"Baseball fundamentalists never underestimate the importance for any team with playoff aspirations of being strong up the middle. The last time the Yankees made it to postseason play was in 1981, and it is no coincidence that they have had shortstop problems ever since.
For the first time in [six years] the position seems to be secured. The first-ever trade of major league players between New York's two baseball teams brought former Met Rafael Santana to the Bronx. A solid defender, Santana was a vital force in the Mets' 1986 drive to the World Championship. Yet, after three seasons as a starter, the native of the Dominican Republic fell victim to a youth movement in Queens. Still young at age 30, he will try to solidify a hole that the Yankees have been unable to fill since the departure of Bucky Dent.
Santana is steady in the field and is an improving hitter, finishing last year at .255. The arrival of Santana came without much fanfare, but he could prove to be the Yankees' most beneficial acquisition.
'I'm very happy to be with the Yankees,' Rafael says. 'I don't have to move out of New York, and I'm still playing for a team capable of winning.'"
-The New York Yankees Official 1988 Yearbook
"Santana was acquired by the Yankees with minor league pitcher Victor Garcia from the New York Mets on December 11, 1987 (the final day of the Dallas winter meetings) in exchange for catcher Phil Lombardi, outfielder Darren Reed and pitcher Steve Frey. It was the first ever trade involving major league players between the two New York teams. Santana originally began his professional career in the Yankee organization.
He was the Mets' starting shortstop each of the last three seasons and in 1987 he played 139 games while hitting .255 (112-for-439) with 41 runs scored, 21 doubles, five home runs and 44 RBIs. His home run, RBI and runs scored totals all represented new career highs. His 44 RBIs fell five shy of the Mets club record for RBIs by a shortstop in a season (49 by Ed Bressoud in 1966) and his five home runs were two more than he hit in his first four major league seasons combined.
Rafael started the year 0-for-16. His first hit didn't come until his 17th at-bat, a single against Charlie Puleo in the eighth inning of a 12-4 loss to the Braves on April 12 at Shea Stadium. Then he began to pick up the pace: in an eight-game period from April 12-21, he went 10-for-29 (.345) to go from .000 to .238. He paced the Mets to a 9-6 victory over Pittsburgh on April 21 with a three-run homer in the fourth inning off Bob Kipper; it was the first three-RBI game of his career. Rafael batted safely in six of seven games from May 12-17, going 11-for-27 (.407) in that stretch to boost his average from .190 on April 27 to .259 on May 17. That span included four multi-hit games (three two-hit games and one three-hit game).
He slumped to .238 on May 23. A three-hit game at San Francisco on May 25, however, began a sustained hot streak. Starting with that contest, he hit in 14 of 21 games, going 20-for-63 (.317) to increase his average to .268 on June 14, and had 10 RBIs in those games. Rafael tied his career high with three RBIs in a 13-2 victory over the Cubs on June 10.
From June 25 to July 10 Rafael hit at a .392 pace (20-for-51) to raise his batting average from .259 to .290 on July 10, his best mark of the year. He helped spark a doubleheader sweep in Atlanta on July 7 as he came through with the game-winning RBI in both contests. His two-run single led the 6-2 first game win, while his RBI double sparked a 5-1 second game victory.
Santana had a solid two-month period (covering 49 games) from June 25-August 23. He went 49-for-116 (.301) in that span to lift his batting average to .279 on August 23 and 12 multi-hit games in that span. The 49-game streak ended when he hit safely in 14 of 17 games (August 5-23), batting .339 (19-for-56) in those 17 games to lift his average from .267 to .279. He hit safely in the last seven games of that span (August 15-23), his longest hitting streak of the year. In 34 games from August 24 through the end of the season, however, Rafael hit only .179 (19-for-106) to finish with his final .255 batting average.
He had 28 multi-hit games in '87, including four three-hit games. He played 138 games at shortstop and had a fielding percentage of .973, committing 17 errors in 626 total chances.
Santana was signed by scout Epy Guerrero of the Yankees as a free agent on August 31, 1976, and in 1977 hit .261 at Oneonta of the Class A New York-Penn League in his pro debut year. In 1978, while playing for Ft. Lauderdale, he was the shortstop on the Florida State League's All-Star team and participated in two triple plays. Santana was named to the Florida State League All-Star team for the second straight year in 1979 and led the league's shortstops with a .982 fielding percentage.
He split the 1980 season between Ft. Lauderdale and Nashville of the Class AA Southern League. Rafael was on the Yankees' 40-man roster when he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later in February 1981; the Cards sent pitcher George Frazier to the Yanks to complete the deal on June 7.
With Arkansas in 1981 Rafael led Texas League shortstops in fielding average (.955) and tied for the lead in double plays. In his first full season of AAA ball in 1982, he appeared in 41 games at second base, 73 games at third and 17 at shortstop for the Louisville Redbirds and stole 16 bases, the second- highest total on the team.
Rafael batted .214 in 30 games with the Cardinals in 1983 in his first major league experience, and also batted .281 in 77 games with Louisville. He was released by the Cardinals in January of 1984 and signed by Tidewater [Mets' AAA International League affiliate] later that month.
He hit .278 at Tidewater in 77 games and played every position in the infield (two games at first, six at second, 65 at shortstop and nine at third). Santana was purchased by the Mets from Tidewater on July 9, joined the Mets in Atlanta on July 12 and was utilized as a reserve in his first week with New York. On July 19 Ron Gardenhire injured his hamstring at Cincinnati and Santana took over for him the next day.
He did not relinquish his job until he was placed on the disabled list on August 25 with a lacerated right thumb. Rafael had his only National League four-hit game on August 11 against Pittsburgh at Shea Stadium. He sustained the injury to his thumb in the second game of a twinight doubleheader against the Giants at Shea on August 24 while sliding into second base trying to steal, colliding with Giants' shortstop Fran Mullins. He was placed on the disabled list on August 25 and activated on September 9. Rafael hit his first major league home run off Jerry Koosman of the Phillies on September 26 at Shea.
Rafael appeared in 153 games at shortstop in 1985, the most for a Met since Frank Taveras played 153 in 1979. He hit his only homer of the season, a two-run shot, in Pittsburgh off Cecilio Guante. He had two eight-game hitting streaks, and in the second of those, from June 9-16, hit .464 (13-for-28) to boost his average from .214 to .251. In a 66-game period from June 21 to September 6, Rafael hit .280 (66-for-236) to raise his average from .241 to .262. He led National League shortstops in putouts with 301.
He had two three-hit games during the 1986 season and struck out only 6.60 times per 100 plate appearances with men on base, the eighth best mark in the National League. On May 13 of that year, he played second base for the first time as a Met; he had played nine games at second for the Cardinals in 1983.
Rafael steadily increased his average over the final two months of the season. He was hitting only .176 at the end of July but batted .280 (28-for-100) in his final 33 games to raise his average to his final .218 mark. He posted a career-high nine-game hitting streak from August 24 to September 2, batting .424 (14-for-33) in that span with five two-hit games. Rafael hit his only home run of the year on August 26 in San Diego off Dave Dravecky.
He started each of the Mets' 13 postseason games, batting .176 (3-for-17) in the League Championship against the Astros and .250 (5-for-20) in the World Series. Against Houston, he established an NLCS record for most putouts (13), assists (18) and chances accepted (31) by a shortstop in a six-game series.
Rafael hit safely in four of the seven World Series games. He had a pair of hits off Roger Clemens in Game 2 of the World Series at Shea Stadium. His RBI single in the seventh inning of Game 7 off Calvin Schiraldi knocked in the second run of the three-run rally that put the Mets ahead to stay in their eventual 8-5 win."
-1988 New York Yankees Information Guide
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