1988 Profile: Willie Randolph

"The co-captain made adjustments at the plate that allowed him to bat above .300 for the first time and establish a career high with 67 RBI. A No. 2 hitter who was known for going to the opposite field, he began pulling the ball more in 1987.
Randolph made a large contribution despite being disabled from July 15 until August 14. He underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove torn cartilage from his left knee on July 17. He was voted to the All-Star team and played three innings despite the injury. Randolph stands five shy of Hal Chase's Yankee record of 248 stolen bases.
The second baseman is the best around at turning the double play. He shows no signs that his skills are fading.
Born in Holly Hill, South Carolina, Randolph grew up in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. He was obtained from the Pirates with Ken Brett and Dock Ellis for Doc Medich in December 1975."

-Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1988 Edition

"You hear all about the Mattinglys, Winfields and Hendersons, but the straw that has been stirring this drink for over a decade is Co-Captain Willie Randolph. Because of his quiet demeanor Randolph may not make headlines, but the people around him fully understand his value. 'I would rate him at the top of the second basemen in all of baseball,' boasted GM Lou Piniella.
Consider that 1987 may have been the best season in Randolph's 12-year career. He adopted a more aggressive style at the plate and began the year at a torrid pace, finishing over .300 (.305) for the first time in his career. He had a career-high 67 RBI and equalled his previous high in homers with seven, and he stole 10 bases (he has 10 or more in each of his 12 full major league seasons) to move within six of the all-time Yankee mark.
Randolph, despite the new power, maintained his good eye. He finished fourth in the league in on-base percentage, was ninth in walks, and was the starting second baseman in the All-Star Game.
Randolph's only improving with age."

-The New York Yankees Official 1988 Yearbook

"Willie had perhaps his best major league season in 1987, even with a month-long mid-season knee injury.
He had four hits and five RBIs on April 13 against Cleveland, tying career highs set in each category. He had two home runs in eight at-bats from May 31 to June 2. Willie hit safely in 18 of 19 games, May 19-June 8, going 25-for-73 (.342 BA) with 16 runs and 18 RBIs, raising his overall batting average from .299 to .314.
Willie appeared as a designated hitter on June 19 at Boston (third career game at DH) and had four hits, again matching his career high in that category. He was hitting .309 in 84 games at the All-Star break and was the American League's starting second baseman in the July 14 mid-summer classic. On July 15, however, Willie was placed on the 21-day disabled list with torn cartilage in his left knee, an injury that occurred over a gradual period of time.
He underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the damage on July 17 and was activated from the disabled list on August 14, missing 26 games (the Yankees were 11-15 during that period). Although activated from the DL, recovery of the knee progressed slowly, and he appeared in just three games between August 14 and August 29.
Beginning on August 29, Randolph appeared in 33 of New York's last 35 games. His post-DL numbers were 39-for-132 (.295 BA) with 26 runs, three homers and 20 RBIs. He walked at least once in 13 straight games, September 16-29, and his RBI on September 27 at Baltimore was number 62 of the season, surpassing his previous career high of 61 set in 1979.
Willie had two 11-game hitting streaks (May 29-June 8 and September 4-15), his longest hitting streaks since opening the '86 season hitting in 15 straight. Beginning on June 3, and with the exception of September 2-4, his average was at .300 or above. He hit .316 (36-for-114) with runners in scoring position.
He set career highs with a .305 batting average and 67 RBIs; this was the first season he hit .300 or better. He also tied a career high with seven home runs. Randolph's .411 on-base percentage was fourth in the American League, and his 82 walks ranked ninth. He scored 96 runs in 120 games, his third best total and best since scoring 99 runs in 1980. In his previous 10 full seasons with the Yankees (excluding the 1981 strike season) Randolph averaged 137.1 games played- had he reached that number of games played in '87, his runs scored total would factor out to 110 and would have been a new career high.
On the all-time Yankee lists, Randolph moved from 14th to 11th with 1,584 games; 14th to 10th with 5,899 at-bats; 13th to eighth with 984 runs; 15th to 10th with 1,638 hits; 17th to tied for 15th (with Phil Rizzuto) with 239 doubles; and 20th to 19th with 57 triples. Should Randolph record 500 at-bats in '88, the only Yankees to have more at-bats would be Mantle (8,102), Gehrig (8,001), Berra (7,546), Ruth (7,217), DiMaggio (6,821) and Roy White (6,550). His stolen base on May 8 against Minnesota moved him into second place on the all-time Yankee list, and with 242 Randolph is six behind the Yankee record of 248 set by Hal Chase.
Willie improved his fielding percentage from .972 in '86 to .981 in '87 (12 errors in 636 total chances) and led all Yankee infielders with 338 assists. He played in 119 games at second base, increasing his all-time Yankee leading total to 1,579 games played at that position. Willie has played with the 29 shortstops listed below during his tenure with the Yankees:
Sandy Alomar
Dale Berra
Paul Blair
Ivan DeJesus
Bucky Dent
Brian Doyle
Barry Evans
Mike Fischlin
Tim Foli
Damaso Garcia
Rex Hudler
Mickey Klutts
Jim Mason
Bobby Meacham
Larry Milbourne
Graig Nettles
Mike Pagliarulo
Domingo Ramos
Andre Robertson
Rodney Scott
Dennis Sherrill
Roy Smalley
Keith Smith
Fred Stanley
Wayne Tolleson
Randy Velarde
Dennis Werth
George Zeber
Paul Zuvella

One of the most sought after infield prospects of the mid-70s, Willie is able to swing a good bat, draw walks and steal bases. He impressed the Yankees during spring training of 1975 when the Yankees and Pirates played six games. He was leading the International league in hitting when recalled by the Pirates in July 1975. He saw little action with Pittsburgh as Rennie Stennett was having a fine year, but played winter ball in Venezuela.
In 1976 Willie was named to the Topps Rookie All-Star team and the AL All-Star team (although replaced due to injury), and was the first rookie ever listed on an All-Star ballot. He won the James P. Dawson Award as the outstanding Yankee rookie in spring training. His 37 stolen bases were just four shy of the Yankee record for a rookie set by Bert Daniels in 1910. Willie had minor surgery after that season due to an injury to his right knee, first suffered on July 6, and was also bothered by a sore right shoulder.
Willie was voted to the American League All-Star team in 1977, playing all nine innings, and set the record for most assists by a second baseman with six. He was also voted to the 1977 AP, UPI and Sporting News postseason All-Star teams. Willie was second in the league in putouts, chances and double plays and third in assists for a second baseman. He tied for sixth in the AL with 11 triples and hit .305 with runners on base. Willie had two nine-game hitting streaks that year. His best effort came on May 19 against Baltimore, going 4-for-4 and scoring four runs. He missed a few games with a bruised right thumb and a sore right knee.
Bothered by injuries in 1978, mainly a bruised right knee and a pulled left hamstring, Willie finished fifth in the AL with a .385 on-base percentage and led the Yankees with 82 walks. He went 8-for-16 with six runs during New York's four-game sweep of Boston in September, including a five-RBI game on September 7. He went 4-for-4 at Cleveland on September 23. He pulled his left hamstring beating out an infield single on September 29 against the Indians, ending his '78 season and keeping him out of the playoffs and World Series. He hit .320 with runners on base that year and made both the AP and UPI postseason all-star teams.
1979 was an injury-free year for Willie. He led the club in games, at-bats, runs, triples, walks and stolen bases while tying for the club lead in hits, and had three four-hit games. He tied for third in the AL with 13 triples, the most by a Yankee since Tommy Henrich hit 14 in 1948, was fourth in the AL with 95 walks, 10th with 32 stolen bases, 13th with 98 runs and 15th with a .376 on-base percentage. Willie also had three four-hit games. He led AL second basemen with 355 putouts, 478 assists, 846 total chances and 128 double plays.
Willie led the American League with 119 walks in 1980, the most by a Yankee since Mickey Mantle's 122 in 1962, and his .429 on-base percentage was second in the AL. He led the Yankees, and was eighth in the league, with 30 stolen bases. He started slowly that year, hitting .128 on April 19, but hit .300 the rest of the way. Willie had a 13-game hitting streak, May 14-28, matching Reggie Jackson for the longest by a Yankee, and had two four-hit games. He stole three bases on June 11 at California, and finished the season by walking in his last 15 games. He hit .385 in the ALCS, second to Bob Watson, and was named to the UPI and Sporting News All-Star teams and won the Sporting News Silver Bat award for AL second basemen.
Willie's 59 runs in 1981 were eighth in the AL, his 57 walks were ninth and his 14 stolen bases were 15th. He was voted to his fourth AL All-Star team. He missed eight games in late August and additional games in September with a groin pull. His solo home run in the third game of the ALCS was the game winner, clinching the American League pennant.
He had a good start in 1982, hitting in his first nine games and ending April with a .348 batting average. He kept his average over .300 through June 9 and ended the season strongly, hitting .398 in his last 23 games. Willie led the Yankees in games, at-bats, runs, hits and walks.
Hampered by injuries in 1983, Willie played in his lowest number of games since joining the Yankees (excluding the 1981 strike season). He was on the disabled list from June 27 to July 12 with a pulled hamstring and reinjured himself, going back on the DL from July 13 to August 5. Willie had his 1,000th hit as a Yankee on August 5 against Detroit and had a 16-game hitting streak from September 6 to September 23, the longest of the year by a Yankee.
Willie hit a two-run homer in the 1984 Yankee Stadium opener. He had a pair of nine-game hitting streaks, May 9-19 and June 13-21, and flirted with a .300 batting average all season. Consistent, he kept his average between .290 and .310 from June 11 to September 25. Willie stole the 200th base of his Yankee career on July 16 at Texas. He tied for sixth with Rickey Henderson in the AL with 86 walks and had an impressive .377 on-base percentage.
Among AL second basemen in 1985, Willie was second with 739 total chances and 104 double plays and third with 425 assists. He had a 10-game hitting streak, June 30-July 11. He scored four runs on July 27 at Texas, had three doubles on July 30 at Cleveland and had his first career two-home run game on September 5 at Oakland, going 4-for-4. He had his 5,000th career at-bat on September 29 against Baltimore and hit his 200th career double on October 3 off Milwaukee's Tim Leary. His .382 on-base percentage was sixth in the AL, 14th in the majors, and his 85 walks tied for seventh in the AL, 13th in the majors. Willie received the Good Guy Award from the New York Press Photographers Association.
1986 was a typical Randolph season in some regards, atypical in others. Typical in that he was third in the American League with 94 walks and 313 putouts (among second basemen) and sixth with a .393 on-base percentage; atypical in that he had a career high 20 errors.
Willie was named co-captain with Ron Guidry on March 4. He opened the '86 season by hitting safely in his first 15 games (20-for-61, .328 batting average) and reached base safely in his first 28 games, a string broken on May 11 at Texas. He recorded his 5,000th at-bat as a Yankee on April 20 at Milwaukee and ended April hitting .319. Willie had an eight-game hitting streak May 18-26 (13-for-29, .448 BA), raising his overall batting average from .296 to .325, and ended May hitting .310.
He hit his first home run on June 22 at Toronto off Jimmy Key. He slumped at the plate in June, going 21-for-99 (.212 BA), lowering his overall average to .273 by month's end. He went 20 games, June 29-July 21, without an extra-base hit, yet had his third career four-walk game on July 3 against Detroit.
Willie's mid-season slide continued into July (19-for-87, .218 BA), with his overall average at .260 on July 31. His season average bottomed out on July 20, having dropped to .256. From July 21 through the end of the season, Willie hit .317 (52-for-164), raising his overall average to .276. He hit one home run in his first 108 games, then hit four in his last 33. On September 13 Willie played in his 1,447th game at second base for the Yankees, breaking Tony Lazzeri's record of 1,446. He recorded his 1,500th career hit on September 22 at Baltimore, homering off Scott McGregor.
Willie had one at-bat as a designated hitter, on September 1 at Oakland, and was 1-for-2 with a triple as a pinch hitter. He led all Yankee infielders with 381 assists. He hit .259 with runners in scoring position, his nine game winning RBI were a career high, and his 50 RBI were the most since his career high of 61 in 1979.
Although born in South Carolina, Willie's family moved to the Brownsville section of Brooklyn when he was an infant. He played stickball in the streets and fields of Canarsie and baseball at Tilden High School. The oldest of five children, Willie has three brothers and a sister. His brother Terry was Green Bay Packers' 11th round draft choice in 1977, and also played for the Jets."

-1988 New York Yankees Information Guide