"Just as it was for many of his Yankee teammates, 1987 proved to be a year of 'what ifs' for Claudell Washington. After getting off to a tremendous start, Washington spent the better part of the year fighting off nagging injuries.
He came to the Yankees in June 1986 as a backup outfielder, and played that role to perfection. Last year he was hitting an incredible .348 and had made several acrobatic catches in Death Valley before going on the disabled list on May 18 after pulling a left groin muscle. That was the beginning of the end for Washington. No sooner did he return from that injury when, on June 10, he left a game with a pulled left hamstring and was out for ten more days. On September 22 he left a game with a sore right hamstring, and this time was out for the season. Washington still finished the year hitting a solid .279.
If he can stay healthy this versatile veteran of 14 major league seasons figures to be an important figure on the 1988 Yankee team."
-The New York Yankees Official 1988 Yearbook
"Nagging injuries bothered him all season in 1987. Claudell started off quickly and put together a five-game hitting streak (tied for his longest of the season) from May 13-17, batting .522 (12-for-23) with two doubles, two homers and eight RBIs. His two homers came in consecutive games, on May 13 (a two-run homer off Jose Guzman) and May 14 (a solo homer off Edwin Correa) against Texas (the only time all season he homered in consecutive games), and he had three RBIs in each of those two games. Included in that streak were two three-hit games and a four-hit game, going 4-for-6 on May 17 at Seattle (his only four-hit game of the year), but he suffered a pulled left groin muscle in his last at-bat. Claudell was placed on the 15-day disabled list the following day due to that injury. At the time he had played in 27 games and was hitting .348 (24-for-69) with three home runs and 15 RBIs.
He was activated from the DL on June 2, and on June 10 against Toronto went 3-for-3 but was forced to leave the game with a pulled left hamstring and did not appear again until June 20. On June 22 at Baltimore Claudell left the game with a sore right lower leg, which limited him to designated and pinch-hitting duties for his next seven games, through June 30. At that point he was hitting .228 (13-for-57) in his 19 games since returning from the DL, with just one homer and eight RBIs, lowering his overall average from.348 to .294.
Claudell had four RBIs, his high as a Yankee, on July 7 against Minnesota, including a three-run homer off Juan Berenguer. At the All-Star break he was hitting .284 (48-for-169) with five homers and 30 RBIs in 57 games, but hit .273 (39-for-143) with four home runs and 14 RBIs in 45 games after the break.
In his first game after the break, on July 16 at Texas, Claudell scored four runs. On July 18 at Texas he went 1-for-3 with a solo home run off Jose Guzman to lift his average to .302, the last time during the season it would be at or over .300. That game began a string of nine games (through July 31) in which four of his eight hits were for extra bases (three home runs and a double).
In the 24 games he played from August 2 through September 6, Claudell batted just .214 (18-for-84) with no home runs and three RBI (all coming on August 23 at Oakland), lowering his overall average from .287 to .266. Included in that stretch, though, was his second five-game hitting streak of the year (August 22-28).
On August 30 against Seattle, Claudell registered the 1,600th hit of his career, finishing the season with a total of 1,611. He connected on a pinch-hit three-run home run (his final homer of the season) on September 8 at Boston. On September 22 at Milwaukee (second game) he left the game with a sore right hamstring and did not the play the rest of the season. Claudell finished with an average of .279 (87-for-312) in 102 games with nine home runs and 44 RBIs.
Claudell had 27 multi-hit games, including his four-hit game and five three-hit games, and had a four-RBI game and four three-RBI games. He batted .259 (65-for-251) against right-handers with eight home runs and 41 RBIs, and .361 against left-handers with one homer and three RBIs. Claudell led the Yankees with a .362 average (25-for-69) with runners in scoring position. Of his nine homers, four were solo home runs, three were two-run shots and two were three-run blasts.
As a pinch hitter he batted .190 (4-for-21) with a homer and four RBIs, and his 21 pinch-hit at-bats were second on the Yankees behind Dan Pasqua's 22. Claudell batted .297 (11-for-37) in 13 games as a designated hitter with a home run and six RBIs. He finished with 10 stolen bases in 11 attempts (including two steals on July 20 at Minnesota), marking the ninth consecutive season he has reached double figures in stolen bases, and the 12th time in his 14 big league seasons.
Claudell had a fielding average of .988 in 72 games in the outfield, committing just one error in 171 total chances. He was used mainly as a center fielder, playing two games in left field and one in right.
One of 34 players to perform for both the Mets and the Yankees, Claudell was acquired by the Yankees along with Paul Zuvella on June 29, 1986 from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Ken Griffey. At the time of the trade, he was hitting .270 (37-for-137) with the Braves in 32 games with 17 runs, 11 doubles, five home runs and 14 RBIs and was 4-for-11 in stolen base attempts. With the Yankees, he played 54 games and batted .237 (32-for-135) with 19 runs, five doubles, six home runs and 16 RBIs and was 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts. Overall with both clubs in '86 he hit .254 (69-for-272) in 86 games with 36 runs, 16 doubles, 11 home runs and 30 RBIs while stealing 10 bases in 17 attempts.
He started the season slowly, hitting just .211 (15-for-71) in 20 games through May 5 with two homers and four RBIs. In that span he missed four games after suffering a pulled groin muscle against Los Angeles on April 19. In nine games from May 6-17, he batted .333 (10-for-30) with three home runs and seven RBIs to raise his average to .248; Claudell went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs on May 9 against Philadelphia, then went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs (including the game winner) on May 13 at New York. After complaining of neck stiffness, however, he was placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 19 (retroactive to May 18) and missed almost a month of action.
Claudell was activated before the game against Cincinnati on June 16. He played 11 games with the Braves following his activation until his trade, and in those 11 contests he hit .333 (12-for-36). Included in those outings was a 3-for-5 performance on June 18 against Los Angeles and a 4-for-5 outing (his four hits representing his season high) on June 23 at Los Angeles.
He made his Yankee debut on June 30 against Detroit, going 1-for-4, then went 3-for-5 against Detroit on July 3 including his first home run as a Yankee, a solo shot off Eric King. Claudell had another three-hit game on July 5 at Chicago, going 3-for-5 with his second Yankee home run, a solo blast off Gene Nelson.
After 11 games with the Yankees through July 12, he was batting .343 (12-for-35) with eight runs, three home runs and six RBIs (including two game winning RBIs). He hit .333 (6-for-18) over a five-game stretch from June 21-27 with three runs, two homers and five RBIs. At this point, after 20 games with the Yankees, he was hitting .281 (18-for-64) with 11 runs, five homers and 11 RBIs.
In his remaining 34 games through the end of the season, Claudell hit .197 (14-for-71) with eight runs, a homer and five RBIs. He entered 11 of his final 12 games in a pinch-hitting capacity.
Claudell started 29 games after joining the Yankees. As a pinch hitter with the Yanks, he batted .227 (5-for-22) with a home run (a solo homer off Walt Terrell on September 26 against Detroit) and two RBIs. Against lefties he hit .214 (3-for-14) with no homers or RBIs, and against righties he hit .240 (29-for-121) with six homers and 16 RBIs.
In 1974 at age 19, Claudell was called up to the majors with Oakland and was named to the Major League Rookie team in just his third pro season. He tied a World Series record for most positions played when he played all three outfield positions in the '74 World Series. He batted .571 (4-for-7) against the Dodgers in that Series.
In 1975 he hit a career high .308 with the A's in 148 games, with a career high 182 base hits. His 77 RBIs that year is the second best single season total of his career, and he also had a career high 40 stolen bases. In 1976 Claudell hit .257 in his final season in Oakland. He was selected to the 1976 American League All-Star team and singled in his only at-bat.
Claudell was traded from Oakland to Texas for pitcher Jim Umbarger, infielder Rodney Scott and cash estimated at $100,000 in March 1977 and hit .284 with the Rangers in 129 games with 12 home runs and 68 RBIs. He began the 1978 season with the Rangers, but was traded along with outfielder Rusty Torres and cash to the White Sox for outfielder Bobby Bonds in May. In 1979, his only full season with the White Sox, he hit .280 in 131 games with 79 runs, 13 homers and 66 RBIs. Claudell hit three home runs against Detroit on July 14.
He was acquired by the Mets from the White Sox on June 7, 1980 in exchange for pitcher Jesse Anderson and tied three New York records: he hit three home runs in one game (at Los Angeles on June 21), three doubles in one game (against Atlanta on July 30) and had RBIs in seven consecutive games in July. The only others to hit three homers in a game in both leagues are Babe Ruth and Johnny Mize. Claudell was granted free agency on October 31, 1980 and signed with the Braves in November.
In his first at-bat in an Atlanta uniform, he doubled as the leadoff hitter on Opening Night of 1981, later scoring. He led the Braves with a .291 average [that year]. Claudell had three game winning RBIs during the 13-game winning streak that began the Braves' 1982 season, including a two-run ninth inning single which won game No. 13. He helped lead the Braves to the National League West title, being named National League Player of the Month for September because of his play down the stretch. Claudell provided incentive to his teammates on a West Coast trip, inviting them to his home to view his World Series trophy, telling his fellow Braves 'this is what we're playing for.' He topped the Braves in stolen bases (33) and triples (6), and tied Dale Murphy for club leadership in game winning RBIs and finished second in runs scored (94). He tied an Atlanta record with three stolen bases in a September 28 game against San Francisco.
Claudell had a disappointing 1983 season, although he did hit .278, and had just nine home runs and 44 RBIs in 134 games. He hit a career high 17 home runs in 1984 and batted over .300 most of the season before a succession of minor injuries limited his play to only two appearances after August. During the early part of the season he had 12 doubles, 11 homers and a .324 average at the All-Star break, earning him a spot on the National League All-Star team. Of his 17 homers, four were hit off Cincinnati's Mario Soto, including two in the same game on April 18. Claudell hit a first inning leadoff home run on five occasions. He led the Braves in stolen bases with 21, was second on the club in batting (.286), home runs, runs scored (62), RBIs (61) and total bases (195) and finished third in hits (119) and at-bats (416).
In 1985 Claudell started 90 games in right field but was platooned at that position in the latter part of the season. He hit .290 against righties and .206 in his limited action against lefties, and hit 14 of his 15 home runs off right-handers. He led the Braves with 14 stolen bases and six triples.
Claudell stole three bases in one game that year (April 25 at Houston) for the fourth time in his career. He hit three home runs in three games, June 1-4, and reached the 5,000 at-bat mark in his major league career with a home run on June 13 against Cincinnati. He batted .357 (15-for-42) with three doubles, two triples and a home run in a 12-game stretch from July 10-27.
Claudell graduated from Berkeley (CA) High School in 1972 and was a member of the track team, but did not play baseball in high school. He was scouted while playing Connie Mack ball and was signed following graduation by Oakland off the Berkeley sandlots during Charlie Finley's regime."
-1988 New York Yankees Information Guide
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