People forget the Yankee woes at the hot corner before Pags was called up in 1984. From his first full year in 1985, he has solidified the position. At the plate, his average has dipped, but his power numbers increased each year from 1985 to 1987. In the field he has been solid, drawing comparisons to Graig Nettles. Pags has accomplished all of this with a gutty determination, a strong work ethic and a style of play that has earned him the name 'Rambo' from his teammates.
'I know that I've produced here the last four years, even last year I was having my best year as far as run production before the injury,' he says. 'I'm a contributor and I'm good for this team.'"
-The New York Yankees Official 1989 Yearbook
"Pagliarulo began the 1989 season strongly but fell prey to injuries later in the season, cutting his power output from 32 home runs in 1987 to 15 in 1988, and batted only .216. He ranked fourth on the Yankees in home runs, fourth in RBIs (67) and second in strikeouts (104). With 101 career homers as a Yankee, he passed Clete Boyer (95) and moved into second place in career home runs by a Yankee third baseman, behind only Graig Nettles (250). In his four full seasons with the Yankees, Pagliarulo has averaged 23.5 homers and 71.8 RBIs.
He had just two games of three or more RBIs last year, the first coming on Opening Day, April 5 against Minnesota, when he had three as a result of a three-run homer off Frank Viola. The other came on April 30 against Texas when Mike had a career-high seven RBIs, hitting a grand slam off Mike Jeffcoat (his fourth career grand slam) and a three-run homer off Jeff Russell. It was also his eighth career two-homer game and his only such game in 1988.
Mike's first three home runs of the year were all off left-handers: Viola on Opening Day, Juan Nieves of Milwaukee on April 8 and Ted Higuera in Milwaukee on April 17. In his first 14 games through April 19, he hit .245 (his average would not reach that level for the rest of the year) with four home runs and 14 RBIs.
On June 4 at Baltimore he committed a throwing error on a ball hit by Cal Ripken with two out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 14th inning to allow three runs to score, giving the Orioles a comeback 7-6 win from a 6-4 deficit. From June 19-27 Pagliarulo had a nine-game hitting streak, the longest of his career, going 12-for-35 (.343) with a homer and four RBIs. His homer on June 27 was his first since May 31, having gone 96 at-bats in between without homering. His one stolen base of the year came on June 24 at Cleveland.
Mike left the game of July 6 with a sore right hamstring and missed eight of nine Yankee games through July 20, with the Yankees going 5-3 in the eight games he missed. He left the game of July 24, again suffering from a pulled right hamstring and was placed on the 15-day disabled list on July 25. At that point, Mike was hitting .225 with nine home runs and 53 RBIs in 86 games.
He missed 15 games on the DL until activated on August 11, with the Yankees going 7-8 in those contests. From that point through the end of the season he hit .195 in 39 games with 14 runs, six homers and 14 RBIs, and from August 17-September 4 went 51 at-bats without a RBI and 53 at-bats without a home run. Mike ended both streaks on September 5 against Cleveland with a solo homer off Tom Candiotti. His strikeout on September 16 was his 100th of the year, his third straight season of 100 or more strikeouts. Pagliarulo left the game of September 24 against Boston with a pulled right hamstring and missed the final eight games of the season with that injury, with the Yankees going 3-5 in those games.
For the season, Pagliarulo had 22 multiple-hit games, including three games of three hits (May 25 at California, June 19 at Cleveland and September 15 at Boston). Of his 15 home runs, four were solo shots, eight were two-run homers, two were three-run homers and one the April 30 grand slam. He had 20 doubles and a triple (April 23 against Toronto), and as a pinch hitter he was 0-for-9 and is 0-for-18 as a pinch hitter since his last pinch hit on September 1, 1986. Pagliarulo was 18-for-106 (.170) against lefties with five home runs (the last two coming off Mike Jeffcoat of Texas on April 30 and Bruce Hurst of Boston on September 23) and 20 RBIs. Nine of his 18 hits off lefties were for extra bases (five homers, three doubles and a triple). Against right-handers, he batted .231 with 10 home runs.
He underwent surgery on October 14 to relocate the ulnar nerve in his right elbow. He signed a contract for the 1989 season.
In 1987 Pagliarulo was one of the top power hitters in the American League. He hit 32 home runs, which tied him for ninth place in the American League in that category and led the Yankees. Mike ranked third on the club with 87 runs batted in, and his home run and RBI totals were both remain his career highs.
His 32 home runs matched Graig Nettles for the second highest single-season total hit by a Yankee third baseman, surpassed only by Nettles' club record of 37 home runs by a third baseman, set in 1977. Coupled with his 28 home runs in 1986, Pagliarulo and Nettles have the top four single-season home run totals by a Yankee third baseman.
Pagliarulo averaged one home run every 16.3 at-bats in 1987, the best mark among Yankee regulars and the second best ratio on the team, behind only Ron Kittle's ratio of one homer per 13.25 at-bats. He also led the team with 12 game-winning RBIs, which also set a new career high in that category.
In addition to career highs in homers, RBIs and game winning RBIs, Mike also established career highs in games (150), at-bats (522), runs (76), hits (122), doubles (26) and slugging percentage (.479). In addition to leading the Yankees in homers and game winning RBIs, he was second on the club in games played and doubles, third in RBIs, total bases (250) and slugging percentage (among Yankees with 200 or more at-bats), and fifth in hits and runs scored. He also led the Yankees with 111 strikeouts. Mike hit four home runs off left-handed pitchers: Joe Sambito (June 19 at Boston), Joel McKeon (July 10 against Chicago), Floyd Bannister (July 24 at Chicago) and Bill Wilkinson (August 18 at Seattle).
His first home run of the season, off Jack Morris of the Tigers in Yankee Stadium on April 20, broke a string of 143 at-bats since his previous home run (his last 99 at-bats of 1986 and his first 44 at-bats of 1987). On May 8 against Minnesota he hit his second career grand slam (off Jeff Reardon in the ninth inning) and, coupled with his earlier solo homer off Mark Portugal, he had his fourth career two-homer game. His total of five RBIs was his 1987 single game high and was at that point his career single-game high. Mike hit one other grand slam in '87, on September 4 against California off Kirk McCaskill (his 30th homer of the season). His four RBIs in that game was one of three four-RBI games he had last year in addition to his five-RBI game. Mike had four two-homer games and hit home runs in back-to-back games five times. He had 36 multi-hit games in 1987, including two three-hit games.
Mike started the 1987 season slowly, batting just .194 with six homers and 20 RBIs on May 30 after 44 games, but over his next 63 games, through August 11, he batted .285 with 18 home runs and 41 RBIs to raise his overall average to .247, the highest point it would be all year following his eighth game of the season.
In 10 games from July 7-20, he batted .353 (12-for-34) with five home runs, nine RBIs and 13 runs scored, with nine of the 12 hits going for extra bases (five homers, four doubles). Included in that stretch was a seven-game hitting streak from July 10-20, Pagliarulo's longest hitting streak of the season, when he hit .391 (9-for-23) with three doubles, three home runs, six RBIs and 10 runs scored.
In six games from August 15-21, seven of his nine hits were for extra bases (five home runs, two doubles) and he had nine RBIs in that span. His last home run came on September 8 at Boston off Al Nipper. Suffering from a sore right elbow, Mike did not hit a home run in his final 20 games of 1987 (covering 68 at-bats), his longest homerless stretch of the season. In those final 20 games he hit just .185 (12-for-65) with just three extra-base hits (all doubles) and seven RBIs to lower his batting average from .241 to his final .234 mark.
He played 147 games at third base, the most by a Yankee since Nettles played 159 games at third in 1978. Pagliarulo ranked fifth in fielding among AL third basemen playing 100 or more games, with a fielding percentage of .959, committing only 17 errors in 410 chances. He put together a stretch of 26 errorless games from July 3 through August 5. He made his first career appearance at first base on June 14 against Milwaukee.
[Because of] the sore right elbow which hampered his play in the final month of the season, Mike underwent arthroscopic surgery at NYU Medical Center, performed by Dr. John Bonamo on October 8, to remove loose bodies in his right elbow.
Mike blossomed into one of the top power hitters on the Yankees in 1986 as he hit 28 home runs, which tied him for 15th place in the American League in that category, and finished tied with Rickey Henderson for second place on the Yankees. His homer total was the fourth highest ever by a Yankee third baseman, surpassed only Graig Nettles' 37 home runs in 1977, his 32 in 1976 and Mike's 32 in 1987.
He began the season slowly, hitting just .215 (13-for-61) at the end of April with three home runs and seven RBIs. His single off Juan Agosto on May 12 at Minnesota broke an 0-for-17 streak against left-handed pitchers since the start of the season. Mike hit two home runs for the second time in his career on May 23 against California, solo homers off Don Sutton and Ken Forsch, and matched his former single-game career high of four RBIs on May 25 against California.
On May 30 at Oakland, Mike was hit in the face by a Curt Young pitch in the seventh inning. It was feared at first that he might have suffered some broken bones and facial damage that might cause him to miss an extensive amount of games, but the injury proved to be a hairline fracture of his nose, coupled with lacerations on the bridge of his nose and a bruised right forearm. He missed only one game and returned to the lineup on June 1 at Oakland and proceeded to hit home runs in three successive games (June 1 off Tom Dozier of the A's, June 2 off T.R. Bryden at California and June 3 off Don Sutton at California), becoming the only Yankee to hit homers in three straight contests in 1986.
In the seven games from June 1 through June 8 following his May 29 victory, Mike hit .333 (8-for-24), with five of those eight hits home runs, and added nine RBIs. He had a season-high six-game hitting streak from June 6-11. He matched his single-game career high with four hits, all singles, on June 27 against Toronto.
On July 11 at Minnesota, he hit a three-run homer off Neal Heaton, his first homer of 1986 off a left-hander, and on July 18 against Chicago matched his single-game career high with four RBIs, including a three-run homer off Floyd Bannister, his second homer off a left-hander in 1986. In the 14 games from July 4 through July 21, he hit safely in 11, batting .396 (19-for-48) with seven home runs and 19 RBIs while raising his average from .253 to .275. Mike was hitting .262 with 21 homers and 49 RBIs at the All-Star break.
He went ten games, July 22 to August 1 (36 at-bats), without a home run or a RBI, then hit two solo homers off Ken Schrom on August 2 at Cleveland. He hit his last homer of the season on August 24 against Oakland off Dave Stewart, going his final 99 at-bats after that without a home run.
Pagliarulo suffered a pulled hamstring running out a triple in that game. At the time of his injury, he was hitting .257 with 28 home runs and 68 RBIs in 118 games. The injury limited him to four pinch-hit appearances (1-for-4) over the Yankees' next ten games (August 25-September 3). In the 31 games he played following that injury, he hit .156 with no homers, three RBIs and 31 strikeouts.
He finished fifth on the Yankees in doubles and RBIs, fourth in game-winning RBIs and slugging percentage (.464) and first in strikeouts. Pagliarulo averaged one home run per 18.0 times at bat, trailing only Dan Pasqua and Ron Kittle in that category. He hit .258 (88-for-341) against righties with 26 homers and 60 RBIs, and .196 (32-for-163) against lefties with two homers and 11 RBIs
Mike had 27 multiple-hit games, including a four-hit game and six three-hit games. He hit two home runs in the same game twice and homered in consecutive games five times, including the streak of three straight. He recorded his first career stolen base on June 1 at Oakland was 1-for-9 (.111) as a pinch hitter with a RBI.
He played 143 games at third base, and his fielding percentage of .953 ranked seventh among third basemen playing 100 or more games. He made two appearances at shortstop- July 2 against Detroit and August 17 at Kansas City.
Selected by the Yankees in the 6th Round of the June 1981 Free Agent Draft, Mike was signed by Yankee scout Fred Ferreira and batted .216 in 72 games at Oneonta with two homers in 245 at-bats. In 1982, he was named utility infielder on the South Atlantic All-Star team. He played a full season at AA Nashville in 1983 and led Southern League third basemen in fielding with a .954 percentage in 133 games with 433 total chances (98 putouts and 315 assists).
He made his major league debut on July 7, 1984 when called up from Columbus to replace the injured Toby Harrah. He hit his first big league home run on July 13 (second game) off Kansas City's Bret Saberhagen. He hit his first grand slam on September 18 off Baltimore's Dennis Martinez.
Pagliarulo became New York's regular third baseman in 1985 and averaged one home run every 20 at-bats. He was hitting only .165 through June 9 with two home runs and 16 RBIs, then hit .263 with 17 homers and 46 RBIs through the remainder of the season.
He had his first career two-homer game on July 27 at Texas, hitting a pair of two-run homers good for four RBIs, and had a hitting streak of seven games from July 14-24. He went 4-for-6 on September 9 at Milwaukee, his first career four-hit game. Mike was sent to bat right-handed [by Billy Martin] against Mickey Mahler on September 18 at Detroit, striking out with runners on second and third, two out and the scored tied 2-2.
He played 134 games at third base in '85 and had the third fewest errors for a third baseman with at least 100 games. He hit .278 in 22 pinch-hitting appearances. He hit .254 in 126 games against right-handers, .151 in 12 games against southpaws. Mike's 62 RBIs ranked sixth on the club.
Mike graduated in 1978 from Medford (Mass.) High School, where he played baseball, basketball and ran track. In baseball he was All-State two years, MVP and captain. Mike played South Medford Little League, Medford Babe Ruth League and Medford American Legion baseball. He attended the University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL) and was a finance major. His father, Charles Pagliarulo , was an infielder in the Chicago Cubs organization in 1958.
Very active in local charities, Mike has served as the chairman of the New York Yankees' 65 Roses Club since 1986, helping that organization in its fight against Cystic Fibrosis. He received the 1988 Joan Payson Award for community involvement by the New York Chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Mike enjoys golf and going to Boston Celtics and Bruins games."
-1989 New York Yankees Information Guide
Led Southern League third basemen in fielding with a .954 percentage, games (133), total chances (433), putouts (98) and assists (315) in 1983.
Led South Atlantic League third basemen in assists (278) in 1982.
Led New York-Penn League in intentional bases on balls received (8) and led third basemen in total chances (214) and in assists (159) in 1981.
-1989 New York Yankees Information Guide
No comments:
Post a Comment