing fifth in the league in on-base percentage (.385), drawing a team leading 82 walks. Willie batted .500 (8-16) with six RBIs during the Yanks' four-game sweep of the Red Sox in September and had a five-RBI game against the Sox on September 7. He also went four-for-four against the Indians on September 23. Willie had seven game-winning RBIs for the Yanks last year and proved to be a good clutch hitter, batting .320 (57-178) with men on base. He also stole 36 bases in 43 attempts.
In 1976 Willie was the first rookie ever listed on the All-Star ballot. He started the All-Star Game in 1977, playing all nine innings and setting a record for most assists by a second baseman with six. Willie won the James P. Dawson Award as the outstanding rookie in the Yanks' spring training camp in '76 and was named to the Topps Rookie All-Star team that year. In 1977, he was voted to the A.P., U.P.I. and Sporting News All-Star teams, and last year was named to the A.P. and U.P.I. All-Star teams. He's also played on three championship clubs all three years- quite a list of accomplishments for a player who's only been in the big leagues three years.
The Pirates drafted Willie seventh in June 1972. In 1975 he was leading the International League in hitting at Charleston when the Pirates called him up. He didn't play much behind Rennie Stennett, but scouts knew this was a top prospect, and he was the key man the Yankees sought in the trade which brought him to New York.
Willie played winter ball in Venezuela in 1975, and in the 1976 off-season had minor surgery on the outside of his right knee. He also had a right shoulder injury in '76, but stayed pretty healthy in '77, although he missed some games with a bruised right thumb and a sore right knee.
Although he was born in South Carolina, Willie and his family moved to the Brownsville section of Brooklyn when he was just a baby. He played stickball in the streets and fields of Canarsie, also playing baseball at Tilden High School.
Willie has three brothers and a sister. His brother Terry was drafted in the 11th round by the Green Bay Packers in 1977."

-New York Yankees 1979 Media Guide