"What a difference a year makes. Before the 1988 season, Ken Phelps was getting ready for another 162 games with the Seattle Mariners, a team which has struggled since its inception. In July he was rescued, traded to the Yankees, a team with a winning tradition.
Phelps found himself in the unfamiliar role of a platoon player. Now with the departure of Jack Clark, the power-hitting Phelps enters the 1989 campaign with a whole different outlook. A veteran of almost seven seasons in the bigs, he will see a lot of action as the designated hitter for a contending club.
For his part, Phelps is a major reason the Yankees will be tough to beat this year. New York had been interested in Phelps for years, and his arrival here seems like a perfect marriage. Phelps brings his power to Yankee Stadium, a park tailor-made for his left swing.
'Everybody here expects to win,' says Phelps. 'I've got to do what I can to help us win.'
The slugger entered the 1988 season with an amazing career ratio of one home run to every 13.4 at-bats, but averages one home run every 7.8 at-bats at Yankee Stadium!"
-The New York Yankees Official 1989 Yearbook
"Phelps began the 1988 season with the Seattle Mariners and was obtained by the Yankees on July 21 in exchange for outfielder Jay Buhner, pitcher Rick Balabon and a player to be named later. At the time of the trade he had played in 72 games with the Mariners and had hit .284 (54-for-190) with 14 home runs and 32 RBIs, averaging a home run every 13.6 at-bats. His 14 homers were tied for the club lead and he had a .547 slugging percentage. Phelps was Seattle's all-time career leader with 105 home runs (since surpassed by Alvin Davis).
He hit .375 (21-for-56) in April with five homers and 12 RBIs and had a career high 10-game hitting streak from April 12-26, going 17-for-33 (.515) in that span. Ken homered in consecutive games three times for the Mariners, on April 16-17, May 11-13 and May 17-20. He made four appearances at first base for Seattle.
In 45 games for New York, Ken batted .224 (24-for-107) with 10 home runs and 22 RBIs. He got off to a slow start with the Yankees, getting only two hits in his first 11 at-bats, covering his first six games.
Ken hit his first home run as a Yankee on August 3 at Milwaukee off the Brewers' Chuck Crim. On August 18 against Seattle (Game 1) his two-run homer with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning off Mike Schooler gave the Yankees a 5-3 win. On August 24 against Oakland, Ken hit a three-run homer off Dennis Eckersley in the ninth inning to rally the Yankees from a 6-2 deficit to within one run at 6-5 as the Yankees eventually won 7-6 with a total with a total of five runs in the ninth. His final home run of the season, off the Tigers' Paul Gibson on October 1 at Detroit, was his only round-tripper off a left-hander after joining the Yankees.
Ken averaged a home run every 10.7 at-bats with the Yankees. His ratio of one home run every 12.4 at-bats (24 HR, 297 AB) led the major leagues, and he homered once every 12.0 at-bats against right-handed pitchers (23 HR, 277 AB). His 10 home runs after his acquisition matched the team lead in that span (Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield also had 10 home runs apiece from July 21 through the end of the season) and his .551 slugging percentage was also tops on the club.
Five of his 22 RBIs were game-winners and he had eight multi-hit games, including a three-hit game on August 24 against Oakland. He was 0-for-11 as a pinch hitter for the Yankees before hitting a pinch-hit double on September 26. He made his only on-field appearance with the Yankees as a first baseman on August 2.
Combined with the Mariners and the Yankees, Phelps hit .263 (78-for-297) with 24 home runs and 54 RBIs. It was his third straight season hitting 20 or more homers and his batting average was a career high. Phelps also had an overall slugging percentage of .549 which ranked fourth in the major leagues (behind only American Leaguers Jose Canseco, Fred McGriff and Gary Gaetti) among players with 350 or more plate appearances. As a designated hitter with Seattle and New York he batted .255 (69-for-271) with 23 homers and 48 RBIs in 92 games; his 23 homers ranked second among designated hitters, trailing only Brian Downing's 25.
Phelps has homered once every 13.4 at-bats during his major league career. Lifetime at Yankee Stadium he is 26-for-109 (.239) with 14 home runs and 32 RBIs, averaging a home run every 7.8 at-bats. He has a career average of one home run per 12.5 at-bats against right-handers (108 HR, 1,346 AB), the highest rate in the major leagues over the last 14 seasons (minimum 50 HR). He has a career total of nine two-homer games.
Phelps signed a contract through the 1988 season with an option for 1989. The Yankees exercised that option on October 2, 1988.
Originally selected by Kansas City in the 15th round of the 1976 June draft, Digger was previously drafted by Atlanta ( June 1972), the Yankees (January 1974) and Philadelphia (June 1974) before signing with Kansas City. He saw major league action with the Royals in parts of the 1980 and 1981 seasons as a pinch hitter. [In the minors] he led his league in walks three different years. He was traded to Montreal for Grant Jackson in January 1982.
At Wichita in 1982 Ken led the American Association in home runs (46), RBIs (141), total bases (320), walks (108), slugging percentage (.706), on-base percentage (.471) and at-bats (453). He was the Expos organization Player of the Month in May and Co-Player of the Month in August.
Seattle purchased his contract from Montreal on March 29, 1983. Ken spent the majority of that season at Salt Lake City, where he hit .341 with 24 home runs and 92 RBIs in 74 games. In 50 games with the Mariners he hit .236 with seven homers and 16 RBIs.
In 1984 Digger spent most of the season in the majors and averaged a home run every 12.1 at-bats, the best ratio in baseball. He began the year as the Mariners' starting first baseman, collecting two homers in his first two games. He was hit by a Jerry Augustine pitch on April 6 against Milwaukee, breaking his right little finger, and was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Ken went on a 20-day rehabilitation option on May 6 to Salt Lake City, where he hit .311 with three homers and 13 RBIs. He was activated from the DL on May 18.
Phelps spent the entire 1985 season with the Mariners, primarily as a pinch hitter in home run situations. Five of his first seven hits were homers, including a grand slam off the Yankees' Phil Niekro on May 23 at the Kingdome. He had four home runs and nine RBIs, two game winning, in a six-game stretch from May 5-23. He shared club pinch-hit RBI honors (6) with Barry Bonnell and batted .250 (5-for-20) as a pinch hitter. Ken hit a pinch-hit home run on September 25 against Kansas City, a three-run 9th inning blast. He completed his second full season with the Mariners in 1986 and collected a career high four triples; he had 88 walks in 442 plate appearances.
Platooned at designated hitter against right-handed pitchers in 1987, Phelps topped the Mariners with 104 DH starts. He set career highs in average (.259, surpassed in '88), hits (86), home runs (27) and RBIs (68) and led Seattle in slugging percentage (.548) and on-base percentage (.410). His 26 homers tied him with Texas' Larry Parrish for the DH lead. Ken homered once every 12.3 at-bats and eight of his last 19 hits in '87 were home runs.
Ken played Little League and Babe Ruth League ball in Seattle and graduated from Ingraham High School in Seattle. He attended Washington State (1973), Mesa (AZ) Community College where he was named a Junior College All-American in 1974 and Arizona State (1975-76). Ken batted .351 as a senior at Arizona State, with 11 homers and 66 RBIs in 70 games, and played in consecutive College World Series in 1975-76.
Ken's hobbies are golf, fishing and bike riding and his favorite spectator sports are baseball and football. His favorite team growing up was the Yankees and his favorite player was Roberto Clemente. His favorite ballparks are Anaheim Stadium and Fenway Park."
-1989 New York Yankees Information Guide
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