Tuesday, August 28, 2018

1990 Profile: Kevin Maas

"Kevin was selected by the Yankees in the 22nd round of the 1986 June draft. A .294 hitter in four pro seasons, he was named the Yankees' 1988 Minor League Player of the year.
He spent the entire 1989 season at Columbus where he hit .320 with 45 RBIs in 83 games and was named to the International League All-Star team. A knee injury ended his year in late July.
Kevin is a strong, versatile athlete with great potential."

-The New York Yankees Official 1990 Yearbook

"Maas spent the entire 1989 season at Columbus. He hit .320 in 83 games (third best on the club) with 23 doubles, six home runs and 45 RBIs. 31 of his 93 hits (33%) went for extra bases and his .474 slugging percentage ranked second on the team. He played 43 of 83 games as an outfielder but was named to the International League All-Star team as a designated hitter.
He was on the disabled list twice in 1989: from April 18-May 1 with the chicken pox, and from July 28 through the end of the season as he underwent arthroscopic surgery on August 16 to have ligaments in his right knee repaired. He signed a contract for the 1990 season.
Kevin was the Yankees' 22nd pick in the June 1986 free agent draft. He was signed by Bill Livesey and recommended by Greg Orr. He played 28 games with Oneonta, where he batted .356 with 10 doubles and 18 RBIs in his first professional season.
He spent the 1987 season at 'A' Ft. Lauderdale of the Florida State League where he batted .278 (122-for-439) with 28 doubles, 11 home runs, 73 RBIs, 14 stolen bases and 108 strikeouts. He played 76 of his 116 games at first base but was named as the designated hitter on the Florida State League All-Star team.
Maas was named the 1988 Yankee Minor League Player of the Year.
He started the season with 'A' Prince William of the Carolina League and batted .296 in 29 games with seven doubles, 12 home runs and 35 RBIs. He was promoted to AA Albany-Colonie of the Eastern League on May 13, where he finished the season.
Kevin was named to play in the mid-season Eastern League All-Star Game and was selected as the first baseman on the postseason Eastern League All-Star team. He was named Topps Minor League Player of the Month in the Eastern League for August, when he batted .243 in 31 games with 20 runs scored, six home runs and 16 RBIs (including four game-winning RBIs).
He batted .263 in 108 games at Albany with 66 runs, 14 doubles, 16 home runs and 55 RBIs, along with 103 strikeouts. He finished third in the Eastern League in home runs and third in walks (64). Kevin's combined 28 home runs at Prince William and Albany led the Yankee farm system. He was added to the Yankees' 40-man roster in November of 1988.
Kevin graduated from Bishop O'Dowd (CA) High School and earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He is the younger brother of Jason Maas, an outfielder in the Yankee organization."

-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide

Named Eastern League Player of the Month, August 1988.

-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide

Thursday, August 23, 2018

1990 Profile: Oscar Azocar

"Oscar was signed as a free agent by the Yankees. He's a top-rated prospect in the organization who possesses strong defensive skills and runs very well.
A former pitcher who has hit .290 since being converted to an outfielder before the 1987 season, Oscar split 1989 between Columbus and Albany-Colonie."

-The New York Yankees Official 1990 Yearbook

"Oscar began the 1989 season with the AA Albany-Colonie Yankees. He hit .279 (101-for-362) with 15 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 47 RBIs over 92 games. He was promoted to Columbus and hit .292 (38-for-130) with eight doubles, three triples, a home run and 12 RBIs.12 of Oscar's 38 hits were for extra bases and he had a .423 slugging percentage.
He signed a contract for the 1990 season.
Signed as a free agent by Yankee scout Fred Ferriera in November 1983, Oscar was 4-1 at Sarasota in 1984 in his first professional season, with a 1.28 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) with 60 strikeouts in 56.1 innings pitched. He spent time with both Sarasota and Oneonta in 1985. At Sarasota, Oscar was 4-0 with a 1.45 ERA in five games (four starts) with 36 strikeouts in 37.1 innings, and at Oneonta was 0-2 with a 4.86 ERA in 14 games (two starts).
In 1986, his final season as a pitcher, he posted a record of 4-2 and a 3.25 ERA in six games at Sarasota (five starts) before being promoted to Oneonta, where he appeared in 10 games (one start) with a record of 2-0, a 2.86 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 22 innings.
After spending his professional career as a pitcher, he was converted to an outfielder prior to the 1987 season. In his initial campaign as an everyday player, Oscar batted .359 (69-for-192) in 53 games for the Ft. Lauderdale Yankees of the 'A' Florida State League, with six home runs and 39 RBIs.
He played the entire 1988 season with the AA Albany-Colonie Yankees of the Eastern League and batted .273 with six home runs, 66 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. Oscar led the Eastern League in games (138), at-bats (543) and triples (9) and was second in hits (148) and total bases (206). He also led all outfielders in errors (15). He was named as an outfielder on the postseason Eastern League All-Star team. He was added to the 40-man roster in November 1988.
Oscar resides in Caracas, Venezuela."

-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide

Led Eastern League in games (138), at-bats (543), triples (9) and errors (15), 1988.
Named to Eastern League All-Star team, 1988.

-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide

Saturday, August 11, 2018

1990 Profile: Chuck Cary

"When you least expect it. Isn't that how the story goes? It [was] hard imagining Chuck Cary as a key to Yankee pitching hopes for 1990. There was no hoopla when he was signed in January 1989, and nobody cared when he was called up in May. But after an impressive start and a string of strong performances, Cary turned himself into a prominent figure for this season. The 30-year-old left-hander has indeed been a find for the Yankees.
'I was given a shot, and I've taken full advantage of it,' says Cary, who not only expects to make the 1990 staff but to be a major contributor. 'Nothing can compare to playing for this team, in this city, and in this Stadium.'
It may too early to call him a diamond in the rough, but if the Yankees are to succeed, a lot will depend on Chuck Cary."

-The New York Yankees Official 1990 Yearbook

"Chuck began the 1989 season with the Clippers and was recalled on May 9. At the time of his recall he was 0-0 with no saves in nine relief appearances with a 1.84 ERA (14.2 IP, 3 ER). He made seven appearances (all in relief) in May and was 0-0 with no saves with a 1.64 ERA  (11 IP, 2 ER), allowing just four hits in the month.
He made his Yankee debut on May 13 at California, allowing one run on one hit (a Bill Schroeder homer) over 2.1 innings. After that Chuck allowed just one run on three hits through the rest of the month.
Chuck made three appearances in June, two in relief and one start. On June 5 in New York against Baltimore he allowed a grand slam to Steve Finley, the first hit he allowed to a left-handed hitter as a Yankee. On June 14 in Baltimore, Chuck made his first major league start, allowing no runs and two hits over five innings. On June 22 he was placed on the 21-day disabled list, retroactive to June 15, with a sprained lower back and did not pitch again until after the break. At the time of his injury he was 0-0 with no saves in 11 appearances (one start) with a 2.84 ERA (25.1 IP, 8 ER).
During his rehabilitation Chuck pitched twice for Columbus (8.2 IP, 5 ER). He was reinstated on July 11 and started on July 15 against Kansas City, pitching seven innings and allowing one earned run on two hits and left the game with score 1-1 (the Yankees lost 7-1).
On July 23 at Texas, Chuck pitched masterpiece until things fell apart in the last of the ninth inning. After allowing a first-inning single to Scott Fletcher, he carried a 1-hitter into the ninth inning. With two out Fletcher doubled, driving in a run, and Chuck exited the game having allowed two hits and was not involved in the decision with the Yankees losing 5-4 in 10 innings. In his first three starts Chuck was 0-0 with a 1.31 ERA (20.2 IP, 3 ER).
He was the winning pitcher on July 29 against Toronto, pitching a complete game in a 7-2 Yankee win. The win was Chuck's first since September 30, 1987 when he beat the Astros as a member of the Braves and it was his first AL win since beating the A's on September 5, 1986 as a member of the Tigers.
Chuck won again on August 3, again throwing a complete game, a 5-hitter, in an 8-1 Yankee win against Minnesota; he had a shutout until the ninth inning when Greg Gagne hit a home run. On August 8 against Cleveland, Chuck struck out a career high 10 batters. He ended the season on a winning note at Baltimore, allowing two hits and no runs over seven innings and again striking out 10 as the Yankees shut out the Orioles 2-0.
In 11 starts in 1989, Chuck posted a 4-3 record with a 3.25 ERA (74.2 IP, 27 ER) and the Yankees went 6-5 when he started. He pitched into the seventh in seven of those starts. He won four games, two more than in his major league career entering the season. In his four wins he had a 1.19 ERA, in his four losses he had an 8.15 ERA and in his four no-decisions he had a 2.42 ERA. He made 11 relief appearances and was 0-1 with no saves and a 3.28 ERA (24.2 IP, 9 ER); the Yankees were 0-11 when he pitched in relief.
Overall, Chuck allowed 13 home runs, three in his first 41 innings and ten over his last 58.1 innings. He had a .209 batting average against, best on the team and 72 points better than the club average of .281. Chuck was 1-0 with a 3.10 ERA and a .194 batting average against in day games, 3-4 with a 3.33 ERA and a .215 batting against in night games. He struck out 79 and walked 29, an average of 7.2 strikeouts and 2.6 walks per nine innings.
Chuck signed a contract for the 1990 season.
He was was originally a 7th round selection of the Detroit Tigers in the June 1981 free agent draft. He began his pro career at class-A Macon, going 5-5 with a 2.59 ERA in 13 starts. With AA Birmingham in 1982, Chuck tossed 166 innings and fanned 125 while setting personal marks with eight wins and 14 losses.
Chuck split 1983 between Birmingham and AAA Evansville. He started all 17 of his games at Birmingham and relieved in 14 of 15 at Evansville. [With Birmingham for all of 1984] he started 20 of 22 games and tied for the Southern League lead for fielding percentage by a pitcher (1.000).
In 1985, Chuck was AAA Nashville's leader in appearances (48) and saves (8). He made his major league debut on August 22 at Oakland, earning his first save by fanning two A's in one inning and preserving a 5-3 Tiger win.
Chuck opened the 1986 season with Detroit. He was optioned to Nashville on June 16, recalled on September 2 and collected his first major league win on September 5 at Oakland. He allowed just one earned run in his five eight appearances covering 12.1 innings. Chuck was traded with pitcher Randy O'Neal to the Atlanta Braves for outfielders Terry Harper and Freddy Tiburcio in January of 1987.
He spent most of his first season in the Atlanta organization with the AAA Richmond Braves, leading the club in strikeouts with 127 and allowing just 104 hits in 105.2 innings pitched. Chuck was recalled by Atlanta on September 1 and made his National League debut on September 2, tossing an inning of hitless relief while fanning two Pirates. He collected his first NL save on September 22, tossing four scoreless frames against Houston (2 H, 3 K)- Chuck's longest outing with the Braves. He recorded his first NL victory on September 30, hurling 1.1 hitless innings of relief as the Braves topped the Astros 3-1.
He struck out 15 in 16.2 innings of work in 13 games for Atlanta. He was 1-for-3 in save situations, first batters Chuck faced hit .385 (5-for-13) against him, and six of seven inherited runners scored.
Chuck opened the 1988 season with Richmond and was 0-0 with a 1.42 ERA in five games before being sent to Bradenton on injury rehabilitation from July 29-August 17. He finished the season with Atlanta, appearing in seven games (0-0, 6.48). Chuck played winter ball in the 1988-89 off-season with Caguas in the Puerto Rican league. He was signed as a free agent by Yankee VP George Bradley in January of 1989.
Chuck graduated from California High School in San Ramon, CA, attended the University of California at Berkeley and resides in San Ramon."

-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide