"For catcher Bob Geren, it comes down to putting it all together. In 1989 Geren opened some eyes by hitting .288 in 65 games with the Yankees. Last season, while his offense dropped into the .220s, he continued to be one the league's best defensive catchers.
Geren gunned down about 40 percent of the runners attempting to steal on him, a main reason why the Yankees were among the major league leaders in that category. Geren would like nothing better than to combine those two seasons into a stellar 1991.
'Defensively, I know that I have a strong arm and that I call a good game,' says Geren. 'I've shown at the plate that I can hit on this level, and I feel I learned a lot last year."
-The New York Yankees Official 1991 Yearbook
"In his first full major league season, Geren hit .213 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs while playing solid defense. It was his first complete season anywhere since 1983 when he played 124 games for Springfield of the Midwest League.
Geren opened with a bang, going 3-for-4 on Opening Day against Cleveland on his way to hitting .346 for the month of April. He made seven starts during the month and threw out three of five baserunners. From April 26-May 6, Bob hit in a season best eight straight games at .370 (10-for-27), bringing his season average to .364; included was his first home run of the season, a solo shot off Oakland's Mike Moore in New York on May 1.
The end of the month was disastrous as he managed just five hits in 53 at-bats to drop his average to .216, although he had two home runs in that span: on May 22 against Chicago (Melido Perez) and on May 24 at Minnesota (Allan Anderson). Bob ended the month going 0-for-17. He made 20 starts in May.
Bob broke a 0-for-19 hitless streak on June 2 against Baltimore with a single off Mark Williamson. He hit in four straight from June 14-19 (4-for-12) and then closed out the month by hitting five straight (5-16); included was a solo homer off John Cerutti at Toronto on June 24. On June 28 against Milwaukee, Bob had the game-winning RBI single with two out in the ninth inning to give the Yankees a 3-2 win. He made 13 starts in June and hit .244.
He started July by catching Andy Hawkins' no-hitter at Chicago on July 1 while also breaking up Greg Hibbard's no-hit bid with a 6th inning single. On July 4 at Kansas City, Geren hit a three-run homer off Steve Crawford. At the break he was hitting .230 with five home runs and 16 RBIs.
Geren made 16 starts in July, hitting .226. On July 25 at Texas, he hit an 8th inning two-run homer off Nolan Ryan who was going for win No. 300. August was Geren's best month offensively (.256 batting average) since April and he made 14 starts. On August 9 at Seattle he drove in the only run with a 2nd inning single in a 1-0 Yankee victory. Then on August 19 against Seattle, he hit a three-run homer off Matt Young. September/October was a tough month with the bat for Bob (2-for-30) while making 11 starts.
He started exactly half of the Yankee games in 1990 and the Yankees were 37-44 (.457 winning percentage) when he started, including 17-13 over his final 30 starts. The staff had a 3.88 ERA with Bob catching.
Geren threw out 37 of 92 (40%) of potential base stealers, slightly better than the 13 of 33 (39%) he threw out in 1989. Combined in 1989-90 he threw out 50 of 125 (40%) and the Yanks were 66-73 with Geren behind the plate over the two seasons. In 1990 he ranked seventh in the American League (.993) in fielding.
He hit .280 (21-for-75) in day games. He played in 110 games, his most in any season since 1983 (Springfield, Class-A Midwest League). He was 2-for-10 with four RBIs with the bases loaded, and 18 of his 31 RBIs came with two outs.
He signed a contract for the 1991 season.
Geren enjoyed a fine 1989 season both behind the plate and with the bat. He hit .288 with nine home runs and 27 RBIs in 205 at-bats.
He was recalled from Columbus on May 16 and stayed with the Yankees for good; Geren had hit .253 with two home runs and 13 RBIs over 27 games for the Clippers. He made an immediate impact with the Yankees, going 5-for-12 in his first three games with two homers and four RBIs. On May 20 at Seattle he hit his first major league home run, a solo blast off Mike Dunne, and the following night had a career-high three-hit game (one of three in '89), again homering in the Kingdome (off Mike Jackson), the first of two back-to-back games with a homer in '89. On May 24 against the Angels in New York, Bob slightly pulled an abdominal muscle and was removed in the sixth inning; listed as day-to-day he did not appear again until June 3.
Bob ended May going 6-for-14 (.417) and continued to swing the bat well through June, going 6-for-21 (.286). He caught 12 games in May and June, throwing out five of nine runners (56%) with the club going 7-5 in his starts.
July was his best month offensively, hitting .444 (16-for-36), raising his average from .343 to .394. After hitting in four straight from July 1-4 (5-for-11), Bob went hitless in a pinch at-bat (July 7) before hitting in seven straight to close out the month (10-for-24, .417). Included in that streak was a 3-for-3 effort on July 29 against the Blue Jays. The club was 6-4 in July when he started, 13-9 through his first three months with the Yanks. At the break he was hitting .389; from July 8-August 3 he hit in a season-best 10 straight games, going 14-for-37 (.378).
Bob became a regular in August, starting 23 of 31 games during the month. He hit .244 (21-for-86) with five home runs and 16 RBIs, his monthly best for homers and RBIs. On August 26 and 27, Geren had his second back-to-back homer nights, off Baltimore's Dave Johnson and Bob Milacki.
September was his slowest month with the bat (10-for-48, .208) as Bob's average dropped from .312 to a season-ending .288. On September 6, he hit a two-run homer off Brian Holton in the 7th inning to tie the score at 4-4 after the Yankees had trailed 4-0. He hit safely in eight of 16 games over September/October and ended the season striking out in eight of sixteen at-bats. Geren hit .252 after the break.
The club was 29-29 when he started behind the plate. He threw out 13 of 33 runners (39%), committed three errors and allowed three passed balls. In his 58 starts, Bob caught three shutouts, eight games with one run allowed and five when two runs were allowed.
Geren had a .454 slugging percentage, third on the club for those appearing in at least 50 games. He hit .324 (23-for-71) in day games and .269 (36-for-134) in night games. He hit .284 (19-for-67) with two homers against left-handed pitching and .290 (40-for-138) with seven homers against righties. He hit .311 (33-for-106) at home and .263 (26-for-99) on the road. Geren hit .244 (11-for-45) with runners in scoring position.
Geren was selected by the San Diego Padres in the first round (24th choice overall) in the regular phase of the June 1979 free agent draft. That choice was awarded to the Padres as compensation for the Los Angeles Dodgers' signing of [free agent] Derrel Thomas. In his first professional season, Bob hit .172 in 54 games at Walla Walla.
He split his time in 1980 between Reno, where he hit .159 in 48 games with four homers and 23 RBIs, and Walla Walla, where he hit .254 in 51 games. Geren was acquired by the Cardinals organization in December 1980 along with pitchers Rollie Fingers and Bob Shirley and catcher Gene Tenace for catchers Terry Kennedy and Steve Swisher, infielder Mike Phillips, and pitchers Al Olmstead, John Urrea, Kim Seaman and John Littlefield. Geren hit .222 in 64 games at St. Petersburg in 1981.
In 1982, his second consecutive season at St. Petersburgh, he batted .244 in 110 games. He led Florida State League catchers in games (96) and assists (72). Bob spent the entire 1983 season at Springfield, where he tied for third in the Midwest League in home runs with 24, his professional high. He batted .265 and set another personal pro best with 73 runs batted in. Bob led Midwest League catchers in total chances (939), putouts (826) and assists (102).
He spent most of 1984 at Arkansas, batting .247 with 15 home runs and 40 RBIs, and in 15 games at Louisville hit .175. In 1985, Bob's final year as a member of the Cardinals organization, he hit .225 at Arkansas, where he spent most of the season and led Texas League catchers in fielding percentage (.998), and in five games at Louisville batted .357. Recommended to New York by scout Stan Saleski, he signed with the Yankees in November of 1985 as a six-year minor league free agent. In 1986, his first year in the Yankee organization, he batted .254 at Columbus, with seven homers and 25 RBIs, and .148 [in 11 games] at Albany-Colonie.
Geren began the 1987 season at AA Albany-Colonie and was hitting .219 in 31 games with three home runs and 11 runs batted in when he was promoted to AAA Columbus on May 29. He played in five games with the Clippers, hitting .150 with a home run and three RBIs, before being outrighted back to Albany on June 12.
He finished the season with Albany, and in the 47 games he played there, following his return, batted .222 with eight home runs and 20 RBIs. Overall in his two stints with Albany, Bob hit a combined .221 with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs; his 11 homers ranked second on the club, and his five game-winning RBIs ranked fourth. He led all Eastern League catchers in fielding with a .994 percentage (two errors in 358 chances).
Geren began the 1988 season with the Columbus Clippers and had his contract purchased by the Yankees on May 15 when Don Slaught was placed on the 15-day disabled list with an injured left groin. At the time his contract was purchased, he was hitting .366 (41-for-112) in 32 games for the Clippers with two home runs, 13 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .464.
He made his major league debut on May 17 against Seattle, appearing as a defensive replacement at catcher. His first major league at-bat came on May 20 against Oakland, striking out against Eric Plunk. Bob appeared in a total of four games, going 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout, before being optioned back to Columbus on June 20.
Bob was recalled by the Yankees on September 2. At that point, he was hitting .271 with the Clippers with eight home runs and 35 RBIs in 95 games; he was named as the catcher on the postseason International League All-Star team. He made his first major league start on October 1 at Detroit and recorded his first major league hit, a single off Doyle Alexander in the 2nd inning, going 1-for-4 in that game. He made another start the next day in the season finale at Detroit, going 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
Overall in his two stints with the Yankees, Geren played in 10 games and batted .100 (1-for-10) with two walks and three strikeouts. He was 0-for-2 throwing out baserunners, giving up stolen bases to Jose Canseco (May 20 against Oakland) and Jim Walewander (October 2 at Detroit)."
-1991 New York Yankees Information Guide
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
1991 Profile: Alvaro Espinoza
"When a Yankee pitcher allows a batter to reach first base, he still knows he can enjoy a certain comfort level. He still knows if he can get the next batter to hit a ground ball to the left side it will be vacuumed up by shortstop Alvaro Espinoza. The Venezuelan can ignite a double play like no other player in the American League. 'Espy' owns a relatively small fielder's glove, but for the past two years it has paid huge dividends to the Yankees. 'I just love to turn double plays,' he says. 'I love it. It gets everybody excited and it makes everybody feel good.'
Now with his hitting mentor Frank Howard back in the Yankee fold, Espinoza intends to regain his sweet stroke of 1989 when he hit a surprising .282. Says Espy, 'I think it's going to be a great year.'"
-The New York Yankees Official 1991 Yearbook
"1990 was a solid season defensively for the Yankee shortstop. An ironman of sorts, Espy missed just 12 games while playing in 150, including 142 starts.
He did not miss a game in April, starting all 17, and hit .200 (11-for-55) with three doubles and four RBIs and made three errors. Espy had a hitting streak of four games from April 21-25, going 5-for-12 and raising his batting average from .143 to .225.
On May 6, Alvaro notched the first of 11 sacrifice hits. He started the club's first 24 games through May 7 before missing a game in Oakland, and that game hit in three straight (4-for-11). Overall, Alvaro played in 25 games in May (24 starts) and hit .197 with a double and four RBIs and made six errors.
Alvaro started out slowly in June but finished the month strong. He was 1-for-9 over his first three games, then on June 5 in Boston hit his first career home run off John Dopson in the 2nd inning, over the Green Monster in left field. The blast broke a string of 745 at-bats without a homer. It also resulted in his only RBI of June.
Through the first 11 games of the month he hit .229 (8-for-35) but over the final 15 games hit .286 (14-for-49) to raise his batting average from .194 to June 13 to a month-ending .215. Included was a four-game hitting streak from June 23-28 (5-for-13).
Through the first six games of July, Espinoza went 7-for-20 (.350) to bring his All-Star break numbers to .227 with a home run and nine RBIs. He made 12 errors prior to the break while appearing in 74 of the club's 80 games.
He started out slow after the break, getting three hits in his first 22 at-bats. He hit his second home run on July 21 at Minnesota off Mark Guthrie- the homer was an inside-the-parker to right field. Starting on July 19 through the remainder of July, he went 11-for-37 (.297), giving him a .276 average for the month. Over his final four starts in July and his first start in August, Espinoza went 8-for-19 to raise his average to a season best .232 on August 1.
August was a horrendous month hitting-wise for Espy (.159) but he was spectacular in the field, committing only two errors while playing in 28 of the club's 30 games. On August 20 against Toronto he contributed an 11th inning game-winning RBI single and on August 22 against Toronto had his second career triple (the other was in 1989). Through August he had a .215 batting average.
September/October was a strong period for Espy both with the bat and the glove as indicated by a .268 average (19-for-71) and just two errors. He had five multi-hit games in the month after getting 17 through the first five months and had a season best five-game hitting streak from September 5-9 (7-for-16). On September 28 at Milwaukee, Alvaro went 2-for-3 off Ted Higuera and is now 10-for-14 career against him. He ended the season with five hits in his final 13 at-bats to raise his average from .219 to .224.
Espinoza finished the seasons with 11 sacrifice hits, tied for ninth in the American League, and his 34 over the past two seasons are the most by a Yankee in consecutive seasons since Bobby Meacham had 37 in 1984-85. Espy played 150 games in 1990 after playing 146 in 1989; the 296 games are the most in consecutive seasons by a Yankee shortstop since Phil Rizzuto played in 296 in 1951-52.
Espy made 12 errors before the break and five after the break, including none in the final 24 games, two in the final 53 and three over the final 73. He ranked sixth in the AL in fielding (.997), second in putouts (267), tied for second in double plays (100), third in assists (447) and total chances (731) and fourth in games (150). Alvaro teamed with Steve Sax to rank second in the AL in double plays (202) among keystone combos to Chicago's Ozzie Guillen and Scott Fletcher.
He struck out 54 times with 16 walks, a 3.4 strikeout/walks ratio, down from his 4:1 ratio of 1989. He hit .309 (21-for-68) and made one error in 22 games on AstroTurf. Alvaro hit .250 (36-for-144) against left-handed pitching and .211 (62-for-294) against right-handers and was 2-for-6 with four RBIs with the bases loaded.
He signed a contract for the 1991 season.
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 (24-for-102) 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 during the month. 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 39 multi-hit games, third most on the club. 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.
-1991 New York Yankees Information Guide
Now with his hitting mentor Frank Howard back in the Yankee fold, Espinoza intends to regain his sweet stroke of 1989 when he hit a surprising .282. Says Espy, 'I think it's going to be a great year.'"
-The New York Yankees Official 1991 Yearbook
"1990 was a solid season defensively for the Yankee shortstop. An ironman of sorts, Espy missed just 12 games while playing in 150, including 142 starts.
He did not miss a game in April, starting all 17, and hit .200 (11-for-55) with three doubles and four RBIs and made three errors. Espy had a hitting streak of four games from April 21-25, going 5-for-12 and raising his batting average from .143 to .225.
On May 6, Alvaro notched the first of 11 sacrifice hits. He started the club's first 24 games through May 7 before missing a game in Oakland, and that game hit in three straight (4-for-11). Overall, Alvaro played in 25 games in May (24 starts) and hit .197 with a double and four RBIs and made six errors.
Alvaro started out slowly in June but finished the month strong. He was 1-for-9 over his first three games, then on June 5 in Boston hit his first career home run off John Dopson in the 2nd inning, over the Green Monster in left field. The blast broke a string of 745 at-bats without a homer. It also resulted in his only RBI of June.
Through the first 11 games of the month he hit .229 (8-for-35) but over the final 15 games hit .286 (14-for-49) to raise his batting average from .194 to June 13 to a month-ending .215. Included was a four-game hitting streak from June 23-28 (5-for-13).
Through the first six games of July, Espinoza went 7-for-20 (.350) to bring his All-Star break numbers to .227 with a home run and nine RBIs. He made 12 errors prior to the break while appearing in 74 of the club's 80 games.
He started out slow after the break, getting three hits in his first 22 at-bats. He hit his second home run on July 21 at Minnesota off Mark Guthrie- the homer was an inside-the-parker to right field. Starting on July 19 through the remainder of July, he went 11-for-37 (.297), giving him a .276 average for the month. Over his final four starts in July and his first start in August, Espinoza went 8-for-19 to raise his average to a season best .232 on August 1.
August was a horrendous month hitting-wise for Espy (.159) but he was spectacular in the field, committing only two errors while playing in 28 of the club's 30 games. On August 20 against Toronto he contributed an 11th inning game-winning RBI single and on August 22 against Toronto had his second career triple (the other was in 1989). Through August he had a .215 batting average.
September/October was a strong period for Espy both with the bat and the glove as indicated by a .268 average (19-for-71) and just two errors. He had five multi-hit games in the month after getting 17 through the first five months and had a season best five-game hitting streak from September 5-9 (7-for-16). On September 28 at Milwaukee, Alvaro went 2-for-3 off Ted Higuera and is now 10-for-14 career against him. He ended the season with five hits in his final 13 at-bats to raise his average from .219 to .224.
Espinoza finished the seasons with 11 sacrifice hits, tied for ninth in the American League, and his 34 over the past two seasons are the most by a Yankee in consecutive seasons since Bobby Meacham had 37 in 1984-85. Espy played 150 games in 1990 after playing 146 in 1989; the 296 games are the most in consecutive seasons by a Yankee shortstop since Phil Rizzuto played in 296 in 1951-52.
Espy made 12 errors before the break and five after the break, including none in the final 24 games, two in the final 53 and three over the final 73. He ranked sixth in the AL in fielding (.997), second in putouts (267), tied for second in double plays (100), third in assists (447) and total chances (731) and fourth in games (150). Alvaro teamed with Steve Sax to rank second in the AL in double plays (202) among keystone combos to Chicago's Ozzie Guillen and Scott Fletcher.
He struck out 54 times with 16 walks, a 3.4 strikeout/walks ratio, down from his 4:1 ratio of 1989. He hit .309 (21-for-68) and made one error in 22 games on AstroTurf. Alvaro hit .250 (36-for-144) against left-handed pitching and .211 (62-for-294) against right-handers and was 2-for-6 with four RBIs with the bases loaded.
He signed a contract for the 1991 season.
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 (24-for-102) 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 during the month. 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 39 multi-hit games, third most on the club. 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.
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."
-1991 New York Yankees Information Guide
Saturday, June 8, 2019
1991 Profile: Steve Sax
"The team's poor showing seemed to lower the level of his play. His .260 average was his worst since 1984 and second lowest of his career. Sax still finished second on the club with 160 hits and 70 runs.
The durable second baseman has played at least 155 games for five consecutive years. The National League Rookie of the Year with Los Angeles in 1982 contributed to the Dodgers' World Championship in 1988 with a .300 average during the upset of Oakland.
Born in West Sacramento, California, Sax signed as a free agent prior to the 1989 season."
-John Shea and Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1991 Edition
"By now Yankee fans know all about the heart and desire of Yankee second baseman Steve Sax. His two years in Pinstripes have been full of enthusiasm and work. He is a special entity in today's game, never quitting and never losing sight of the task at hand. Although he was the Yankees' lone All-Star in 1990, Sax will be the first to admit he had an off-year. His average dipped to .260 and he fell a good deal short of the 205 hit total he posted in 1989.
Still, Sax was among the league leaders in stolen bases as he stole 43 to lead the Yankees. His defense was stellar and his attitude was refreshing.
'Sometimes last year I had a tendency to try too hard, to try to hit a three-run double with nobody on base,' says Sax, a player who is ready to experience a winning atmosphere again. 'I just try to keep focused every day, knowing the future is going to be better.'"
-The New York Yankees Official 1991 Yearbook
"Steve hit .260 in 1990 with four home runs and 42 RBIs. He continued to play a solid second base and was a constant threat on the basepaths.
He had a solid April, hitting .294 with a home run and five RBIs, starting all 17 games, and stole three bases in five attempts. He hit .242 (8-for-33) through his first eight games, then .343 (12-for-35) over the final nine contests.
Steve had a slower May with the bat, hitting .257 in 25 starts. He stole nine of ten bases in May. For the season, he had reached base safely in his first 14 games, 20 of 21 games and 23 of 25 games overall.
In June he matched his April batting average, hitting .294, and had six steals in seven attempts. Steve had a nine-game hitting streak from June 15-24 at .390 (16-for-41) with three doubles, a triple, six RBIs, three steals and six multi-hit games. He brought his season batting average up nine points to .281 through June.
Steve was hitting .270 at the break with 11 doubles, one homer, 18 RBIs and 19 steals in 26 attempts and also had 25 multi-hit games. He hit in a season best 10 straight games to close July at .270 and during the month stole 10 bases in 13 tries.
He had his worst month in August, hitting .196 with four RBIs and five steals in six attempts. In the first 20 games he hit .146 (12-for-82) to drop his average from .270 to a season low of .249 on August 22. Steve then hit .333 (10-for-30) to close the month at .254.
Steve hit .288 (32-for-111) in September/October with 10 stolen bases. He reached base safely in the final 10 games of the season, hitting .371 (13-for-35), to boost his average seven points to .260. He stole 24 bases in 26 tries after the break while batting .250 (75-for-300).
He stole 43 bases (for the second straight year), ranking him second in the American League. His third straight season of 40+ steals and sixth overall, Steve's longest stretch of 1990 without being caught was nine straight on two occasions. He stole 43 bases in 52 tries, an 83% success rate.
He stole 31 of his 43 bases when the Yankees were trailing by two or fewer runs. He stole third 11 times in 11 attempts. He stole seven times with none out, 23 with one out and 13 with two out.
Steve teamed with Roberto Kelly (42 SB) to become the first Yankee duo to each steal at least 40 bases in a season since Birdie Cree (48) and Bert Daniels (40) in 1911. The Yankees became the first American League club to have two of the top three in steals since the 1976 Oakland A's had Billy North (75, 1st) and Bert Campaneris (54, 3rd).
He stroked 160 hits in 1990 and ranks fourth in the majors for most hits over the past five years (921) behind Kirby Puckett (1,043), Wade Boggs (1,013) and Tony Gwynn (972). Steve finished sixth in the AL with 615 at-bats and fourth in the league in hardest-to-fan ratio (1:14.8 AB).
His '90 batting average (.260) was his lowest since 1984 (.243) and 27 points below his career average entering 1990. His RBIs (42) were his fewest since 1985 (42) as were his homer total (4), hits (160) and games (155).
Steve has played 313 games over the past two seasons, the most by a Yankee second baseman since Horace Clarke played 313 in 1970-71. He finished sixth among AL second baseman in 1990 with a .987 fielding percentage (in '89 he led the AL with the exact same percentage). He was second in assists (456) and games played (154), third in total chances (759), tied for third in double plays (102) and fourth in putouts (293). Steve committed only one error in his final 35 games and ended the season with seven errorless games. He teamed with Alvaro Espinoza to rank second in the American League among second base-shortstop combos in double plays (202) to Chicago's Scott Fletcher and Ozzie Guillen (215). Steve made his first error of the season on April 26, breaking a string of 60 straight errorless games dating back to the 1989 season.
He missed seven games all season. He sprained his right ankle scoring the winning run on May 19 causing Steve to miss two straight games (May 20-21) for the first time since 1987. He also missed the June 17 game with a sprained right ankle and missed the September 14 game with a sore neck.
He hit .319 in day games and .236 at night, .282 on turf and .255 on grass, and .265 against right-handed pitching and .249 against left-handers. Steve had two leadoff-the-game homers: on April 27 against California off Bert Blyleven and July 23 at Texas off Kevin Brown. He scored the winning run on May 19 against Kansas City in the 11th inning on a Don Mattingly double. On July 29 in Cleveland in the second game of a twin-bill, Steve hit career double No. 200. On August 25 against Milwaukee he batted ninth for the first time as a Yankee, and on September 18 at Toronto struck out for the first time in 90 plate appearances.
He signed a three-year guaranteed contract as a free agent in November 1988 and a four-year contract extension in November 1990. The contract extends through the 1995 season.
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.
In 1989 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.
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 Manager 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. Steve started all 20 of the Dodgers' games in April and from April 16 through May 10 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. From May 2 to May 10 he 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."
-1991 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.
-1991 New York Yankees Information Guide
The durable second baseman has played at least 155 games for five consecutive years. The National League Rookie of the Year with Los Angeles in 1982 contributed to the Dodgers' World Championship in 1988 with a .300 average during the upset of Oakland.
Born in West Sacramento, California, Sax signed as a free agent prior to the 1989 season."
-John Shea and Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1991 Edition
"By now Yankee fans know all about the heart and desire of Yankee second baseman Steve Sax. His two years in Pinstripes have been full of enthusiasm and work. He is a special entity in today's game, never quitting and never losing sight of the task at hand. Although he was the Yankees' lone All-Star in 1990, Sax will be the first to admit he had an off-year. His average dipped to .260 and he fell a good deal short of the 205 hit total he posted in 1989.
Still, Sax was among the league leaders in stolen bases as he stole 43 to lead the Yankees. His defense was stellar and his attitude was refreshing.
'Sometimes last year I had a tendency to try too hard, to try to hit a three-run double with nobody on base,' says Sax, a player who is ready to experience a winning atmosphere again. 'I just try to keep focused every day, knowing the future is going to be better.'"
-The New York Yankees Official 1991 Yearbook
"Steve hit .260 in 1990 with four home runs and 42 RBIs. He continued to play a solid second base and was a constant threat on the basepaths.
He had a solid April, hitting .294 with a home run and five RBIs, starting all 17 games, and stole three bases in five attempts. He hit .242 (8-for-33) through his first eight games, then .343 (12-for-35) over the final nine contests.
Steve had a slower May with the bat, hitting .257 in 25 starts. He stole nine of ten bases in May. For the season, he had reached base safely in his first 14 games, 20 of 21 games and 23 of 25 games overall.
In June he matched his April batting average, hitting .294, and had six steals in seven attempts. Steve had a nine-game hitting streak from June 15-24 at .390 (16-for-41) with three doubles, a triple, six RBIs, three steals and six multi-hit games. He brought his season batting average up nine points to .281 through June.
Steve was hitting .270 at the break with 11 doubles, one homer, 18 RBIs and 19 steals in 26 attempts and also had 25 multi-hit games. He hit in a season best 10 straight games to close July at .270 and during the month stole 10 bases in 13 tries.
He had his worst month in August, hitting .196 with four RBIs and five steals in six attempts. In the first 20 games he hit .146 (12-for-82) to drop his average from .270 to a season low of .249 on August 22. Steve then hit .333 (10-for-30) to close the month at .254.
Steve hit .288 (32-for-111) in September/October with 10 stolen bases. He reached base safely in the final 10 games of the season, hitting .371 (13-for-35), to boost his average seven points to .260. He stole 24 bases in 26 tries after the break while batting .250 (75-for-300).
He stole 43 bases (for the second straight year), ranking him second in the American League. His third straight season of 40+ steals and sixth overall, Steve's longest stretch of 1990 without being caught was nine straight on two occasions. He stole 43 bases in 52 tries, an 83% success rate.
He stole 31 of his 43 bases when the Yankees were trailing by two or fewer runs. He stole third 11 times in 11 attempts. He stole seven times with none out, 23 with one out and 13 with two out.
Steve teamed with Roberto Kelly (42 SB) to become the first Yankee duo to each steal at least 40 bases in a season since Birdie Cree (48) and Bert Daniels (40) in 1911. The Yankees became the first American League club to have two of the top three in steals since the 1976 Oakland A's had Billy North (75, 1st) and Bert Campaneris (54, 3rd).
He stroked 160 hits in 1990 and ranks fourth in the majors for most hits over the past five years (921) behind Kirby Puckett (1,043), Wade Boggs (1,013) and Tony Gwynn (972). Steve finished sixth in the AL with 615 at-bats and fourth in the league in hardest-to-fan ratio (1:14.8 AB).
His '90 batting average (.260) was his lowest since 1984 (.243) and 27 points below his career average entering 1990. His RBIs (42) were his fewest since 1985 (42) as were his homer total (4), hits (160) and games (155).
Steve has played 313 games over the past two seasons, the most by a Yankee second baseman since Horace Clarke played 313 in 1970-71. He finished sixth among AL second baseman in 1990 with a .987 fielding percentage (in '89 he led the AL with the exact same percentage). He was second in assists (456) and games played (154), third in total chances (759), tied for third in double plays (102) and fourth in putouts (293). Steve committed only one error in his final 35 games and ended the season with seven errorless games. He teamed with Alvaro Espinoza to rank second in the American League among second base-shortstop combos in double plays (202) to Chicago's Scott Fletcher and Ozzie Guillen (215). Steve made his first error of the season on April 26, breaking a string of 60 straight errorless games dating back to the 1989 season.
He missed seven games all season. He sprained his right ankle scoring the winning run on May 19 causing Steve to miss two straight games (May 20-21) for the first time since 1987. He also missed the June 17 game with a sprained right ankle and missed the September 14 game with a sore neck.
He hit .319 in day games and .236 at night, .282 on turf and .255 on grass, and .265 against right-handed pitching and .249 against left-handers. Steve had two leadoff-the-game homers: on April 27 against California off Bert Blyleven and July 23 at Texas off Kevin Brown. He scored the winning run on May 19 against Kansas City in the 11th inning on a Don Mattingly double. On July 29 in Cleveland in the second game of a twin-bill, Steve hit career double No. 200. On August 25 against Milwaukee he batted ninth for the first time as a Yankee, and on September 18 at Toronto struck out for the first time in 90 plate appearances.
He signed a three-year guaranteed contract as a free agent in November 1988 and a four-year contract extension in November 1990. The contract extends through the 1995 season.
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.
In 1989 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.
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 Manager 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. Steve started all 20 of the Dodgers' games in April and from April 16 through May 10 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. From May 2 to May 10 he 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."
-1991 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.
-1991 New York Yankees Information Guide
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