"What a difference a year makes. At this time last year not many Yankee fans could have told you who Roberto Kelly was. Now everybody's talking about the exciting young outfielder. The Yankees spent the off-season telling a host of interested clubs that the Panama native was untouchable. Kelly now has a better than average chance of becoming the starting center fielder.
Roberto joined the organization in 1982, and patiently made his way through the system. He made two trips to New York in 1987 and, with the injuries to Rickey Henderson, saw action in 23 games. He made the most of his opportunities, looking impressive in his first shot with the big club. Kelly showed great speed, both in the field and on the bases, while showing promise at the plate.
At 23, his time may have come. Roberto Kelly could find himself roving in Death Valley this season."
-The New York Yankees Official 1988 Yearbook
"Roberto spent the first part of the 1987 season with the Columbus Clippers before being recalled to New York on July 29. At that point, he was hitting .300 (121-for-403) in 102 games with the Clippers, with 10 home runs, 54 RBIs, 48 stolen bases and six times caught stealing.
He made his major league debut with the Yankees on July 29 against Kansas City at Yankee Stadium, going 0-for-3 with a run scored and two stolen bases. His first major league hit came on July 30 off the Royals' Bud Black, a first inning double. He went 2-for-4 with an RBI (his first major league RBI) on August 1 against Detroit. Roberto's first and only major league home run came on August 6 at Detroit, a three-run homer in the eighth inning off Willie Hernandez; his three RBIs in that game is his single game high.
Roberto was optioned to Columbus on August 14 after playing 10 games with the Yankees, hitting .300 (6-for-20) with a homer, five RBIs and three stolen bases. He remained with the Clippers until the conclusion of their season, finishing with a .278 batting average (131-for-471) with 13 home runs and 62 RBIs, and was 51 of 61 in stolen base attempts. His 51 stolen bases led the International League, and he was named as the designated hitter on the postseason International League all-star team.
He was recalled to the Yankees on September 10 and had his first big league three-hit game on September 22 at Milwaukee (second game) when he also recorded his first major league game-winning RBI. In his two stints with the Yankees Roberto combined to play in 23 games, batting .269 (14-for-52) with a home run and seven RBIs, stealing nine bases in 12 attempts and scoring 12 runs in those 23 games. He also had five walks and 15 strikeouts and had four multi-hit games. Used mainly as a center fielder, Roberto has outstanding speed.
Roberto was signed as a free agent by the Yankees (scout Fred Ferreira) on February 21, 1982. In his first pro season he hit .198 at Bradenton in 31 games, and in 1983 batted .265 in 20 games at Greensboro and .216 in 48 games in Oneonta. In 111 games with Greensboro in 1984, Roberto hit .238 (86-for-361) with 68 runs and 32 stolen bases. He batted .247 (103-for-417) in 1985 in 114 games at Ft. Lauderdale of the 'A' Florida State League, had 86 runs along with 49 stolen bases and led that circuit with 13 triples.
In 1986 Roberto batted .291 (87-for-299) in 86 games with the Albany-Colonie Yankees (AA Eastern League) with 11 doubles, two homers, 43 RBIs, 42 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. He was placed on the disabled list on July 10 due to the presence of bone chips in his right ankle and was not activated until August 23. Roberto was named to the Eastern League All-Star team but was unable to play due to his injury.
Roberto played Little League and in 1982 graduated from Instituto Jose Delores Moscote, a high school in Panama City, where he played baseball, basketball and volleyball."
-1988 New York Yankees Information Guide
No comments:
Post a Comment