"When both Mike Pagliarulo and Willie Randolph were out with injuries last year, and the shortstop job was still a question, a team weakness was exposed- a lack of depth in the infield. The addition of Lenn Sakata, signed as a free agent during the off-season, will greatly enhance the club in 1987.
A native Hawaiian, Sakata spent most of last season playing Triple-A ball in the Oakland organization. He then hit .353 in 17 games with the A's after being called up in August.
What Sakata brings to the Yankees is 10-plus years of major league service, six with the Orioles. During his stay in Baltimore, the veteran was part of three second place finishers in the A.L. East, and a member of the 1983 World Champions. Sakata will bring a steady glove and a winning attitude to the Yankees infield."
-The New York Yankees Official 1987 Yearbook
"In 1986 Sakata went to spring training with the Oakland A's, but was assigned to Tacoma (AAA Pacific Coast League) at the beginning of the season. He hit .313 in 110 games in the minors with two home runs, 48 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.
Sakata was brought up to the parent A's on August 15. He saw limited action, hitting .353 in 17 games through the season's end. He appeared in 16 games at second base. Lenn's only three-hit game came on September 1 against the Yankees, going 3-for-4.
His only multiple-hit game of 1985 came on May 24 at California, going 3-for-3 with two doubles. Lenn was assigned to Rochester on August 8, but as a player with five years of major league service, he could have refused, thus becoming a free agent with the Orioles responsible for the remainder of his contract. He decided to go to Rochester, appearing in the minors for the first time since 1980.
His contract was purchased by Baltimore on September 3. Of his three major league home runs in 1985, two came against Detroit, with his last coming on September 14 at Tiger Stadium off Frank Tanana. He was not offered a contract for the 1986 season.
Lenn was [originally] signed for the Brewers by Dick Bogard in 1975. He had been drafted previously by the Giants and Padres, but did not sign. Lenn was an all-star second baseman (as voted by the managers) in the Eastern League in 1975 and in the Pacific Coast League in 1979.
He was called up to the majors in July of 1977 when injuries hit the Milwaukee infield, and started 46 games in a 50-game stretch. Lenn made his major league debut playing both ends of a doubleheader against the Yankees in New York on July 21, and went 2-for-3 on July 23 off Ron Guidry, recording his first major league hit. He hit his first big league home run off Dennis Martinez on July 25.
In 1978 Lenn was the regular second baseman for the Brewers against left-handed pitchers at the start of the season, but was optioned to Spokane in July. In 1979, he hit .300 in 118 games for Vancouver, Milwaukee's AAA club in the PCL, and was 7-for-14 in four games with the parent Brewers. Lenn trained with Baltimore in 1980 after his off-season trade from Milwaukee, but was assigned to Rochester to start the season. He was leading the International League in hitting when recalled on May 23.
Lenn was on the disabled list in 1981 from May 9-28 with a sprained right ankle. He had appeared in 31 games through September 2, hitting .189, then played in the final 30 games, starting 28 (27 at shortstop), batting .247. Lenn hit all five of his 1981 home runs in that span, including his first career grand slam (September 6 off Oakland's Dave Beard) and a pair of two-homer games (September 20 against Milwaukee and October 1 at Detroit). In 1982, he started 50 of the Orioles' first 72 games at shortstop, but played only at second base after Cal Ripken moved from third to short on July 1. Lenn set career highs in most offensive categories that year, including average (.259), homers (6) and RBIs (31). He hit in a career high eight straight games from April 21-May 4 (10-for-23, .435 batting average).
He stole a career eight bases in 12 attempts in 1983. Lenn started 36 games at second base, and played there exclusively except for one occasion: he made his major league catching debut on August 24 against Toronto in the 10th inning after Rick Dempsey and Joe Nolan were removed for pinch hitters.
Except for his one-inning debut in the outfield, he played exclusively at second base in 1984, appearing in 76 games and starting 38. Sakata hit for his lowest average as an Oriole, yet his .988 fielding percentage was the highest among American League second basemen with 30 games played. He was 1-for-5 as a pinch hitter, and his outfield appearance came on August 5 against Toronto.
Sakata lettered in baseball, basketball and golf at Kalani High (he graduated in 1971) and was an all-state shortstop in his senior year. He played Babe Ruth and American Legion baseball, with his Legion team winning the Hawaii state championship in 1970 and 1971.
He played one season at Treasure Valley College (Ontario, Oregon) before transferring to Gonzaga University (Spokane) for two years. He earned all-district and second team junior college All-American honors at second base for Treasure Valley in 1972, and was all-district and All-Big Sky Conference at Gonzaga in 1973 and 1974. Lenn was a third team All-America pick in '74.
Lenn is of Japanese descent and is a fourth-generation American. His hobbies include golf and tennis."
-1987 New York Yankees Information Guide
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