"Perhaps the biggest victim of the Yankees' early season fielding slump last year was Bobby Meacham. Once considered to be the club's shortstop of the future, the youngster started the year with a series of errors, and ended up working in Columbus. 'I felt Bobby could've done the job, but it seemed we couldn't afford to give him the time,' says veteran second baseman Willie Randolph.
In 1985, Meacham seemed to have won the position when he played 155 games at short, the most since Bucky Dent's 157 in 1977. Then came the errors and the eventual demotion. But the story is far from over. The Yankees saw six players try their hand as the team's starting shortstop in 1986. The job was still unsettled going into this season.
Unsettled, that is, for everybody but Meacham. Working dilligently to win back his job, Meacham vowed, 'I'll be back.'"
-The New York Yankees Official 1987 Yearbook
"1986 was a disappointing year for Meacham. He began the season as the club's starting shortstop and hit .133 (2-for-15) in the season's first six games. He followed that with a five-game hitting streak from April 15-20, his longest of the season, batting .368 (7-for-19) in that span. Meacham had three RBIs (including his only game winning RBI of the season) on April 25 against Cleveland, tying his single game career high in RBIs. He finished April hitting .286 (18-for-63) with just three errors in 20 games.
Bobby went 20 games (from April 20 through May 12) without committing an error and matched his season high with another five-game hitting streak from May 14-18, hitting .412 (7-for-17) in those games. He batted .193 (16-for-83) for the month of May and was 2-for-22 (.091) over 10 games from May 28 through June 11 with five errors.
He was optioned to Columbus on June 14. At the time of his option he was hitting .222 (35-for-158) with 10 RBIs and 12 errors in 53 games. Bobby had started 49 of the team's 60 games before being optioned. He played 46 games at Columbus and hit .140 (21-for-150) with 11 RBIs and 12 errors.
Bobby was recalled by New York on September 1 and made three appearances after that, including a start at shortstop in the season finale on October 5 at Boston. He finished the season hitting .224 (36-for-161) and a .948 fielding percentage (12 errors in 231 total chances).
He had eight multiple hit games, including two three-hit games- April 19 at Milwaukee and May 18 at Seattle- and had a triple on May 25 at home off California's Kirk McCaskill. He batted .160 (8-for-50) with runners in scoring position. He batted .250 (29-for-116) against righties and .156 (7-for-45) against lefties, and batted .247 (21-for-85) with seven RBIs at home and .197 (15-for-76) with three RBIs on the road.
Bobby played 155 games at shortstop in 1985, most by a Yankee since Bucky Dent played 157 in 1977. His .963 fielding percentage was seventh best among AL shortstops with at least 100 games, and he was fourth among shortstops in games and double plays (103). Bobby set new career highs for hits (105) and RBIs (47) and stolen bases (25).
He had two career high three-RBI games, May 26 at Oakland and August 21 at California, and went 4-for-4 on April 13 at Cleveland and on May 26 at Oakland, also matching his career high. He was hitting .273 through May 29 when he suffered a slight hamstring pull, missed the next three games and went 2-for-44 from June 2-16, dropping his average to .222. He suffered a dislocated tendon in his left hand on July 28 at Texas, a condition corrected with postseason surgery. The injury hampered his left-handed swing, forcing him to bat right-handed against righty pitchers on occasion.
Meacham's only home run came on August 23- a solo shot off California's Ron Romanick. He hit a would-be homer on April 29 at Texas off Frank Tanana, but passed Willie Randolph near first base and was called out, yet both Randolph and Butch Wynegar scored.
In 1984 he appeared in 96 games at shortstop after being called up from Columbus on June 15 and hit .253 with two home runs and 25 RBIs. Bobby began the season with the Yankees but was optioned to Nashville on April 7, and on April 17 was moved up to Columbus before his subsequent promotion to the Yankees. He began playing shortstop regularly on June 16 and had a four-hit game on July 7 at Minnesota. His batting average peaked at .288 on August 4, coinciding with the completion of a seven-game hitting streak, his career high.
Bobby began the 1983 season at Columbus and was brought up to the Yankees on June 29 when Willie Randolph was disabled. He played shortstop as a defensive replacement on June 30 at Yankee Stadium against Baltimore in his major league debut. He was sent back to Columbus on July 12 and recalled to the Yankees on July 16, but returned to Columbus later the same day when the Yankees purchased Larry Milbourne from Philadelphia. Bobby was recalled from Columbus on August 19 when Andre Robertson was disabled and returned to Columbus on August 20 when Bert Campaneris was activated off the disabled list. He was recalled to the Yankees on September 2, had his first major league at-bat on September 3 at Seattle and had his first major league hit and RBI at Cleveland on September 18.
He was the top draft pick of St. Louis in 1981, playing two seasons at Class A before his trade to the Yankees. Meacham was named South Atlantic League All-Star shortstop in 1981 and Florida State League All-Star shortstop in 1982.
Meacham graduated from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, CA in 1978. He was All-Orange County and All-State in baseball and All-League in basketball and football. Bobby attended San Diego State for three years, majoring in business finance, and was named an All-American in baseball. He was signed to his first pro contract by Marty Keough (Cardinals).
His hobbies include reading the Bible, music, golf and his family, and his favorite spectator sport is basketball. His favorite team growing up was the Los Angeles Dodgers, his player was Maury Wills and his favorite ballpark is Comiskey Park. His favorite entertainer is Stevie Wonder."
-1987 New York Yankees Information Guide
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