1991 Profile: Hensley Meulens

1990 Yankee Minor League Player of the Year

"Figures prominently in Yankees'  plans after big year for Columbus (AAA). Meulens responded well to the move from third base to left field. He tied for second in the International League with 26 home runs and was one RBI behind the leader with 96. He also hit .285.
Born in Curacao, Meulens was signed as a free agent in October 1985."

-John Shea and Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1991 Edition

"Much has been expected of Hensley 'Bam-Bam' Meulens and much has been said about him. The strapping young man from the Netherlands Antilles feels he's ready to put his outstanding five-year minor league career behind him and embark on his next goal- to be the every day left fielder for the New York Yankees. The former third baseman is exactly the kind of player the Yankees can build around in the '90s.
'I'm excited about what could happen this season,' says the 1990 International League Player of the Year. 'I think the main thing I have now is confidence. I know I belong here. I don't want to go back to Triple-A.'
Manager Stump Merrill can see that Meulens is ripe for the majors: 'He's made the adjustment to the outfield and he's matured a great deal. I think he's ready to come of age.' "

-The New York Yankees Official 1991 Yearbook

"Meulens had a tremendous season with the Columbus Clippers in 1990, hitting .285 with 20 doubles, 26 home runs and 96 RBIs over 136 games. He was named International League player of the year, leading the league in total bases (245) and finishing second in home runs and RBIs. Meulens led the Yankee organization in home runs and total bases. With the Clippers he played first base (32 games), third base (15 games) and the outfield (88 games).
He also achieved International League Player of the Week honors for June 17-23 (.409, 4 HR, 9 RBI) and was Player of the Month for June (.309, 7 HR, 25 RBI). He was also named Topps International League Player of the Month for both June and July. Hensley was rated the No. 3 prospect in the International League in the Baseball America post-season rankings.
He had his contract purchased by the Yankees on September 9 and remained with the club through the end of the season. Upon promotion, Hensley played in 23 games of which 22 were starts (all in left field). He hit .241 with seven doubles, three home runs and 10 RBIs.
He started out hot, getting five hits in his first 10 at-bats. He had his first assist in his first game on September 10 against Texas, getting Steve Buechele trying to stretch a single into a double in the eighth inning of a tied game. Hensley had a big game against Texas two days later, going 2-for-4 with his first major league home run (off Charlie Hough) and an assist on a play at the plate in the seventh inning.
Hensley cooled down after his first three games, going 1-for-20 from September 13-18, including an 0-for-16 skid. He broke out of the slump on September 19 at Toronto, going 2-for-4 with a home run off Jimmy Key.
From September 22-29, Hensley hit in a season-best seven straight games, going 10-for-29 (.345) with a homer and four RBIs to raise his season average 50 points to .275. He had his big game on September 25 against Baltimore, going 2-for-5 with a home run (off Mike Smith) and four RBIs. Hensley ended the season going 1-for-14, bringing his batting average down 34 points to a season-ending .241.
He struck out 25 times with a batting average of .345 when putting the ball in play. The Yankees were 10-12 in his 22 starts. He hit .319 (15-for-47) at home, .139 (5-for-36) on the road, .290 (9-for-31) against left-handers, .212 (11-for-52) against right-handers.
He signed a contract for the 1991 season. After the season he played winter ball in the Dominican Republic and led the circuit in hitting with a .338 (44-for-130) batting average with three home runs and 20 RBIs over 36 games.
Meulens began the 1989 season with the AA Albany-Colonie Yankees. He hit .257 with 11 home runs and 45 RBIs in 104 games. He was promoted to AAA Columbus on August 9 but still managed to finish tied for second on the Albany club in home runs (11) and lead the Eastern League in hit by pitches (9).
With Columbus, Meulens appeared in 14 games and hit .289 with four doubles, a home run and three RBIs. He was recalled by the Yankees on August 23 and spent the remainder of the season with them. He made eight consecutive starts (August 23-29) and then did not see action again.
On August 23, Hensley made his major league debut, going 1-for-3 against the Red Sox and getting his first major league hit, a 7th inning single off Mike Boddicker. His only RBI came on August 25 against Baltimore, a 9th inning single off Jeff Ballard driving in the lone Yankee run in a 3-1 loss. His only multi-hit game came on August 28, a two-hit effort against Oakland.
Meulens began the 1988 season at Albany-Colonie of the AA Eastern League and batted .245 in 79 games with nine doubles, 13 home runs and 40 RBIs along with 96 strikeouts. He was named as the starter at third base in the Eastern League All-Star Game. He started all 79 games at third base and committed 23 errors but did tie for the Eastern League lead in double plays by a third baseman (18).
He was promoted to AAA Columbus on July 5 and played 55 games with the Clippers, batting .230 with nine doubles, six home runs and 22 RBIs along with 61 strikeouts. Hensley played 54 games at third for the Clippers and committed 14 errors. He was added to the Yankees 40-man roster in November.
Meulens was signed by the Yankees as a free agent on October 31, 1985 by Yankee scout Fred Ferreira and was recommended by Yankee scout Dick Groch. He played 59 games in 1986, his first professional season, at 'A' Sarasota and batted .233 in 59 games with four home runs and 31 RBIs along with 66 strikeouts. He led the Gulf Coast League in strikeouts while leading the league's third basemen in games (59), total chances (178), putouts (40) and assists (118). Meulens was named as the third baseman on the Gulf Coast League All-Star team.
He began the 1987 season at 'A' Prince William where he played 116 games and batted .300 (129-for-430) with 76 runs, 23 doubles, 28 home runs, 103 RBIs, 14 stolen bases and 124 strikeouts. He led the Carolina League in home runs and led the league's third basemen in errors (37). Hensley was named to the 1987 Carolina League All-Star team as a utility infielder. He finished the season by playing 17 games at 'A' Ft. Lauderdale where he hit .172 (10-for-58) with two RBIs and 25 strikeouts.
Hensley is a native of Curacao (part of the Netherlands Antilles, located in the Caribbean Sea) and still resides there."

-1991 New York Yankees Information Guide