"Continued to progress as he seeks to establish himself as an every day player. Pasqua lost his spot on the club with a .104 average in spring training. He was recalled from Columbus on May 18 after batting .291 with six homers and 20 RBI. He showed more patience at the plate, leading to a jump in his average.
An above average outfielder with a powerful arm, Pasqua must improve his concentration, especially on the basepaths. The Yanks are concerned about his tendency to gain weight quickly.
Pasqua was born in Yonkers, New York and was the Yankees' third round pick in the June 1982 draft. His outstanding minor league career was highlighted by his 1985 campaign, when he was named International League Rookie of the Year and MVP. He batted .321 with 18 homers and 69 RBI with Columbus. Pasqua was also the Appalachian League Player of the Year in 1982."
-Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1987 Edition
"It seems hard to believe. Dan Pasqua came into last season fully expecting to be the Yankees' regular left fielder, a position he earned with a strong finish in 1985. But a poor spring found the lefty slugger in Columbus, while his teammates headed to New York. So after biding his time on the farm he returned in fine fashion, blasting a homer and a double and collecting four RBI as the cleanup hitter in his first start after his May 18 recall.
'He's a pull hitter who can hit the ball out of this park,' says manager Lou Piniella. 'His swing is ideal for Yankee Stadium, he belongs in the heart of our lineup.'
And how! After his very successful return to the big leagues, Pasqua proved he's here to stay by hitting .293 with 16 homers and 45 RBI, and he's still getting better.
'I learned a lot about myself last year,' Pasqua says, 'and now I'm confident every time I get up to the plate.'"
-The New York Yankees Official 1987 Yearbook
"Dan showed great improvement last year after a disappointing start. After hitting .102 in spring training, he was optioned to Columbus on April 2 and began the season there. He played in 32 games with the Clippers and hit .291 (32-for-110) with 25 runs, three doubles, three triples, six home runs and 20 RBIs. Dan was recalled by the Yankees on May 18.
In his first at-bat with the Yankees on May 20 against Oakland at Yankee Stadium, he grounded out to end the game as a pinch hitter in New York's 2-1 loss. Dan made his first start the following night, May 21 against Oakland, and hit a two-run homer off Eric Plunk. He also had a two-run double in that game, and his four RBIs in that contest matched his single game career high. The following night, May 22 against Oakland, he hit two home runs in the same game for the second time in his career, connecting on solo shots off Joaquin Andjuar and Steve Ontiveros; his homer off Onviteros came while leading off the bottom of the ninth inning and tied the score at 3-3 in a game the Yankees eventually won 4-3 in 11 innings. Dan matched his career high with three hits on May 28 at Seattle, and finished May hitting .300 (9-for-30).
Dan had a three-hit game on June 4 at California and recorded his first stolen base on June 15 at Baltimore. He hit home runs in back-to-back games on July 11 and 12 at Minnesota. His homer on July 11 was a pinch-hit, two-run blast off Keith Atherton in the ninth inning of the Yankees' 9-3 win, his first ever pinch-hit homer; on July 12 he collected three hits, including his first career inside-the-park home run, a solo shot to left field off the Twins' Allan Anderson in the seventh inning of the Yanks' 8-0 win.
He hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning on August 9 at Yankee Stadium off Kansas City's Bud Black, breaking a 2-2 tie and giving the Yankees a 3-2 win. That contest began a 12-game hitting streak, the longest of his career, that extended through August 23. He batted .364 (16-for-44) with four doubles, two home runs and six RBIs, including two game-winners, during that streak.
Dan hit home runs in consecutive games at Seattle on August 28 and August 29. He also homered in consecutive games against Boston on September 13 (off Tom Seaver) and September 14 (off Sammy Stewart). He scored three times in each of those two games as well, his single game high last year. His homer off Seaver was one of three hits he had in that contest.
His average hovered around .300 for most of the season and he finished with a career high .293 mark. He also set career bests in almost every major offensive category, including runs (45), hits (82), home runs (16) and RBIs (45). Dan averaged one homer for every 17.5 at-bats, the best ratio on the Yankees, and had 19 multiple hit games, including five games of three hits. His slugging average of .525 was second best among Yankee regulars, behind only Don Mattingly's .573.
Dan batted .333 (3-for-9) as a designated hitter with a homer and two RBIs, and .318 as a pinch hitter (7-for-22) with a homer and nine RBIs. Against righties he hit .310 (71-for-229) with 13 homers and 35 RBIs; against lefties he hit .216 (11-for-51) with three homers and 10 RBIs. Dan made 56 starts in left field, 10 in right field, two at first base and two as the designated hitter.
Playing only 78 games at Columbus in 1985, he was named International League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player, hitting .321 with 18 home runs and 69 RBIs. After starting the season with the Clippers, he was recalled to the Yankees on May 30 when Henry Cotto was placed on the 21-day DL. His first major league hit was a home run in his second at-bat of his first major league game, May 30 at California, off Ron Romanick. Dan remained with New York until optioned to Columbus on June 17. He was again recalled on July 11 and hit two homers in his second game after his recall, July 12 against Texas, both upper deck blasts to right field at Yankee Stadium off Dave Stewart and Dave Rozema.
Demoted to Columbus for the final time on August 5, only to be recalled after the minimum 10 days on August 16, Dan went 3-for-4 with a double and a three-run homer for four RBIs on August 25 at Seattle. He hit four home runs in six games, September 3-10, with 10 RBIs. Dan averaged one home run every 16.4 at-bats in 1985.
He played the entire 1984 season at Nashville, performing at the AA level for the first time. He led the Sounds in home runs (33), total bases (231), RBIs (91) and slugging percentage (.502). In 1983 Dan led the Ft. Lauderdale Yankees in games, at-bats, runs, doubles, triples, home runs and RBIs, was second in walks and third in batting (among players with 100 or more games) and hits. In 1982, Dan was named to the Appalachian League All-Star team, was winner of the league MVP award and led the league in home runs with 16.
Dan attended Old Tappan (NJ) High School where he played football and baseball and was All-County in baseball in 1979. He was an All-American in baseball at William Patterson College (NJ) in 1981 and 1982. He played Little League in Congers, New York and in Harrington Park, New Jersey. Originally a center fielder, he was changed to right field at Ft. Lauderdale in 1983.
Dan enjoys playing racquetball and his favorite spectator sport is football. His favorite team growing up was the Yankees, his favorite player was Reggie Jackson and his favorite ballpark is Yankee Stadium. Dan's most memorable moment was his August 9 two-run ninth inning homer last year at Yankee Stadium against Kansas City to give the Yankees a 3-2 win."
-1987 New York Yankees Information Guide
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