"The 1992 season has become a great comeback effort for fleet-footed outfielder Dion James. Following his release from the Cleveland Indians following the 1990 season, he signed with the Yankees as a non-roster player and was invited to spring training. In camp he developed elbow trouble in his throwing arm, which eventually required an ulnar nerve transplant (the same type of surgery as [that undergone by] Mike Witt and Tommy John). The 29-year-old James then rehabbed the elbow throughout 1991 near his home in Sacramento, CA.
The hard work he put in each day during his recovery allowed him to play winter ball in Venezuela. James threw with ease and hit .258 over 26 games and arrived in Yankee camp this year more than capable of winning a roster spot as the fifth outfielder.
A .284 career hitter with Cleveland, Atlanta and Milwaukee, James provides the Yankees with a veteran left-handed bat and solid defense coming off the bench. Although the 1992 Yankees feature an all-around talented outfield, Dion James should find a number of opportunities to show why he belongs back in the major leagues."
-The New York Yankees Official 1992 Yearbook
"Dion did not play baseball in 1991, recovering from preseason surgery. He came to the Yankee spring training camp but left on March 13. He appeared in three games (one start) and had two hits in four at-bats.
The surgery was an ulnar nerve transplant (the same as [that undergone by] Mike Witt and Tommy John) to replace a torn medial collateral ligament in his left elbow. The surgery was performed on April 11 by Dr. Frank Jobe. Dion spent the 1991 season rehabilitating the left elbow five times a week with a physical fitness trainer at the Sacramento Kings workout center.
He played winter ball in the Dominican League with Estrellas, hitting .258 over 26 games. His last hit in the majors came on September 12, 1990 against Chicago, a single off Melido Perez. His last home run came on August 4, 1990 at Yankee Stadium off Tim Leary.
He signed a contract for the 1992 season.
Dion spent the 1990 season with the Cleveland Indians, and over 87 games hit .274 with a home run and 22 RBIs. He had a career best 16-game hitting streak from July 17-August 13 which was the longest on the club in 1990 and that year's fifth longest in the American League. His best month was July when he hit .303. Dion's home run was the one on August 4 off Leary.
He hit .325 at Cleveland Stadium and .327 with runners on base and struck out only once every 10.8 at-bats. He had 16 multi-hit games including two three-hit games: June 9 at Boston and August 9 at Texas.
Dion made 66 starts overall at first base (29), left field (19), designated hitter (10) and center field (8). He was ejected from an August 24 game at Baltimore by umpire John Shulock for arguing balls and strikes while playing first base.
He was released by the Indians on October 30, 1990 and invited to spring training by the Yankees in January of 1991.
Dion was acquired by the Indians on July 2, 1989 from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for outfielder Oddibe McDowell. At the time of the trade he was hitting .259 with a home run and 11 RBIs over 63 games. He was immediately pressed into service and responded by hitting safely in his first nine games (.338, 1 HR, 4 RBIs) with Cleveland. James had a big game on July 23 at Kansas City, getting a career high four hits and a career high five runs batted in.
In his first 39 games with the Indians (through August 20), James hit .331 with two home runs and 14 RBIs. He continued his solid hitting in September when from September 2-20, he hit .593 (16-for-27) with two homers and nine RBIs, raising his batting average from .292 to .333.
Dion's .306 average over the final three months was a club best for that period. He hit .262 (16-for-61, 20 RBIs) with men in scoring position and knocked in eight of 15 men from third base with less than two outs.
The Brewers' first selection in the June 1980 free agent draft, Dion spent his first season of professional baseball at Butte and hit .317. He was promoted to Burlington for their final three games of the season.
He stole 45 bases at Stockton in 1981 and led California League outfielders in fielding percentage (.988). In 1982, James hit .302 with nine home runs and 72 RBIs with AA El Paso of the Texas League.
James hit a career best .336 at AAA Vancouver in 1983 and set personal highs in games (129), at-bats (467), hits (157), doubles (29) and walks (63). He earned a September promotion to Milwaukee, making his major league debut on September 16 at Baltimore. He collected his first major league hit on September 18, along with an RBI.
The Milwaukee Brewers rookie of the year in 1984, Dion hit .295, second on the club, and .325 with men on base, tops on the club. He had 33 multi-hit games including three four-hit efforts. He hit .404 from May 27-June 15, reaching a season high of .319 on June 15, and hit .354 over the final two months.
Dion played in just 28 games in 1985 (18 with the Brewers, 10 with AAA Vancouver) because of a right shoulder problem. The injury occurred on March 3- while playing the outfield in a spring training game at Sun City, he dove for the ball and crashed into the right-field fence dislocating his right shoulder. James had to have surgery to repair the separation and missed most of the season.
He spent the entire 1986 season at Vancouver. He led the club in games (130), runs (85), tied for the club lead in triples (6) and was sixth in the Pacific Coast League in steals (30). He helped Vancouver reach the PCL finals. James was acquired by the Braves in January 1987 in exchange for outfielder Brad Komminsk.
In 1987 James led the Braves with a .312 batting average, good for fifth in the National League. It was the highest by a Brave since Bob Horner hit .314 in 1979. James registered four four-hit games and never went more than two consecutive starts without a hit. He hit .321 (36-for-112) with 49 RBIs with men in scoring position. His .996 fielding average led all National League outfielders who played at least 100 games.
Dion had a strange ground-rule double at Shea Stadium on April 12: he led off the third inning with a towering fly ball to left field that struck a bird with both falling behind the shortstop. He clubbed his only career grand slam on May 2 in Atlanta off Houston's Julio Solano. Dion won National League Player of the Week honors for July 27-August 2 when he hit .517 (15-for-29) with eight RBIs. He had a 10-game hitting streak from September 7-17, hitting .450 (18-for-40) in that span. He finished the season on a strong note, hitting .381 (32-for-84) with 13 runs and 10 RBIs over his final 23 games.
In 1988, James hit .256 with three home runs and 30 RBIs. Although his overall batting average was low, he had outstanding averages against Cincinnati (.467), Pittsburgh (.368), Philadelphia (.368) and Montreal (.343). He hit .263 on the road and .250 at home. His 58 walks were second on the team to Dale Murphy's 74. From August 7-16, Dion hit in eight straight games at a .379 pace (11-for-26).
Dion is a 1980 graduate of McClatchy High [Sacramento, CA], where he excelled in baseball, football and basketball, getting named All-League, All-City and All-State in each. He was a member of championship teams with the Pony, Colt, High School and winter league clubs he played for- Dion drove in the decisive run to win the 1979 Colt League World Series. He was a pitcher and infielder prior to his professional baseball career."
-1992 New York Yankees Information Guide
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