From 1987 to 1989, Velarde spent three seasons shuttling between New York and Columbus, including five trips to Triple-A in an unsettling 1988. Since then, Velarde has awaited his chances and played outstanding baseball when given playing time. The 29-year-old has remained with the Yankees and avoided the minors by being ready when the bell rings.
He plays third base and shortstop, and at the plate is a steady hitter with a keen eye. 'I always come to the field prepared to play,' says Velarde. "I believe in hard work and feel that good things are achieved through good work habits.' "
-The New York Yankees Official 1992 Yearbook
"In 1991 Randy spent his second consecutive season exclusively at the major league level.
He had only 12 at-bats in April, starting three of the club's first 17 games. Both of his hits came on April 10 at Detroit, while starting at shortstop. He made 11 starts in May and hit .200 (7-for-35). He had a big game on May 13 against Oakland, going 3-for-4 to raise his seasonal batting average above .200.
Randy hit .316 (6-for-19) in June. On June 16 at Texas, he hit his only home run of the year, a 3rd inning solo shot off Nolan Ryan- it was the 300th career homer allowed by Ryan. Hitting .222 with a home run and four RBIs at the break, Velarde hit .194 in July while starting nine games.
August was his best month, with Velarde starting 12 games and hitting .354 (17-for-48) with eight RBIs. Over his first nine games in August, he hit .480 (12-for-25) raising his batting average from .216 to a season best .268. Randy hit .176 (6-for-34) over September/October; he hit .259 (29-for-112) with 11 RBIs after the break.
Randy started 50 games in 1991, 33 at third base and 17 at shortstop. He made his sixth career appearance in left field on August 11 (game 2) against Detroit.
He hit .297 at home, .207 on the road and .279 in day games. He was 3-for-8 with five RBIs with the bases loaded. Randy drove home the runner from third base eight of 26 times, including six of 18 times with two out and two of eight times with less than two out.
He signed a one-year contract in January of 1992, avoiding arbitration.
Randy spent his first full season in the major leagues in 1990. He had 229 at-bats in that year after having a career major league total of 237 over parts of three prior seasons.
He went hitless in his first 10 at-bats through eight-plus games before notching his first hit on April 29 against California, going 2-for-3. He hit .191 (9-for-47) in May, raising his average 50 points to .175. On May 11 in Seattle, he made his first-ever start in left field and on May 19 against Kansas City had his only three-hit game of 1990.
Velarde began June with a season best five-game hitting streak, batting .389 (7-for-18). His first of five 1990 home runs was an 8th inning two-run shot on June 5 at Boston off Jeff Reardon to tie the score 8-8 in a 9-8 Yankee loss. Velarde hit .224 in June. At the break he was hitting .193 with a home run and five RBIs over 46 games (33 starts).
August proved to be Randy's strongest month as he hit .250 (7-for-28). He hit two home runs that month, August 28 at Baltimore off Jose Mesa and on August 31 at Boston off Greg A. Harris. Randy finished out the season by seeing more action in September/October than in any other month. He appeared in 24 games while starting 19, his most of any month, and hit .235 with eight RBIs. He hit .227 with four homers and 14 RBIs over 49 games (31 starts) after the break.
Overall in 1990, Velarde played in 95 games including 64 starts (3B-52, SS-8, LF-3, 2B-1). Along with Jim Leyritz, he was one of two Yankees to start at four positions. He had career highs in hits (48) and RBIs (19). He had 12 multi-hit games and his five home runs accounted for 12 of his 19 RBIs. He hit .277 against left-handed pitchers as opposed to .183 against right-handers.
In 1989, Velarde was recalled from Columbus on July 28 and remained with the Yankees through the rest of the season. At the time of his recall he was hitting .266 with 26 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs and 53 RBIs over 103 games. Velarde made his '89 debut on July 28, coming in for Tom Brookens (who was injured swinging at a pitch) and went 2-for-4.
He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on August 9 with a pulled rib cage muscle. Randy was activated on August 29 and was an impact player through the end of the season. He played in 22 games and hit .406 (28-for-69) with seven multi-hit games.
Randy hit in a career best 10 straight games from August 30-September 13 (16-for-34, .471) to raise his average from .258 to .355. He then hit safely in eight of 11 games through the end of the season (10-for-35, .286) to give him a season-ending average of .340.
On September 1 against California, Velarde homered off Mike Fetters, his first major league circuit clout since October 1, 1988. He hit his second and final home run of the 1989 campaign on September 22 at Baltimore off Dave Johnson.
Velarde made 25 starts, all at third base. He had 10 multi-hit games on the season and hit .450 (9-for-20) with men in scoring position.
Velarde broke into professional baseball in 1985, the 19th round selection of the White Sox in that year's June draft. He played 67 games at Niagara Falls, batting .220 with a home run and 16 RBIs. Randy was used as an outfielder and at second base in addition to his normal shortstop position.
He began the 1986 season playing for the White Sox 'A' affiliate in Appleton, batting .252 in 124 games with 11 home runs and 50 RBIs. He led Midwest League shortstops with 52 errors. He was promoted to Buffalo (AAA American Association) and hit .200 (4-for-20) in nine games there.
He was acquired by the Yankees from Chicago along with pitcher Pete Filson in exchange for pitcher Scott Nielsen and infielder Mike Soper in January of 1987. Velarde began the '87 season at Albany-Colonie (AA Eastern League) and in 71 games there batted .316 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs. He was promoted to Columbus on June 29 and hit .319 in 49 games there with five home runs and 33 RBIs.
His contract was purchased by the Yankees on August 20 and he made his major league debut that night in Seattle, starting at shortstop and going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. In his next game on August 21 at Oakland, Velarde went 2-for-3 with an RBI, getting his first major league hit, a single off Steve Ontiveros. He was the 29th shortstop to play alongside Willie Randolph in Randolph's career [1976-88] with the Yankees. He had another two-hit game, on August 24 at California, going 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Randy played in six games with the Yankees, batting .190 (4-for-21) with no homers and an RBI before being optioned to Prince William ('A' Carolina League) on August 29. Randy never reported to that club, remaining with the Yankees, and was recalled by the Yankees three days later, on September 1. He was 0-for-1 in two games after rejoining the Yankees.
Velarde spent the 1988 season shuttling between the Yankees and the Columbus Clippers. He was recalled to New York five different times.
He began the year with the Clippers and was hitting .264 in 68 games with four home runs and 31 RBIs, along with 22 errors. He was recalled to the Yankees for the first time on June 20 when Wayne Tolleson was placed on the disabled list. Velarde made his first appearance with the Yankees at Detroit that day, going 0-for-1. The next day he hit his first major league home run, a solo shot off the Tigers' Jack Morris.
He played in five games, going 2-for-12 (.167) before being optioned back to Columbus on June 25 when Willie Randolph was activated.
Randy played ten games with the Clippers before being recalled back to New York on July 8. It was the last time he actually played a game for Columbus (he was optioned there three more times before the end of the season but never appeared in another game there), and he finished with an average of .270 in 78 games at Columbus with 23 doubles, five home runs and 37 RBIs. Randy was later named as the shortstop on the postseason International League All-Star team.
In his first game back with the Yankees on July 9 against Kansas City, he made his first major league start at third base and went 1-for-3 with an RBI, which proved to be the game-winner, his first major league game-winning RBI. He hit his second home run of the season on July 14 against Chicago, a solo blast off Bill Long. After playing four games with the Yankees, Velarde was optioned back to Columbus on July 16 following the acquisition of Luis Aguayo but was recalled by New York the next day when Tolleson was placed back on the DL.
Velarde established his major league high with three RBIs on July 27 against Milwaukee, going 2-for-5 (two doubles) with a run scored. He matched that RBI high on August 2 at Milwaukee, hitting a three-run homer off Juan Nieves, his third home run of the year. He hit safely in four of five games (all starts) from August 5-10, going 6-for-18. He played in 25 games for the Yankees before being optioned back to Columbus on August 11 when Tolleson was activated. Randy was recalled on August 14 when Tolleson was placed back on the DL.
He hit his fourth home run of the season on August 16 against California, a solo clout off Willie Fraser, and made eight consecutive starts from August 20-27 (the first seven at second base and the last at shortstop) with Randolph on the 15-day DL. Velarde was optioned back to Columbus for the fourth time on August 28 following Randolph's activation but remained with the Yanks, never actually reporting to Columbus, and was recalled to New York for the fifth and final time on September 2. Randy hit his fifth homer on October 1 at Detroit, a two-run round-tripper off Doyle Alexander. Overall in his five stints with the Yankees, he played in 48 games, batting .174 with five homers, 12 RBIs while playing third base, shortstop and second base.
Velarde graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in Midland, Texas in 1981. He was a three-time NAIA All-American at Lubbock (TX) Christian College. Over 294 college games, he hit .358 with 39 home runs and 246 RBIs while playing second base, shortstop and center field. Velarde holds NAIA career records for games, at-bats (1,027), hits (368) and assists (658). He played against Roger Clemens and Greg Swindell and alongside Keith Miller.
He played Little League ball in Midland. His favorite team growing up was the Cincinnati Reds and his favorite player was Johnny Bench.
Randy's hobbies include all outdoor sports, and his favorite spectator sport is basketball. His favorite ballpark is the Oakland Coliseum. His favorite entertainer is Eddie Murphy."
-1992 New York Yankees Information Guide
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