1990 Profile: Steve Sax

1990 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR
"This free agent far exceeded expectations in his first year with the Yankees. Sax tied for second in the AL with 205 hits, produced 55 multi-hit games and tied for fourth with 43 steals, the most by a Yankee second baseman since Snuffy Stirnweiss swiped 55 in 1944. A very intelligent, aggressive player, he has made himself into a fine second baseman, overcoming his throwing phobia of a few seasons back. He led all American League players at his position with a .987 fielding percentage.
Born in Sacramento, California, Sax was the Dodgers' ninth selection in the 1978 draft. He's a clubhouse cut-up who does an impression of comedian Andrew Dice Clay."

-Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1990 Edition

"It really is a lot of fun watching Steve Sax play baseball. To watch the Yankees' star second baseman in action is to truly see how the game is meant to be played. He is scrappy, determined and exciting; a throwback to the players who loved to get their uniforms dirty.
'Saxsie is like fire in a bottle,' says Dave Righetti. 'He can make you laugh and get you pumped at the same time, which makes him a lot of fun for fans to watch.'
But don't make the mistake of thinking the former Dodger is Hollywood in his approach. What Sax brings to New York is something the Yankees have been lacking- genuine emotion. The team has leaders, but Sax is more than that. He is visibly enthusiastic, a characteristic that rubs off. 'I play with a lot of enthusiasm because I love the game,' Sax says. 'I play hard and with a lot of energy because for me, that's having fun. And that's what it's all about.'
And when you consider he can also hit, run and play stellar defense, having Steve Sax around is a whole lot of fun."

-The New York Yankees Official 1990 Yearbook

"Steve opened the 1989 season slowly, hitting .200 (7-for-35) through nine games. His first homer came on April 8 against Cleveland (Greg Swindell), the Yankees' first home run of the season and Steve's first American League homer.
He then hit in 10 straight games from April 14-25, going 17-for-43 (.395) and raising his average to .308. He stole his first base on April 18. Steve hit .289 for the month with a home run and 13 RBIs.
From May 9-17, Steve hit in seven straight games, going 9-for-28 (.321), and from May 19-25 hit in five straight, going 7-for-21 (.333). He went 2-for-3 against Seattle on May 31, putting his average above .300 to stay. In May, Steve hit .314 to bring his season average to .302. In the first two months, he was 6-for-7 in stolen base attempts and made three errors.
Steve flourished with the bat in June, hitting .383. He hit in four straight from June 5-10 (8-for-20, .400) and then hit in 11 straight from June 17-30 (24-for-51, .471) to close out the month and raise his average to .331. Included in the second streak was a 10-for-20 run from June 17-22. On June 27 Steve went 5-for-5 in Detroit, his second career five-hit game and the only one by a Yankee in 1989. Through the first three months of the season, Steve did not go hitless in consecutive games.
He started July by going hitless in three straight games for the only time all season and was hitting .322 at the break with 26 steals in 34 attempts. After the break, Steve hit in six straight from July 13-19 (9-for-25, .400), and in five straight from July 24-29 (11-for-24, .375). For the month of July, he hit .284 with two home runs and 14 RBIs. He hit his only Yankee Stadium home run on July 31 off Toronto's Mike Flanagan.
August was another good hitting month for Steve (.344), as he hit in eight straight from August 3-11 (15-for-32, .469) and then in a season best 17 straight from August 20-September 5, raising his average from .318 to .326. On September 5 he had a season high three RBIs at Seattle. September/October was his worst month, with Steve hitting .264.
Last year Steve hit exclusively in the No. 2 spot in the batting order until June 20 (the day before the Rickey Henderson trade), then hit leadoff in all but three games through the end of the season. He hit No. 2 in 70 games (.303) and leadoff in 88 games (.324). Leading off a game, Steve hit .301 (25-for-83) with a home run, 10 runs, four walks and one hit-by-pitcher.
Steve led the club with a .315 batting average (33 points above his career average entering 1989), at-bats (651), runs (88), hits (205) and stolen bases (43). He tied with Joe Carter for the American League lead in at-bats. He tied for the club lead in games (158) with Don Mattingly, his fourth year with 155+ games, and had career highs in average, RBIs and at-bats. Steve had his second 200-hit season (210 in 1986).
He's one of three Yankee second basemen to notch 200 hits, with the most since Bobby Richardson had 209 in 1962 (Snuffy Stirnweiss had 205 in 1944). Steve led the American League in singles with 171 and also set the club record, breaking the previous record of 166 held by Earle Combs (1927) and Willie Keeler (1906). He had his fewest strikeouts (44) since 1985 (43) and ranked fifth in the league in hardest to fan (one K every 15.3 plate appearances).
Steve had his most stolen bases (43) since 1983 (58) and his fifth 40-plus stolen base season. He also had the most steals by a Yankee second baseman since Stirnweiss stole 55 in 1944. Teamed with Roberto Kelly last year, they became the first Yankee teammates to each steal thirty bases since 1976 when Mickey Rivers (43), Willie Randolph (37) and Roy White (31) accomplished the feat.
He hit .341 at night and .251 in day games, hit .381 against left-handed pitchers and .285 against right-handed pitchers, and hit .324 at Yankee Stadium and .306 on the road. Steve's road batting average was sixth best in the league. He hit .295 with men in scoring position and led the club with 56 multi-hit games.
Steve went hitless in consecutive games only three times all season and went hitless in three straight games only once. He spent 132 of 158 games above .300.
He finished first in the American League among second basemen with a .987 fielding percentage, the first Yankee to lead the league at that position since Sandy Alomar in 1975. Steve also led in double plays (117) and games (158) and was second in putouts (312), assists (460) and total chances (782). He committed only two errors after the break (73 games) and ended the season with 14 errorless games.
Steve missed only three games all season and ended the season by playing in 55 straight games.
Steve signed a three-year guaranteed contract as a free agent on November 23, 1988. The contract extends through the 1991 season.
Selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in the 9th round of the free agent draft in June 1978, Steve spent his first season of pro ball at Lethbridge, impressing many by hitting .328. He collected two hits in his first pro game, but the over-excited youngster was picked off both times. A one-time shortstop/third baseman, Steve was converted to the outfield and then to second base.
In 1979 at Clinton of the Midwest League, Steve hit .290 with 25 stolen bases. He earned Florida State League All-Star honors in 1980, hitting .283 with 61 RBIs and 33 stolen bases. He led FSL second basemen in fielding and putouts.
Steve was the 1981 Texas League Player of the Year, a Texas League All-Star and a Topps-National Association Class AA All-Star. After leading that league with a .346 batting average, Steve was recalled to Los Angeles on August 18 to replace the injured Davey Lopes. Steve collected his first major league hit off Chicago's Mike Griffin that day, and his first home run on August 23 off St. Louis' Bob Shirley. He hit .364 in his first eight games and finished at .277- good enough to earn a spot on the postseason roster. Steve had combined for 201 hits at San Antonio and Los Angeles. He played for Caracas (Venezuela) in the winter league.
In 1982, Steve earned the starting second base role, succeeding Lopes, and gathered National League Rookie of the Year honors- the fourth consecutive season a Dodger won the award. His 49 stolen bases ranked fifth in the league and was a Dodger rookie record, and his hit total (180) ranked seventh in the league. He missed 11 games after being hit on the right wrist at Atlanta by Rick Mahler on September 9. The only rookie named to the NL All-Star team, Steve was named to the UPI and Topps Rookie All-Star teams.
1983 was a mixed bag for Steve, as he excelled offensively but suffered the first half of the season with his throwing arm. His 56 stolen bases ranked third in the NL, his 94 runs ranked fifth and he was tied for ninth with 175 hits. The starting second baseman on the National League All-Star team, Steve committed a league high 30 errors, 24 of which came prior to the All-Star break. He did not commit an error over his final 38 games.
Less successful than desired in 1984, Steve started out fast, hitting .322 in April. He suffered a sore right elbow in late May which bothered him for the remainder of '84. He was still able to lead the club in at-bats and stolen bases and was second in runs. Steve began 1985 slowly but came on strong over the final three months. He suffered a strained lower right leg on April 7 when Angels second baseman Bobby Grich fell on him during a pickoff play at second base in the final game of the Freeway Series at Anaheim. Due to that injury, Steve did not play regularly until early May. His batting average was .226 as late as July 2, but he hit .311 over his last 84 games.
Steve enjoyed the finest year of his career in 1986. He finished second in the National League batting race to Montreal's Tim Raines (.334 to .332), and his average was the highest by a Dodger since Tommy Davis hit .346 in 1962. His 210 hits marked the first time he bettered the 200-hit plateau and matched Steve Garvey's 1975 total as the most by a Dodger since Davis' 230 in '62. His 43 doubles were the most by a Dodger since Wes Parker's Los Angeles record of 47 in 1970. Steve's 40 stolen bases ranked seventh in the league and he combined with teammate Mariano Duncan for 88 stolen bases, the most by a Dodger duo since Davey Lopes (63) and Bill Buckner (28) combined for 91 in 1976.
He was selected the Silver Bat winner for NL second basemen by major league managers and coaches. He earned National League Player Month honors for September, hitting in 25 straight from September 1 through September 27- it was the longest hitting streak in the majors and longest by a Dodger since Willie Davis hit in 25 straight in 1971. As the season came to a close, Steve hit safely in 31 of the last 32 games, with a .398 batting average for the period.
Steve also had three six-game hitting streaks, a seven, two eights, a nine and a ten. His longest hitless streak was three games, once.  He had six hits in a row over two games, September 3 at Montreal and September 5 at Philadelphia. Steve's 64 multi-hit games ranked second in the NL, while his .390 on-base percentage was third and his 91 runs tied for eighth.
His 53 extra-base hits were a career high as were his six home runs. Steve hit his first career grand slam on May 7 at Chicago off Jay Baller and posted a career high five RBIs in that game. Defensively, his total of 16 errors was a career low, those coming in 815 total chances.
Steve struggled through the first month of 1987, partly due to a strained groin muscle suffered on April 14 against Houston. He had four hits and three RBI on June 18 at Houston and appeared in left field in a 16-2 loss to San Francisco on July 29. Steve recorded his 1,000th career hit on August 29 off Houston's Jeff Parrett.
Steve had a strong finish to the 1987 season. He had a team high 19-game hitting streak from September 5-27. He hit in 24 of the last 26 games and 30 of the last 34 to raise his average to a season high of .280 at season's end. He also had a 13-game hitting streak (May 10-25) and an 11-game streak (August 9-21).
He led the Dodgers in games (157) and at-bats (610), triples (7), stolen bases (37), game-winning runs scored (14) and games started (151). He was second on the club with 84 runs and 171 hits and matched his 1986 career high of six home runs. He was a better hitter on the road and at night.
Steve homered in the 1988 season opener at San Francisco on April 4 but started the season slowly, hitting only .150 through his first 10 games. From April 16 through April 30, he hit in 10 straight (the first of three season-long 10-game hitting streaks), going 11-for-39 (.282), raising his overall batting average to .215 by the end of April. From April 16 through May 10, Steve hit safely in 17 of 18 games, going 24-for-69 (.348) and raised his overall batting average to .284.
He swiped three bases against Pittsburgh on May 4, and from May 2 to May 10 hit in seven straight, going 14-for-26 (.538) with a double, a triple, two homers and eight RBIs; from May 2 through May 15 Steve hit in 11 of 12 games, going 20-for-48 (.417) with three doubles, a triple, two homers and 10 RBIs.
He homered twice off Shane Rawley at Philadelphia on May 26, his first career two-homer game, going 3-for-5 with a double and four RBIs. Steve's four RBIs that day were his single-game high for the season. For May, Steve hit .321 with four home runs and 16 RBIs, and overall through May was hitting .277.
From May 26 through June 9, Steve hit safely in 12 of 13 games, going 25-for-60 (.417) with 10 runs, four doubles, a triple, two home runs and nine RBIs. He had his second 10-game hitting streak of the year from May 30-June 9, going 17-for-44 (.386). He recorded a career high five hits on June 3 against Cincinnati, also matching the National League's game high for 1988.
Steve played in his 1,000th career game on June 22 against Atlanta. He hit safely in 12 of the last 16 games in June to finish that month with an overall batting average of .287.
He was red hot in July, hitting safely in 25 of 29 games, including his third 10-game hitting streak from July 14-21, going 17-for-46 (.370). In the first game of a July 26 doubleheader at San Francisco, Steve went 4-for-5 with two runs, a double, a triple and two RBIs- at the conclusion of that game his batting average reached .310, his 1988 season high. In four games from July 23-26, he went 11-for-16 (.668). For July Steve hit .341 with 12 runs, five doubles, two triples and eight RBIs, and overall for the season was hitting .303 at the end of the month.
August was as cold a month for Steve as July was hot. From August 2 through August 11 he went 8-for-37 (.216) in nine games, and in the final 20 games of August went 15-for-74 (.203) to hit .219 for August with just one extra-base hit (a double on August 21 against Montreal) and 11 RBIs. Steve's overall batting average dropped to .285 due to his August performance.
September/October was not much better for the veteran: .232 with eight runs, five doubles, no triples or homers and five RBIs. His overall batting average dipped from .285 to .277 at season's end. From August 2 through October 2 Steve hit .219 with 17 runs, six doubles, no triples or homers and 16 RBIs in his final 55 games.
Steve hit .267 in the National League Championship Series, starting all seven games against the Mets. His eight hits tied for the team high, while he led the Dodgers with seven runs, five stolen bases and 30 at-bats. He hit safely in all but Game 6 and went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs in the seventh and deciding game. Steve played an errorless second base.
In the World Series against Oakland, he batted .300 in five games, led the club with 20 at-bats and was second in average and hits (6). He hit safely in all five games and went 2-for-4 in the clinching Game 5. Steve again played an errorless second base.
For the season, Steve batted .358 (39-for-109) with runners in scoring position. He hit .303 during the day, .265 at night; hit .279 on grass, .272 on artificial turf; and hit .289 in the first half, .264 in the second. Steve was 2-for-2 as a pinch hitter, getting a hit and an RBI on May 7 at St. Louis, and a double and three RBIs (including the game-winning RBI) on June 26 at Cincinnati.
Steve led the National League with 632 at-bats (third in the majors) and a .321 road batting average. He also led the league's second basemen with 158 games, tying Seattle's Harold Reynolds for most in the majors. Steve also had two additional appearances, ranking second with 160 games played overall, fifth in the majors. He placed fourth in the league with 50 multi-hit games, fourth with 175 hits and fourth with a .981 fielding percentage. Steve was the sixth-toughest batter in the league to strike out, averaging one strikeout per 12.4 at-bats, and ranked seventh with 42 stolen bases. His .277 batting average was 19th in the league. Coming into 1989, Steve ranked sixth on the all-time Los Angeles Dodger list with 1,218 hits and eighth with 575 runs.
Signed by scout Ronnie King, Steve is a 1978 graduate of James Marshall High School in West Sacramento. In 1977, his junior year, he earned All-American, All-California, all-city, all-league and league MVP honors. His senior year, 1978, found him repeating as league MVP, along with All-California and all-city honors, while setting four school baseball records.
Steve plays the drums and is a Pete Rose fan, and the Bay Area prep star was a fan of Willie Mays and the San Francisco Giants while growing up. His brother Dave is a one-time Dodger farmhand who now plays in the Yankee organization."

-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide

Texas League Most Valuable Player, 1981.
National League Rookie of the Year BBWAA, 1982.
Led National League in caught stealing (30), 1983.
The Sporting News National League All-Star team, 1986.
The Sporting News Silver Slugger team, 1986.
Led American League and set Yankee single-season record with 171 singles, 1989.

-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide