Barfield topped the majors in homers with 40 in 1986 and has clouted 20-plus homers six times. He topped major league outfielders with 16 assists last year.
Born in Joliet, Illinois, Barfield was acquired from the Blue Jays for Al Leiter on April 30, 1989."
-John Shea and Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1991 Edition
"The Yankees have been fortunate enough to feature some of baseball's best outfielders over the years, and Jesse Barfield has taken his place alongside those names. He possesses the grace, the smarts, the speed and strength that is required of the outfield elite. His defense, especially his howitzer arm, can win games alone as exhibited by his leading the majors with 16 assists in 1990. It was the second time he's been atop that list in the last three seasons and he is now ranked third among active players in career assists.
At the plate, Barfield's 25 home runs and 78 RBI led the Yankees in '90. His all-around contributions can certainly help the club return to contender status in 1991 and he's well aware of what both aspects of his game can accomplish. 'Offense brings them,' he says of Yankee fans, 'and defense sends them home happy."
-The New York Yankees Official 1991 Yearbook
"Jesse hit .246 with 25 home runs and 78 RBIs in 1990 and led the club in homers, RBIs, walks (82) and strikeouts (150).
He started 15 games in April and was hot from the beginning of the season, getting five hits in his first 15 at-bats through five games. His first home run came on April 24 against Seattle off Matt Young. Two days later, also against Seattle, Jesse hit of pair of homers off Randy Johnson and was robbed of a third when Ken Griffey Jr. reached over the center field fence to make a spectacular catch; the two-homer game was the 18th of his career and his only one of 1990.
His batting average for the month was .224 with three home runs (all at home) and eight RBIs. He struck out 17 times, giving him a batting average of .344 when putting the ball in play.
Barfield had three five-game hitting streaks in May but wound up hitting .259 for the month. He hit five home runs, all on the road, including circuit clouts in consecutive games at Chicago on May 28-29 (off Eric King and Jack McDowell). Jesse drove in 17 runs (15 on the road) and struck out 28 times in 85 at-bats, giving him a .386 batting average while putting the ball in play for the month.
He made 27 starts in June and did not commit an error after committing three through the month of May. Jesse hit .271 in June, his best average for any month of 1990, with four home runs and 13 RBIs. He had a .406 batting average while putting the ball in play.
Jesse hit homers in consecutive games, June 2-3, against Baltimore (Dave Johnson and Bob Milacki) and another off Milacki on June 8 at Baltimore. He reached base safely in 11 of the first 12 games of the month, hitting .364 (12-for-33, 8 BB) and raising his overall average 23 points to .269. Jesse enjoyed a season best nine-game hitting streak from June 18-27 (10-for-37, .270) and reached base safely in the final 13 games of the month. He went into the break hitting .262 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs.
He went into a slump after the break, hitting .108 (4-for-37) over the first 15 games; he was 0-for-17 before getting a pinch-hit single on July 22. On July 27 in the first game of a doubleheader at Cleveland, Barfield recorded 10 putouts, two shy of the major league record for putouts by a right fielder. Over the last four games of July he went 6-for-11 with two home runs and five RBIs, including homers in each of the final two games, against Detroit (Steve Searcy and Clay Parker). The homer on July 30 broke a string of 76 homerless at-bats. Barfield hit .243 for the month with seven RBIs.
August turned out to be his weakest month average wise (.193) but he hit six home runs and drove in 16 runs. Included were home runs in three straight games, August 26-28, off Dan Plesac, against Milwaukee, and Ben McDonald and Jose Mesa at Baltimore. The one off Plesac was an 8th inning two-run shot tying the game at 3-3 with Barfield scoring the winning run in the 11th inning on a Steve Sax single.
Barfield hit .281 (25-for-89) in September/October with six home runs and 16 RBIs while drawing 21 walks, his most for any month of 1990. He played 29 games in September, reaching base safely in all but three.
He hit safely in seven of eight games from September 5-13 (.346, 9-for-26) raising his average seven points to .243. In three games, September 15-17, he reached base safely in 10 of 13 plate appearances (4-for-7, 6 BB), getting on base five times in five at-bats (1-for-1, 4 BB) on September 17. Jesse's final home run of the season came on September 28 at Milwaukee off Ted Higuera. A strikeout by Randy Nosek of Detroit on October 2 at the Stadium gave Jesse 150 for the season.
For the season, Jesse led the majors with 16 outfield assists and has now led the majors in each of the past two seasons (20 in '89). He has led the league in outfield assists five times, two shy of the record held by Carl Yastrzemski. Barfield has 149 career outfield assists, third on the active list behind Dave Winfield (156) and Dwight Evans (151), and has 32 as a Yankee.
Barfield registered his first assist of 1990 on Opening Day (April 12), in New York, getting Brook Jacoby attempting to stretch a single into a double. His monthly breakdown of assists was as follows: April (2), May (2), June (3), July (2), August (4), September (3). Jesse had four assists in a 31-game period from April 29-June 2 and then seven more in a 24-game stretch from August 17-September 11. He also had a two-assist game on September 6 against California, getting Jack Howell twice: at third base and at the plate in the 10th inning of a game the Yankees lost in 11 innings.
Of his assists, two came at first base, eight came at second, three came at third and three at the plate. He had a least one assist in every inning except the third and had two in the 10th inning. 13 of Barfield's 16 assists came at the Stadium and all cam as a right fielder.
Barfield's games (153), batting average (.246), homers (25) and RBIs (78) were all his best since 1987. He ranked ninth in the American League in home runs, seventh in home runs per at-bat (1:19), tied for fifth in RBIs per at-bat (1:6.1), 12th in slugging (.456) and fourth in strikeouts (150). His strikeout total equaled his career high in 1989 and set the Yankee record for most in one season, yet Jesse hit .359 when putting the ball in play. He shared the team lead (with Mel Hall and Steve Sax) with seven game-tying RBIs and had a club best 28 two-out RBIs.
He had 20+ doubles for the sixth straight season, had 20+ homers for the sixth time and played 150+ games for the fifth time in six seasons. On April 26 against Seattle his seventh-inning home run (second of the game) was career home run No. 200. On May 17 against Minnesota, his third at-bat of the game was No. 4,000 of his career. His August 4 fourth inning double against Cleveland off Bud Black was No. 200 of his career.
Jesse led the club with 21 home runs and 64 RBIs in night games. He hit .259 with 13 homers and 25 RBIs against left-handed pitchers, .259 with 12 homers and a club high 53 RBIs against right-handers. He hit .218 at home but had 12 home runs and a club high 35 RBIs; he hit .274 with 13 homers and 43 RBIs, all club highs, on the road. Jesse hit .307 (23-for-75) on artificial turf. He hit .264 (29-for-110) with men in scoring position as opposed to .194 in 1989 and was 4-for-10 with three doubles and 12 RBIs with the bases loaded- he had three of the club's four extra-base hits with the bases loaded.
He signed a three-year contract on October 12, 1989. The contract extends through the 1992 season.
Barfield was acquired by the Yankees from the Toronto Blue Jays on April 30, 1989 in exchange for pitcher Al Leiter. At the time of the trade, he was hitting .200 (16-for-80) with nine of those hits being for extra bases (4 2B, 5 HR). He also had 11 RBIs and four assists as a Blue Jay.
He started the season by hitting in five straight games (6-for-20, .300) with two home runs. He dropped his average to .217 over the next nine games, going 6-for-38 (.158) with four of those hits coming on April 10 against the Yankees in New York. To his credit, Barfield had a two-assist game against the Royals on April 15. He played in seven more games for the Jays before being traded, going 4-for-22 (.182).
Jesse played in Pinstripes for the first time on May 2 in New York in right field against the Royals, singling in four at-bats off Mark Gubicza. Following that game, he went 0-for-19 over a seven-game stretch until May 8, then hit in three straight with two home runs. On May 9, Jesse hit his first home run as a Yankee, off Texas' Charlie Hough. He struck out in seven games (10 total) from May 15-28 and hit .143 (4-for-28) in that span. He also missed four games when he suffered a mild concussion running into the fence at Oakland on May 17.
On June 4, Jesse recorded the first of his two two-homer games in Milwaukee. He hit in a season best seven straight games from June 11 (second game) through June 17, going 10-for-26 and raising his average from .210 to .246. He also reached base in 23 straight games from June 3-29, going 27-for-82 (.329) with 19 walks, raising his average from .154 to .245. For the month of June, he hit .300 with three home runs and 12 RBIs, the average being Jesse's highest for any one month.
Jesse started out July hitting in six straight (7-for-22) and 13 of 15 games (16-for-48), raising his average from .239 to a season best .261 on July 19. On July 6 against Detroit, the Yankees allowed a run in the top of the 11th inning; Jesse homered off Mike Henneman to lead off the bottom of the inning. The Yankees won when Steve Sax hit a sacrifice fly later that inning. On July 9 at Boston, Jesse had his 17th career two-homer game and drove in all five runs.
At the break he was hitting .247 with nine homers and 29 RBIs as a Yankee. On July 14 against the Royals in game 2 of a twin bill, with the Yankees trailing 7-6 entering the last of the ninth, Jesse hit a three-run homer off Steve Farr for a 9-6 win. From July 16-19, he reached base eight straight times against Kansas City, then drew a base on balls in his first plate appearance in Chicago, reaching base nine straight times (2 1B, 1 HR, 4 BB, 2 IBB) before being stopped. From July 19-28 was 6-for-30 with 16 strikeouts, fanning seven straight times from July 20-22. In July, Barfield hit .291 with six home runs and 15 RBIs.
From July 29-August 3 he hit in six straight (9-for-23), including a three-run game-tying homer on August 2 against the Twins in a game the Yankees would lose in the 10th. Barfield then had a slow spell from August 8-17, going 3-for-26 and dropping his average from .258 to .246. He hit in five straight (8-for-18) from August 18-22 and ended the month by going 5-for-37, dropping his average to .248 at the end of the month.
He started out slowly in September, going 2-for-10 over the first six games. He hit in four straight (September 24-27) but was 2-for-9 over the final three games of the season.
Jesse led the majors in outfield assists with 20 in 1989. It was his third 20+ assist season. His 16 assists as a Yankee were the most since Dave Winfield's 17 in 1982.
He did not register an assist as a Yankee until his 32nd game with the club, and that came from center field on June 13 at Baltimore. He then reeled off an assist in four straight games, against Texas (June 17-18) and Chicago (June 20-21). Jesse had eight assists overall in June, all in a span of 17 games, had four in July, one in August and three in September.
Of his assists, four came at second base, six at third base and six at home plate. 11 of his 16 assists (69%) came when the Yankees were either ahead or trailing by two runs or less. 12 came at Yankee Stadium and four on the road, with the four road assists all being at home with the Yankees ahead or behind by two runs or less.
With 87 walks for the season, his career best, Jesse ranked eighth in the American League and tied for 12th in the majors. He also set a career high in strikeouts (150), and his .234 batting average was his lowest as a regular. He played 150+ games for the fourth time in five years. Jesse's 23 doubles were his fifth straight season of 20+ and his 23 homers were also a fifth straight 20+ season. Of his 18 homers as a Yankee, six were hit at the Stadium. Jesse is still the Blue Jays' all-time home run leader with 179.
Selected in 9th round of the June 1977 draft, Barfield spent the season with Utica [Class-A New York-Penn League], helping the club to a second place finish. In 1978 he spent the season at Dunedin [Class-A Florida State League] where he slumped noticeably, batting only .206. He had his best minor league season in 1979 with Kinston [Class-A Carolina League], batting .264 with 71 RBIs, more than in his two previous seasons combined.
In 1980, Barfield led Knoxville [AA Southern League] in home runs (14) and RBIs (61). He spent his second season with Knoxville in 1981 before joining the parent club in September. In his major league debut on September 3, Jesse responded with a hit, an RBI and a stolen base. He hit his first major league home run on September 6 off Chicago's Britt Burns. Jesse hit safely through his first eight games, setting a club mark for the start of a career. In total, he hit safely in 12 of his first 13 major league games.
In 1982, Jesse was Labatt's Blue Player of the Month for April while becoming the first Blue Jay to hit a pinch-hit grand slam, on April 24. He captured Toronto's BBWAA Rookie of the Year award while setting club rookie marks in home runs (18), bases on balls (42) and slugging percentage (.426).
Jesse tied for the club lead in home runs (27) in 1983, setting the club mark for home runs at Exhibition Stadium (22). He led the team in two-homer games (4) and set then career highs in homers, runs (58), triples (3) and RBIs (68). Jesse also led the club in outfield assists (16) with errorless streaks of 55 and 50 games.
He was the American League Player of the Week for the week ending September 4 on the basis of a .421 average, seven homers and 13 RBIs. Jesse raised his average 53 points over his last 53 games, including four home runs in eight at-bats, September 1-2.
He was platooned in right field in 1984, seeing action against left-handed pitchers. Jesse set then personal highs in doubles (14) and stolen bases (8) while leading the club with three four-hit games. He clouted five home runs in three games, July 1-6.
In 1985, Jesse set a personal high with a 16-game hitting streak from May 8-26. Among his six home runs in 10 games from May 10-21, he tied the then club mark with home runs in three consecutive games from May 19-21.
Jesse reached base safely in 24 consecutive games from August 3-27 and was named Labatt's Blue Player of the Month for August (.365, 2 HR, 17 RBI). He had seven consecutive hits and reached base nine straight times, August 8-9. Jesse set the American League record with extra-base hits in 11 consecutive games.
For the 1985 season, he was third in the American League in slugging percentage (.536), ninth in doubles (34) and 12th in game-winning RBIs (12). Jesse set then club marks in extra-hits (70) and strikeouts (143) as well as then personal highs in at-bats (539), RBIs (84), hits (156), doubles (34) and home runs (27). He was the first Blue Jay to have 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in the same season. Jesse led AL with 22 outfield assists to set the club mark. He hit safely in six of seven ALCS games.
Jesse was voted as Labatt's Blue Player of the Year and Blue Jays Player of the Year by Toronto's BBWAA.
In 1986, Jesse set a personal high with six RBIs on May 17 against Cleveland. He was Labatt's Blue Player of the Month for May (.276, 9 HR, 23 RBI), then became the first Blue Jay player to reach 100-homer mark, on June 1 off Bob James of Chicago.
Jesse's 10th career two-homer game came on July 3 against Boston, followed by his first All-Star Game appearance, going 0-for-2. He was Labatt's Blue Player of the Month for September/October (.266, 10 HR).
He led American League in home runs (40) and was among the league leaders in slugging percentage (.559, 2nd), extra-base hits (77, 2nd), total bases (329, 5th), runs (107, tied for 5th), game-winning RBIs (13, tied for 7th) and doubles (35, tied for 10th). He led the club in RBIs (108, tied with George Bell), homers, strikeouts (146) and slugging, and hit six ninth-inning home runs
Barfield led all American League outfielders with 20 assists while capturing Gold Glove honors. He won the Silver Slugger Award, was voted Blue Jays Player of the Year by Toronto's BBWAA and voted to the AP Major League All-Star team. Jesse was named to the American League All-Star team which toured Japan after the 1986 season.
Moved around in the batting order for much of 1987, Jesse's average dropped from .319 to .248 from June 10-August 26. His seventh career four-hit game came on June 16 against Detroit, followed by his eighth career four-hit game on July 16 against Milwaukee. Barfield's home run against Texas on July 23 ended a drought of 22 games, and his sacrifice hit on August 14 was his first since June 24, 1984. He delivered a pinch hit against New York on September 12, his first since September 29, 1984. His third and fourth four-hit games of the year came on September 14 against Baltimore and September 26 against Detroit. He hit no home runs in his last 21 games.
Jesse placed fifth in the AL in games (159) and at-bats (590), and tied Ruben Sierra for the league lead in assists and won his second consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Award for defensive excellence. He underwent surgery on his left knee and left wrist during the off-season.
He started the 1988 season going 0-for-11 from April 11-17, then hit his second career grand slam on April 19 off Kansas City's Bret Saberhagen. He left the May 14 game at Chicago with a swelling of the left wrist and was on the disabled list from May 16-31.
His solo homer off Walt Terrell of Detroit on June 18 snapped a drought of 17 homerless games, and his season high four RBIs at Detroit on June 19 was his first multiple RBI game since April 29. His third career grand slam came off Oakland's Rick Honeycutt on July 3. He tied a personal high with homers in three consecutive games from August 21-23.
Jesse played his 1,000th major league game on September 19, becoming the fourth player to reach the 1,000-game plateau in a Blue Jays uniform. His third grand slam of the season came on September 21 off Detroit's Paul Gibson. He tied a personal high with two stolen bases on October 1 against Baltimore.
His longest hit streak was five games, five times, and he homered in at least two consecutive games on three occasions. He was 16-for-47 (.340) with five home runs and 12 RBIs against the Tigers and 15-for-40 (.375) with two homers and 10 RBIs against the Royals. Jesse hit .209 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs through the break compared to .278 with 11 homers and 30 RBIs after the break. He led the team with 13 outfield assists.
Jesse attended Joliet Central High School (outside of Chicago) where former major leaguers Bill Gullickson, Larry Gura and Jack Perconte attended high school. His uncle played Negro league baseball.
Jesse enjoys basketball and ping-pong. His favorite team growing up was the Cubs and his favorite player was Ernie Banks."
-1991 New York Yankees Information Guide
Selected in 9th round of the June 1977 draft, Barfield spent the season with Utica [Class-A New York-Penn League], helping the club to a second place finish. In 1978 he spent the season at Dunedin [Class-A Florida State League] where he slumped noticeably, batting only .206. He had his best minor league season in 1979 with Kinston [Class-A Carolina League], batting .264 with 71 RBIs, more than in his two previous seasons combined.
In 1980, Barfield led Knoxville [AA Southern League] in home runs (14) and RBIs (61). He spent his second season with Knoxville in 1981 before joining the parent club in September. In his major league debut on September 3, Jesse responded with a hit, an RBI and a stolen base. He hit his first major league home run on September 6 off Chicago's Britt Burns. Jesse hit safely through his first eight games, setting a club mark for the start of a career. In total, he hit safely in 12 of his first 13 major league games.
In 1982, Jesse was Labatt's Blue Player of the Month for April while becoming the first Blue Jay to hit a pinch-hit grand slam, on April 24. He captured Toronto's BBWAA Rookie of the Year award while setting club rookie marks in home runs (18), bases on balls (42) and slugging percentage (.426).
Jesse tied for the club lead in home runs (27) in 1983, setting the club mark for home runs at Exhibition Stadium (22). He led the team in two-homer games (4) and set then career highs in homers, runs (58), triples (3) and RBIs (68). Jesse also led the club in outfield assists (16) with errorless streaks of 55 and 50 games.
He was the American League Player of the Week for the week ending September 4 on the basis of a .421 average, seven homers and 13 RBIs. Jesse raised his average 53 points over his last 53 games, including four home runs in eight at-bats, September 1-2.
He was platooned in right field in 1984, seeing action against left-handed pitchers. Jesse set then personal highs in doubles (14) and stolen bases (8) while leading the club with three four-hit games. He clouted five home runs in three games, July 1-6.
In 1985, Jesse set a personal high with a 16-game hitting streak from May 8-26. Among his six home runs in 10 games from May 10-21, he tied the then club mark with home runs in three consecutive games from May 19-21.
Jesse reached base safely in 24 consecutive games from August 3-27 and was named Labatt's Blue Player of the Month for August (.365, 2 HR, 17 RBI). He had seven consecutive hits and reached base nine straight times, August 8-9. Jesse set the American League record with extra-base hits in 11 consecutive games.
For the 1985 season, he was third in the American League in slugging percentage (.536), ninth in doubles (34) and 12th in game-winning RBIs (12). Jesse set then club marks in extra-hits (70) and strikeouts (143) as well as then personal highs in at-bats (539), RBIs (84), hits (156), doubles (34) and home runs (27). He was the first Blue Jay to have 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in the same season. Jesse led AL with 22 outfield assists to set the club mark. He hit safely in six of seven ALCS games.
Jesse was voted as Labatt's Blue Player of the Year and Blue Jays Player of the Year by Toronto's BBWAA.
In 1986, Jesse set a personal high with six RBIs on May 17 against Cleveland. He was Labatt's Blue Player of the Month for May (.276, 9 HR, 23 RBI), then became the first Blue Jay player to reach 100-homer mark, on June 1 off Bob James of Chicago.
Jesse's 10th career two-homer game came on July 3 against Boston, followed by his first All-Star Game appearance, going 0-for-2. He was Labatt's Blue Player of the Month for September/October (.266, 10 HR).
He led American League in home runs (40) and was among the league leaders in slugging percentage (.559, 2nd), extra-base hits (77, 2nd), total bases (329, 5th), runs (107, tied for 5th), game-winning RBIs (13, tied for 7th) and doubles (35, tied for 10th). He led the club in RBIs (108, tied with George Bell), homers, strikeouts (146) and slugging, and hit six ninth-inning home runs
Barfield led all American League outfielders with 20 assists while capturing Gold Glove honors. He won the Silver Slugger Award, was voted Blue Jays Player of the Year by Toronto's BBWAA and voted to the AP Major League All-Star team. Jesse was named to the American League All-Star team which toured Japan after the 1986 season.
Moved around in the batting order for much of 1987, Jesse's average dropped from .319 to .248 from June 10-August 26. His seventh career four-hit game came on June 16 against Detroit, followed by his eighth career four-hit game on July 16 against Milwaukee. Barfield's home run against Texas on July 23 ended a drought of 22 games, and his sacrifice hit on August 14 was his first since June 24, 1984. He delivered a pinch hit against New York on September 12, his first since September 29, 1984. His third and fourth four-hit games of the year came on September 14 against Baltimore and September 26 against Detroit. He hit no home runs in his last 21 games.
Jesse placed fifth in the AL in games (159) and at-bats (590), and tied Ruben Sierra for the league lead in assists and won his second consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Award for defensive excellence. He underwent surgery on his left knee and left wrist during the off-season.
He started the 1988 season going 0-for-11 from April 11-17, then hit his second career grand slam on April 19 off Kansas City's Bret Saberhagen. He left the May 14 game at Chicago with a swelling of the left wrist and was on the disabled list from May 16-31.
His solo homer off Walt Terrell of Detroit on June 18 snapped a drought of 17 homerless games, and his season high four RBIs at Detroit on June 19 was his first multiple RBI game since April 29. His third career grand slam came off Oakland's Rick Honeycutt on July 3. He tied a personal high with homers in three consecutive games from August 21-23.
Jesse played his 1,000th major league game on September 19, becoming the fourth player to reach the 1,000-game plateau in a Blue Jays uniform. His third grand slam of the season came on September 21 off Detroit's Paul Gibson. He tied a personal high with two stolen bases on October 1 against Baltimore.
His longest hit streak was five games, five times, and he homered in at least two consecutive games on three occasions. He was 16-for-47 (.340) with five home runs and 12 RBIs against the Tigers and 15-for-40 (.375) with two homers and 10 RBIs against the Royals. Jesse hit .209 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs through the break compared to .278 with 11 homers and 30 RBIs after the break. He led the team with 13 outfield assists.
Jesse attended Joliet Central High School (outside of Chicago) where former major leaguers Bill Gullickson, Larry Gura and Jack Perconte attended high school. His uncle played Negro league baseball.
Jesse enjoys basketball and ping-pong. His favorite team growing up was the Cubs and his favorite player was Ernie Banks."
-1991 New York Yankees Information Guide
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