Gallego became a regular player for the first time when shortstop Walt Weiss tore ligaments in his ankle. He played his usual sparkling defense at second base, where he committed only seven errors in 129 games. He made five more errors in 52 games at shortstop.
Born in Whittier, California, the A's drafted Gallego in the second round in 1981."
-Tony DeMarco and Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1992 Edition
"As an Oakland Athletic, Mike Gallego rarely found the spotlight thrust upon him. That wasn't his style. But invariably, when names were linked to the A's recent success, the utility infielder was near the top of the list. Proven winners have a way of doing that.
The 31-year-old enjoyed his finest season as a major-leaguer in 1991 by setting career-highs in nine categories including home runs (12) and RBI (49). The Yankee free agent is anxious to make '92 his finest.
'I feel I can contribute to the Yankees in a lot of ways,' Gallego says. 'I'm recognized as a good defensive player, but my offense can give my game another dimension.'
Whether he's playing second, shortstop or an occasional third, the California native will contribute in ways that don't show up in the boxscore.
'Mike is the kind of player you need to win ballgames,' says Yankee manager Buck Showalter. 'He gives us versatility in the infield and he brings a winning attitude.' "
-The New York Yankees Official 1992 Yearbook
"Gallego had his best season as a pro in 1991, putting up offensive numbers to match his spectacular defensive play. He had career highs in games (159), at-bats (482), runs (67), hits (119), doubles (15), triples (4), homers (12), RBI (49) and walks (67). Entering the 1991 season, he had totaled only 11 home runs in 1,162 career at-bats; his walk total for the season was 32 more than his previous best.
A consistent hitter, Gallego hit .248 before the break, .246 after. May was his top month of the season when he hit .286 with two home runs and 13 RBIs. He had a career-high 10-game hitting streak from May 21-31. In the final four games of the streak he was 7-for-12 with two homers and 10 RBIs. He capped the streak with his first career grand slam, at Chicago off Ramon Garcia.
Mike received the first intentional walk of his career on June 9 against Boston- he wound up with three intentional passes on the season. He had the first four-hit game of his career on July 16 against Cleveland; he pounded Indians' pitching at a .351 clip for the year with five extra-base hits and seven RBI in 10 games.
He lived up to his reputation of having good hands- he started 126 games at second base in '91, making just seven errors in 619 total chances, good for a .989 fielding percentage (3rd in the league behind Steve Sax and Lou Whitaker). Mike also started 26 games at shortstop but did not make an appearance at third base for the first time in his career.
Mike hit .444 (4-for-9) with the bases loaded with a home run and 12 RBI. He hit .270 at home with six homers and 20 RBI. He hit .311 against left-handed pitching with five homers and 13 RBI.
He was signed by the Yankees to a three-year contract in January 1992. The contract runs through the 1994 season.
In 1988, his first full major league season, Gallego appeared in all four American League Championship Series games against Boston. He caught the final out in Game 4 to complete the A's sweep. He played in one of the World Series games without an at-bat.
Expected to split time at second base with Tony Phillips in 1989, Gallego was thrust into a starting role at shortstop when Walt Weiss went down with an injury in mid-May. He started 59 of the 65 games that Weiss missed. He hit .277 in the final two months of the season.
Mike started four of the five games of the ALCS against Toronto (two at second, two at short), hitting .273 with an RBI. He contributed a key suicide squeeze bunt in the pennant-clinching Game 5. In the World Series, he made two defensive appearances and pinch-hit once, but did not start.
Mike put together a fine season in 1990 both in the field and as a clutch hitter. For the year he played 83 games at second base, 38 at shortstop and 27 at third, playing in 140 games, a career-best at the time.
He started on Opening Day for the first time, at second base. He was Oakland's regular second baseman until the Athletics signed Willie Randolph on May 12. Gallego still found plenty of playing time, filling at second base, shortstop and third base.
His error on May 19 at Milwaukee was his first after 57 consecutive games at third without an error. Only Bobby Wine has played more games at third (67) without an error. Gallego also had a streak of 70 consecutive games on artificial turf without an error before making two on June 2 at Kansas City. He played errorless ball in his final 13 games at shortstop. He made the first outfield appearance of his career on September 24 at Kansas City, handling one chance flawlessly.
He led the club with 17 sacrifice hits, the best Oakland total since Dwayne Murphy had an A's record 22 in 1980.
Mike was the A's second-round selection in the June 1981 free-agent draft. He hit .272 in 62 games for Modesto of the California League. In 1982, he played 54 games for West Haven where he hit .180 and 44 games for Tacoma where he hit .221.
After two games with Tacoma in 1983 Mike was sent to Albany of the Eastern League. In 90 games at Albany, he hit .223. He spent the entire 1984 season with Tacoma and hit .243 while playing in 101 games.
Mike made the Oakland Opening Day roster in 1985 with a fine spring training but was optioned to Modesto on April 24. He played just six games before returning to the A's for the remainder of the season on May 3. He picked up his first major league hit, a single off Detroit's Bill Scherrer, on August 22 in Oakland. He hit his first major league home run on September 22 at Chicago off Joel Davis.
He was a valuable player for Tacoma during the 1986 season. In 132 games he hit .275 with 122 hits and 46 RBI. Mike was called up to Oakland on September 2 shortly after Tony Phillips was injured. In 20 games with the A's, he hit .270 (10-for-37) with four RBI. He committed only one error in 76 chances.
Mike opened 1987 on the disabled list with a pulled groin suffered in spring training. After 10 games at Tacoma on a rehab assignment, he returned to Oakland on April 20. He belted his second career home run on May 13 off Ted Higuera of Milwaukee.
A collision with Stan Javier at Texas on June 12 caused Mike to miss six more weeks of the season. When healthy he was the A's utility infielder filling in at second, short and third. His third career homer came on August 6 at Minnesota off Frank Viola. For the season, Mike hit .300 (18-for-60) off left-handed pitchers.
Mike graduated from St. Paul High School (Santa Fe Springs, CA) in 1978. He attended UCLA for three years before being drafted by the A's, majoring in sociology. His UCLA teammates included Matt Young, Tim Leary and Don Slaught.
In Oakland, Mike has been involved with both the Children's Cancer Society and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation."
-1992 New York Yankees Information Guide
Led Pacific Coast League in being hit by pitches (8), 1986.
Tied for American League in sacrifice hits (17), 1990.
-1992 New York Yankees Information Guide
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