"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
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