Tuesday, May 22, 2018

1990 Profile: Randy Velarde

"The time may have come for Randy Velarde. For the past three seasons he has bounced between Columbus and New York. With the Yankees he has primarily been a utility infielder.
Velarde is looking to change all that by becoming the team's regular third baseman. It won't be an easy task. Once groomed to be the everyday shortstop, Velarde saw that opportunity disappear. He was then moved to third, only to be slowed by injury. Now that he is healthy, Randy faces stiff competition from Mike Blowers and coveted prospect Hensley Meulens.
Velarde has shown that he can battle big league pitchers. In 33 games with the Yankees in '89, he hit an impressive .340. If he can remain consistent at the plate, Velarde will make some big contributions in 1990."

-The New York Yankees Official 1990 Yearbook


"Velarde was recalled from Columbus on July 28 and remained with the Yankees through the rest of the 1989 season. At the time of his recall he was hitting .266 with 26 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs and 53 RBIs over 103 games. Velarde made his '89 debut on July 28, coming in for Tom Brookens (who was injured swinging at a pitch) and went 2-for-4.
From July 28-August 7 he made 11 appearances, including starts in the last four games of that stretch, hitting .258. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on August 9 with a pulled rib cage muscle. Randy was activated on August 29 and was an impact player through the end of the season. He played in 22 games and hit .406 (28-for-69) with seven multi-hit games.
Randy hit in a career best 10 straight games from August 30-September 13 (16-for-34, .471) to raise his average from .258 to .355. He then hit safely in eight of 11 games through the end of the season (10-for-35, .286) to give him a season-ending average of .340.
On September 1 against California, Velarde homered off Mike Fetters, his first major league circuit clout since October 1, 1988. He hit his second and final home run of the 1989 campaign on September 22 at Baltimore off Dave Johnson.
Velarde made 25 starts, all at third base. He had 10 multi-hit games on the season and hit .450 (9-for-20) with men in scoring position.
He signed a contract for the 1990 season.
Velarde spent the 1988 season shuttling between the Yankees and the Columbus Clippers. He was recalled to New York five different times.
He began the year with the Clippers and was hitting .264 in 68 games with four home runs and 31 RBIs, along with 22 errors. He was recalled to the Yankees for the first time on June 20 when Wayne Tolleson was placed on the disabled list. Velarde made his first appearance with the Yankees at Detroit that day, going 0-for-1. The next day he hit his first major league home run, a solo shot off the Tigers' Jack Morris. He played in five games, going 2-for-12 (.167) before being optioned back to Columbus on June 25 when Willie Randolph was activated.
Randy played ten games with the Clippers before being recalled back to New York on July 8. It was the last time he actually played a game for Columbus (he was optioned there three more times before the end of the season but never appeared in another game there), and he finished with an average of .270 in 78 games at Columbus with 23 doubles, five home runs, 37 RBIs, 25 walks, 71 strikeouts and 24 errors. Randy was later named as the shortstop on the postseason International League All-Star team.
In his first game back with the Yankees on July 9 against Kansas City, he made his first major league start at third base and went 1-for-3 with an RBI, which proved to be the game-winner, his first major league game-winning RBI. He hit his second home run of the season on July 14 against Chicago, a solo blast off Bill Long. After playing four games with the Yankees, Velarde was optioned back to Columbus on July 16 following the acquisition of Luis Aguayo but was recalled by New York the next day when Tolleson was placed back on the DL.
Velarde established his major league high with three RBIs on July 27 against Milwaukee, going 2-for-5 (two doubles) with a run scored. He matched that RBI high on August 2 at Milwaukee, hitting a three-run homer off Juan Nieves, his third home run of the year. He hit safely in four of five games (all starts) from August 5-10, going 6-for-18 (.333) with three runs scored and two doubles. He played in 25 games for the Yankees before being optioned back to Columbus when Tolleson was activated. Randy did not play a game for the Clippers before being recalled on August 14 when Tolleson was placed back on the DL.
He hit his fourth home run of the season on August 16 against California, a solo clout off Willie Fraser, and made eight consecutive starts from August 20-27 (the first seven at second base and the last at shortstop) with Randolph on the 15-day DL. Velarde was optioned back to Columbus for the fourth time on August 28 following Randolph's activation but remained with the Yanks, never actually reporting to Columbus, and was recalled to New York for the fifth and final time on September 2.
Randy hit his fifth homer on October 1 at Detroit, a two-run round tripper off Doyle Alexander, and stole a base on September 27 at Baltimore. Overall in his five stints with the Yankees, he played in 48 games, batting .174 (20-for-115) with five homers, 12 RBIs and seven errors while playing third base, shortstop and second base.
He originally was acquired by the Yankees from the Chicago White Sox along with pitcher Pete Filson in exchange for pitcher Scott Nielsen and infielder Mike Soper in January of 1987. Velarde began the '87 season at Albany-Colonie (AA Eastern League) and in 71 games there batted .316 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs. He was promoted to Columbus on June 29 and hit .319 in 49 games there with five home runs and 33 RBIs.
His contract was purchased by the Yankees on August 20 and he made his major league debut that night in Seattle, starting at shortstop and going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. In his next game on August 21 at Oakland, Velarde went 2-for-3 with an RBI, getting his first major league hit, a single off Steve Ontiveros. He was the 29th shortstop to play alongside Willie Randolph in Randolph's career [1976-88] with the Yankees. He had another two-hit game, on August 24 at California, going 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Randy played in six games with the Yankees, batting .190 (4-for-21) with no homers and an RBI before being optioned to Prince William ('A' Carolina League) on August 29. Randy never reported to that club, remaining with the Yankees, and was recalled by the Yankees three days later, on September 1.
He was 0-for-1 in two games after rejoining the Yankees to finish with a .182 batting average (4-for-22) overall in his two stints with New York. Velarde struck out six times in 22 at-bats and committed two errors at shortstop, both coming on August 21 at Oakland.
Velarde broke into professional baseball in 1985, the 19th round selection of the White Sox in that year's June draft. He played 67 games at Niagara Falls, batting .220 with a home run and 16 RBIs. Randy was used as an outfielder and at second base in addition to his normal shortstop position.
He began the 1986 season playing for the White Sox 'A' affiliate in Appleton, batting .252 in 124 games with 11 home runs and 50 RBIs. He was promoted to Buffalo (AAA American Association) and hit .200 (4-for-20) in nine games there.
Velarde graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in Midland, Texas in 1981. He was a three-time NAIA All-American at Lubbock (TX) Christian College.
He played Little League ball in Midland. His favorite team growing up was the Cincinnati Reds and his favorite player was Johnny Bench.
Randy's hobbies are all outdoor sports, and his favorite spectator sport is basketball. His favorite ballpark is the Oakland Coliseum. His favorite entertainer is Eddie Murphy."

-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide

Led Midwest League shortstops in errors (52), 1986.

-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide

Monday, May 14, 2018

1990 Profile: Alvaro Espinoza

"What a difference a year makes. When the Yankees take the field there is a real sense of confidence knowing that Alvaro Espinoza is at shortstop.
Last year he was a skinny figure wearing No. 72 in spring training. The bespectacled native of Venezuela wasn't even expected to make the team. Instead, he became baseball's biggest success story. He hit .282, outstanding for a shortstop, and was brilliant in the field.
Now, there's no such remark as 'How can a team win with a guy named Alvaro Espinoza as its starting shortstop?' Instead, Alvaro's been penciled in as a major contributor. This season he's being asked to further solidify the shortstop position and contribute at the plate. In short, Alvaro Espinoza is one of the keys for Yankee success in 1990.
'Sometimes I don't know why it took me so long to make it,' Alvaro says. 'I just thank God for this chance, and I hope to be a regular player here for the rest of my career.'"

-The New York Yankees Official 1990 Yearbook

"1989 was an outstanding season for the Yankee shortstop. Entering the year he had played in 73 career games over a four-year span and hit .235 with three doubles and 10 RBIs. In 1989, Espinoza played in 146 games and hit .282 with 23 doubles and 41 RBIs.
He started out slowly, going 4-for-25 over his first 14 games. He then hit in six straight games from April 19-25, going 10-for-21 and raising his average from .216 to .296. Alvaro ended April with a .286 average and played solid defense, committing only two errors in the month.
In May, Alvaro again started the month slowly, going 6-for-38 (.158). He hit .250 for the month and again had only two errors in a month. Alvaro played in 45 of the club's 50 games through May and also had seven sacrifice hits at the end of the month. He had a season best 10-game hitting streak from May 27-June 8, going 13-for-38 (.342) and raising his average from .248 to .270.
In June, Alvaro hit in 17 of 24 games and committed five errors. He went hitless in consecutive games only once. He hit safely in the No. 2 spot in the batting order three times in June and hit safely in each game, going 3-for-11. Alvaro had a four-game hit streak from June 24-29.
He was hitting .266 with 15 sacrifice hits at the All-Star break and had an average month in July until the final seven games, hitting .245 (13-for-53) through July 23. Batting in the No. 2 slot from July 24-29, Espy hit safely in four of five games (.563, 9-for-16). For the month he hit .300 and made three errors while playing in 25 of the club's 27 games.
August was another productive month for Espy as he hit .347. Batting in the second, seventh and eighth positions in the order, he put together hitting streaks of three (5-for-12), three (5-for-12), four (7-for-17), six (13-for-24) and eight (9-for-32) games. Espinoza did not go hitless in consecutive games in August and did not commit an error while playing in 30 of 31 games.
September was up and down. Espy went 1-for-4 on September 1, bringing his average to a season high .296, and also committed his first error in 32 games. From September 5-9 he hit in five straight games (5-for-21), then went hitless in four straight games for the first time since April 6-11, when he went hitless in a season worst five consecutive games. Alvaro hit .297 after the All-Star break and ended the season by hitting in three consecutive games, going 7-for-13 with four doubles and bringing his average to a season-ending .282.
During the season he batted in four positions in the order: second, seventh, eighth and ninth. Alvaro batted second in 35 games, hitting safely in 29, and posted a .336 average, with 10 of his 23 sacrifice hits and 14 multi-hit games, including all five of his three-hit games. He batted six times in the No. 7 slot, hitting safely in four games while hitting .273 (6-for-22) with no sacrifice hits and two multi-hit games. He batted seven times in the No. 9 slot, hitting safely in four games while hitting .154 (4-for-26) with one sacrifice hit and no multi-hit games. Espy most frequently batted in the No. 8 spot, batting there 98 times, hitting safely in 60 games, while hitting .269 with 12 sacrifice hits and 23 multi-hit games.
Espinoza finished second in the majors in sacrifice hits with 23 (Felix Fermin had 32), the most by a Yankee since Bobby Meacham in 1985 and Phil Rizzuto in 1952, who each also had 23; the last Yankee with more was Rizzuto with 25 in 1951. In club rankings, he was third in hits (142) and doubles (23), fourth in games (146) and at-bats (503). Defensively among American League shortstops, Espy ranked seventh in fielding percentage (.970), second in double plays (119), fourth in games (146), fifth in putouts (237), assists (471) and total chances (730).
He had his first career three-hit game on July 24 at Cleveland, one of five he would post on the season. He scored runs in four consecutive games from June 24-29 (five total) and also scored runs in three straight games twice. Alvaro hit a team high .383 against left-handed pitching and .235 against right-handers, hit .299 at home and .267 on the road and hit .333 with men in scoring position.
Alvaro signed a contract for the 1990 season.
Espinoza was signed as a free agent by the Houston Astros on October 30, 1978, and hit .219 for Sarasota in 1979. In 1980, he hit .215 for Sarasota and led Gulf Coast League shortstops in assists (217), double plays (33) and total chances (356). He was released by Houston in September 1980 and was out of baseball in 1981.
In March 1982  Alvaro was scouted and signed by Hank Izquierdo of the Minnesota Twins organization as a free agent and that year hit .266 at Wisconsin Rapids. He had a career best .319 batting average in 1983  over 130 games with Visalia. He led California League shortstops in total chances (630).
At Toledo in 1984, Alvaro walked three times in 368 plate appearances, a ratio of once every 122.7 plate appearances. He tied for the International League in sacrifice hits with 16.
Playing 82 games at Toledo in 1985, Alvaro also played 32 games with the Twins, getting his first major league hit on August 13 against Oakland, a single off Tommy John. In 1986, he hit .214 in 37 games with the Twins and .281 at Toledo. He led International League shortstops with 159 putouts.
Alvaro played a full season at AAA Portland in 1987 and hit .275 over 91 games. He was granted free agency in October. Recommended by Yankee scout Don Lindeberg and signed by Yankee scout Fred Ferreira, Alvaro was signed by the Yankees as a six-year minor league free agent in November 1987. He hit .246 at Columbus in 1988, appearing in 119 games. He spent eight days with the Yankees (August 3-11) when Willie Randolph pulled a rib cage muscle and went 0-for-3 in three games.
He went to high school in Valencia, Venezuela where he played baseball and basketball. He played Little League in Valencia."

-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

1990 Profile: Wayne Tolleson

"Quick! Name the only four 1990 Yankees who were with the club in 1986. That would be Don Mattingly, Dave Winfield, Dave Righetti... and Wayne Tolleson, of course. The diminutive switch-hitter is one of the veteran Pinstripers in terms of service. What makes Tolleson so valuable is his hustle and versatility. He can play three infield positions, pinch-run, pinch-hit, steal a base, lay down a key bunt or score from first on a double. Used in the right circumstances, Tolly's all-around skills will help deepen the Yankee bench."

-The New York Yankees Official 1990 Yearbook

"Tolleson started the 1989 season on the 15-day disabled list. He was placed there on March 29 with a pulled right hamstring and remained there until his activation on April 16. He appeared in eight games in April and his single on April 18 at Toronto was his only hit during the month (1-for-14). Tolleson made three starts and was 0-for-3 as a pinch hitter.
He appeared in 16 games in May, including five starts, and had his first multi-hit game on May 4 at Texas, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Wayne hit in three straight games from May 15-20 (3-for-13).
In June he again made five starts and appeared in 12 games overall. In his starts, Wayne hit .278 (5-for-18) and had a multi-hit game, June 11 at Boston (first game), going 2-for-3, then hit in three straight from June 15-18 (3-for-8). He appeared in 13 games in July, going 1-for-14, with three starts, all at shortstop. His one hit was timely; on July 30 against the Blue Jays, Wayne broke a 0-for-24 slump as his ninth-inning single drove in Randy Velarde to give the Yanks a 7-6 win.
In August, Wayne made 15 starts, including 10 straight from August 13-22 at third base, and in that span hit .200 (6-for-30). Overall he appeared in 20 games during August and hit .189 (10-for-53). Wayne appeared in 11 games in September and was 2-for-4 with no starts.
Overall, he made 30 starts and hit .211 in that capacity. The breakdown on his starts: second base (1), shortstop (11), third base (18).
He signed a two-year contract in December 1988. The contract runs through the 1990 season.
Tolleson underwent arthroscopic surgery on December 9 to repair frayed rotator cuff muscles in his right shoulder. The surgery was performed by Dr. James Andrews of the Alabama Sports Medicine Clinic in Birmingham. Wayne spent four separate stints on the disabled list in 1988 and played only 21 games all season.
He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on April 4 to open the 1988 season, assigned to Columbus on 20-day rehabilitation on April 16, transferred to the 21-day DL on May 7 and was again assigned to Columbus for 20-day rehabilitation from May 19-29. In six games with the Clippers, Wayne batted .185 (5-for-27) with four runs and an RBI with a stolen base and an error.
Wayne was activated from the 21-day DL on June 10 and made his 1988 debut that day against Baltimore in Yankee Stadium, going 1-for-5 in a start at second base. His double on June 12 against Baltimore was his first extra-base hit since May 27, 1987, going 79 games and 215 at-bats between extra-base hits. He was forced to leave the game on June 19 at Cleveland with a strained left hamstring and was placed on the 15-day DL on June 20.
Up to that point Tolleson had played in eight games, batting .313 (10-for-32) with three runs scored, two doubles and three RBIs while hitting safely in six of those eight games (including four multi-hit games). He was transferred to the 21-day DL on July 1 and was activated on July 14. Tolleson played in one game, July 16 against Chicago, going 0-for-3 with a run scored before straining his left hamstring again, and was placed back on the 15-day DL the following day.
He was transferred to the 21-day DL on July 25 and was activated on August 11. He played three games from August 11-13, going 0-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, before leaving the August 13 game at Minnesota after again straining his left hamstring and was placed back on the 15-day DL for the fourth time on August 14.
Wayne was activated from the disabled list for a fourth and final time on September 11. He played in nine games following that activation, going 5-for-20 (.250) with three runs and an RBI. Wayne started the last six games of the season (four at second base and two at third). In his final game, October 2 at Detroit, he went 3-for-4 with a run scored, Wayne's first three-hit game since July 1, 1987.
He stole his only base of the year on September 27 at Baltimore. He finished the season with a .254 average (15-for-59) with eight runs scored, two doubles and five RBIs.
Tolleson got off to a fast start in 1987, hitting .361 on April 26 after his first 18 games, and as late as May 8 was hitting .300 after his 27th game. He was still hitting as high as .270 on May 27 after 44 games. Wayne slumped after that, hitting just .184 in 77 games for the rest of the season, and finished with a .221 batting average for the year.
He hit three doubles in a five-game span from April 12-15, accounting for three of the four doubles he hit all season. Wayne hit his only home run (a solo shot) off Mike Morgan at Seattle on May 15 and had a six-game hitting streak from May 20-27, batting .364 (8-for-22) during that span with an RBI in each of the last five games of that streak.
He had just five extra-base hits all season (the homer and four doubles), with the last extra-base hit coming on May 27 followed by 204 at-bats without an extra-base hit. He had three RBIs on June 26 against Boston, matching his single-game career high; he did not, however, have an RBI after July 20, covering 53 at-bats in his final 30 games (20 games with a plate appearance). Wayne had 15 multi-hit games and had four game-winning RBIs in '87.
He was suffering from a sore right shoulder during the second half of the season and was placed on the 15-day disabled list on August 20 (retroactive to August 19) because of that injury; at that point, he was hitting .224 in 112 games. Wayne was activated from the DL on September 4 and went 1-for-10 in the nine games he played after his activation. He had only one hit in his final 27 at-bats (.037), beginning with his last at-bat on August 5. His last plate appearance came on September 11 at Toronto.
Batting right-handed, Tolleson hit .218 (24-for-110) with five RBIs, while batting left-handed he hit .222 (53-for-239) with 17 RBIs. He was successful in five out of eight stolen base attempts.
He played 119 games at shortstop and had a fielding percentage of .970, committing only 15 errors in 498 chances, and was eighth in fielding among American League shortstops playing 100 or more games. Tolleson went 21 games, June 8-30, without committing an error. He made three appearances at third base, including one start on July 1 at Toronto.
In 1986 Tolleson was acquired by the Yankees from the White Sox on July 29 along with Ron Kittle and Joel Skinner in exchange for Ron Hassey, Carlos Martinez and a player to be named later (catcher Bill Lindsey).
In 81 games with the Sox before the trade, he was hitting .250 with three home runs and 29 RBIs. After going hitless in his first game of the year, he put together a 10-game hitting streak from April 9-19, including two hits apiece in each of the last five games of that streak, batting .395 (15-for-38) in that span with nine RBIs. Tolleson matched his single-game career high with three RBIs on April 14 at Detroit. He hit his first home run of the season on April 29 against Baltimore off Scott McGregor, and victimized McGregor again on May 12 at Baltimore for his second homer. He put together another 10-game hitting streak from May 7-17, batting .385 (15-for-39), and hit his third and final homer of the season on June 1 at Toronto off Jimmy Key.Wayne slumped in June, hitting only .172 (10-for-58) in the month.
He hit .224 lefty and .282 righty with Chicago. He started 70 games with the White Sox, 60 at third base and 10 at shortstop.
He hit safely in his first nine games as a Yankee, from July 30-August 7, batting .485 (16-for-33) in that span. Wayne tied his single-game career high with four hits (4-for-5) on August 2 at Cleveland and scored three runs the following game, August 3 at Cleveland, notching his first and only game winning RBI as a Yankee in '86. Through August 23, after 22 games as a Yankee, he was hitting .338 (27-for-80). Over his next 17 games, from August 24 through September 11, he hit just .143 (8-for-56), dropping his average to .257, his low as a Yankee.
From that point, beginning on September 12, he hit safely in 16 of his final 21 games, batting .329 (26-for-79) in that span with eight runs, four doubles and eight RBIs. Wayne tied his single-game career high with four hits (4-for-4) on September 13 at Boston, and in the following game, September 14 at Boston, he collected three RBIs.
Wayne finished with a .284 average as a Yankee in 60 games. In those games he hit .283 (36-for-127) lefty and .284 (25-for-88) righty. He had 19 multiple hit games, including his two four-hit contests.
Overall in his combined total of 141 games, he hit .265 (126-for-475) with three homers and 43 RBIs. He batted .252 lefty and .283 righty. With the Yankees, he stole four bases in eight attempts, and for the year was 17-for-27 in stolen base attempts. After joining the Yankees, he played in all but one of the club's remaining 61 games and started 59 times, including 53 starts at shortstop, five at third base and one at second base.
Wayne committed eight errors in 81 games with the White Sox and six errors in 60 games with the Yankees. He went 17 straight games, from August 5 through August 24, without an error and committed just two errors in 35 games from August 5 through September 13. For the season Wayne's overall fielding percentage was .971; with the White Sox it was .960 and with the Yankees it was .979.
In 72 games at third base for Chicago and New York, his fielding percentage was .954. In 74 games at shortstop with those two clubs, his fielding percentage was .981, ranking him fourth among American League shortstops with 10 or more games. Tolleson was the sixth Yankee to start a game at shortstop in 1986.
Tolleson was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 8th round of the June 1978 free agent draft and hit .269 at Asheville in his first season of pro ball. In 1979 he batted .234 for Tulsa in his first year in the AA Texas League. In 1980, he was second in the Texas League with 46 steals (his pro career high) and was named to the league's all-star team. Wayne became a switch-hitter that year.
He hit .261 in 107 games at Wichita in 1981 and made his major league debut in September. Wayne had a fine spring training in 1982 and opened the season with the Rangers. He played sparingly and was optioned to Denver on April 26, then was recalled by Texas on July 23 and went 0-for-23 in his first 12 games.
Wayne started the 1983 season as a utility infielder but became the starting second baseman in late April when a knee injury sidelined Mike Richardt. He was hitting .288 through July 24 but batted just .211 in his last 53 games. He had a nine-game hitting streak. Wayne recorded his first major league triple and his first major league home run in the same game - June 11 at Minnesota. He was second on the club with 33 steals and was successful on all eight of his third base steal attempts.
He started the 1984 season well, hitting .297 (22-for-74) in his first 21 games through April 28, but batted just .189 over his final 97 games and slipped to .132 in his last 30 contests, beginning on July 22. Wayne led the Rangers with 22 steals and had two thefts in a game four times. He was successful on 84.6 of his 26 steal attempts, the second-best ratio in the American League (20 or more attempts) behind Willie Wilson's 90.3 percent. He also had a .979 fielding percentage (10 errors in 477 total chances) in 109 games at second base.
In his final season with the Rangers in 1985, Wayne topped all Texas regulars with his .313 batting average, the first .300-plus season of his professional career. After hitting .213 in 1984, his 100-point batting average improvement was the most in the major leagues. He finished fifth in the AL among all hitters with 200 or more official trips to the plate.
Wayne hit .333 from the left side in 231 at-bats. He hit .354 at Arlington Stadium and .262 on the road. His best month was April (.385) and his worst month was September/October (.250). Wayne had a 10-game hitting streak, August 30 through September 10, and also had a nine-game streak in late May and early June.
Six of his 18 RBIs were game winners. He tied the Texas club record with two triples in one game, August 11 against Baltimore.
Tolleson appeared in 123 games, 81 at shortstop, 29 at second base and 12 at third base. He was obtained by the White Sox along with Dave Schmidt from the Texas Rangers in November 1985 in exchange for Scott Fletcher, Edwin Correa and Jose Mota.
Born, raised and still residing in Spartanburg, South Carolina, he starred in basketball and football at Spartanburg High and was a prep teammate of NFL quarterback Steve Fuller. Tolleson played baseball and football for four seasons at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. He was named All-America as a wide receiver and led the NCAA in pass receptions as a senior, graduating from Western Carolina in 1978."

-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide