"The time is now for Scott Kamieniecki. At 27, the Yankee right-hander must prove he can pitch in the major leagues. Kamieniecki, along with Jeff Johnson and Wade Taylor, was one of three rookie starters who made their debut with New York last year. Kamieniecki stepped in and, together with Taylor, became the first two Yankee rookies to win their first major league starts since 1986.
'Kamieniecki, like the other two rookies, throws strikes and changes speeds,' says Yankees pitching coach Mark Connor. 'And when you do that you will win a lot of games.' Kamieniecki had the lowest ERA of the three rookies, while pitching at least six innings in seven of nine starts. It is important for the right-hander to continue that kind of production on a more consistent level in 1992. As the oldest of the three rookies, this year is even more critical for Scott Kamieniecki."
-The New York Yankees Official 1992 Yearbook
"Although his season ended with an injury, Scott showed that he is a capable pitcher at the major league level. He finished the 1991 season with a 4-4 record and a 3.90 ERA in nine starts.
Scott had his contract purchased from Columbus on June 17. At the time of his recall he was 6-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 11 starts. In his final eight starts for the Clippers, he was 5-1 with a 1.70 ERA. He made his major league debut on June 18 at Toronto, notching the victory (6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 K) in a 4-2 Yankee win.
He made it two in a row on June 23 against Minnesota in an 11-2 triumph (7.2 IP, 2 ER). The only runs by the Twins were a pair of Randy Bush solo homers. Scott ended the month of June with a 2-1 record and a 3.10 ERA.
He continued his fine pitching in July, posting a 2-2 record with a 3.41 ERA over five starts. He improved his season record to 3-1 on July 3 against Cleveland, striking out seven batters in a 3-2 victory (7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER). He followed that with another strong start on July 12 at California, a no-decision (6.0 IP, 1 ER) in a 2-1 New York win. On July 18 at Oakland, Scott earned his final victory of the season (7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER) as the Yankees beat the A's, 3-2; he pitched five scoreless innings after allowing solo home runs to Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire in the first two frames. With the victory, he lowered his ERA to 2.68.
Scott ended his season losing his final three starts (July 23-August 2), evening his record at 4-4. The final start (3.1 IP, 5 ER) came on August 2 at Detroit, a 7-3 Yankee loss, his shortest outing of the year.
Scott was placed on the 15-day disabled list on August 5. On October 10, he underwent successful cervical disc surgery to repair a disc in the left side of his neck.
Along with Wade Taylor, Kamieniecki became one of the first two Yankee rookies to win their first two major league starts since Scott Neilsen and Doug Drabek in 1986. He was the 19th rookie since 1980 to make his starting debut with the Yankees and the eighth Yankee since 1980 to win his starting debut. He was also part of the first rookie trio (Taylor, Jeff Johnson) to join the Yankee starting rotation since June 1986 (Drabek, Bob Tewksbury, Alfonso Pulido). With Taylor and Johnson, Kamieniecki became part of the first rookie trio to notch wins on consecutive days for New York since at least 1946 (Yankee research materials go back only to 1947).
Kamieniecki was the 10th Yankee starter overall in 1991. He pitched at least five innings in eight of his nine starts, and at least six innings in seven of his nine starts. He averaged 5.5 strikeouts per nine innings.
Nine of the 24 runs he allowed (38%) came via the home run. Opponents hit .256 against him; lefties hit .267, righties hit .242. He was 2-2 at home with a 3.76 ERA, 2-2 on the road with a 4.03 ERA. The team scored 3.7 runs per game when he pitched, 5.3 runs in victories and 2.5 runs in losses.
He signed a contract for the 1992 season.
Scott was drafted by the Yankees in the 14th round of the June 1986 free agent draft, having also been drafted by Milwaukee (1985) and Detroit (1982). He was signed by Yankee scout Dick Groch.
He began the 1987 season with Albany-Colonie, going 1-3 with a 5.35 ERA in 10 games, and finished the season with Class-A Prince William where he compiled a 9-5 record with a 4.17 ERA in 19 starts. Scott fanned 84 batters in 112.1 innings and was named to the Carolina League All-Star team.
He split the 1988 season with Prince William and Class-A Ft. Lauderdale. He was 6-7 (4.40 ERA) with the Cannons in 15 starts (two shutouts). He tied for the Carolina League lead with seven complete games and was the league leader among starting pitchers with a .220 batting average against. He was promoted to Ft. Lauderdale where was 3-6 with a 3.62 ERA in 12 appearances (11 GS) and fanned 51 batters in 77.0 innings.
Scott spent the 1989 season with Albany-Colonie. He compiled a 10-9 record with a 3.70 ERA in 24 appearances (23 starts). He led the Eastern League with 140 strikeouts, and his average of 8.34 K/9 IP ranked second-best in the league. He tied for third on the club with six complete games, second with three shutouts and was one of four Albany-Colonie pitchers with at least 10 wins in '89.
He spent 1990 at AA Albany-Colonie and had a nearly identical season to the one he had there in 1989. He posted a 10-9 record with a 3.20 ERA, appeared in 22 games (21 starts) and had three complete games and a shutout. He allowed just 113 hits in 132.0 innings while leading the club in both walks (61) [1.32 WHIP] and strikeouts (99).
He had a strong April, going 2-1 with a 0.90 ERA (20.2 IP, 2 ER) while allowing only 10 hits. In his final six starts of the season, Scott was 3-2 with a 1.70 ERA (42.1 IP, 8 ER). He pitched once in the postseason, taking the loss.
Scott earned a B.A. in physical education from the University of Michigan where he played baseball. He was a four-year letterman and was named to the All-Big Ten first team (1984), Academic All-Big Ten first team (1986) and Pre-Season All-American team (1985). His road roommate was California's Jim Abbott and his other teammates included current major leaguers Barry Larkin, Hal Morris and Chris Sabo.
Scott attended Redford St. Mary's High School in Detroit and played baseball and football. Originally a shortstop, he played Babe Ruth ball and Little League in Detroit."
-1992 New York Yankees Information Guide
No comments:
Post a Comment