"Over the years, Yankee fans have been witness to some of the league's most consistent shortstops. The position has been the cornerstone for Yankee success throughout their storied history, and the free-agent signing of former Montreal Expos shortstop Spike Owen is a deal designed to break ground on a new era.
The 31-year-old switch-hitting infielder comes off a 1992 season with career highs in batting average (.269) and home runs (7) and he added 40 RBI. Defensively he finished fifth in the National League with a .982 percentage, making just nine errors in 497 chances.
A former first-round selection of the Seattle Mariners in 1982, Owen enters his 10th full season in the majors after playing two and a half years in Boston and four in Montreal. His exuberance reaches a crescendo when he discusses the potential of this Yankee squad.
'From what I saw of the Yankees at the end of last season I thought they were getting close to winning,' Owen explains. 'Now they've shown they're willing to make changes by getting guys like me, Paul O'Neill and Jim Abbott. I think there's a lot to be excited about.'
Shortstop is a good place to start."
-The New York Yankees Official 1993 Yearbook
"In 1992 with Montreal, Owen had his finest offensive season, hitting a career best .269 with a career high seven homers and 40 RBIs. From the right side he batted .282 and as a left-handed hitter batted .260. He also added 50 walks while striking out just 30 times in 386 at-bats.
Owen continued his sure-handed ways, finishing fifth among National League shortstops with a .982 percentage, making just nine errors in 497 chances.
He started the season slowly, hitting just .243 through the first two months of the season. He hit four home runs in May, his career best for a month. Spike hit .294 in June and at the All-Star break, he had raised his average to .254. He was placed on the disabled list from July 20-August 3, missing 16 games with a strained left hamstring. He suffered the injury on July 19 trying to avoid a Fred McGriff tag at first base.
He hit safely in 16 of 21 games in August, batting .394 and raising his overall average to .283. Spike tied a career best in hits with a 4-for-4 effort on August 26 at Atlanta. He closed out the month with 10 hits in 17 at-bats.
Spike hit just .208 the rest of the way, dropping his average to .269. From August 26-September 25 his average was at or above .270. He reached base safely 56 times in his final 39 games, hitting .302 (38-for-126) with 18 walks.
On September 6 against Houston he hit his career-high seventh homer off Butch Henry. On September 23 against Pittsburgh, he batted right-handed in his first two plate appearances against right-handed knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. Spike's 1,000th career hit came in his final at-bat of the season, on October 4 at Chicago, a single off Frank Castillo.
Over the past four seasons (1989-92) he has compiled the third best fielding percentage among major league shortstops, fielding at a .984 clip (2,265 total chances, 36 errors). The top five: Cal Ripken, .990 (3,045 total chances, 31 errors); Tony Fernandez, .985 (2,888 total chances, 46 errors); Owen; Ozzie Smith, .982 (2,621 total chances, 47 errors); and Alan Trammell, .981 (1,812 total chances, 35 errors).
Owen signed a three-year contract in December of 1992. The contract extends through the 1995 season.
Selected by the Mariners in the first round (6th pick overall) of the June 1982 free agent draft, Owen was scouted by David Chalk. He started his professional career hitting .266 in 78 games for AA Lynn, after signing following the June draft.
In 1983, Spike was recalled by Seattle from Salt Lake City on June 25 after just 150 minor league games. At the time of his recall he was hitting .266. He was installed as the starting shortstop, replacing Todd Cruz and Domingo Ramos. Spike hit .196 in his first 80 games of big league action. He singled in his first major league at-bat on June 25 against Jim Gott of Toronto and belted his first major league homer off Doug Bird on July 3 at Boston.
He spent his first full season at the major level in 1984, hit .245 in 152 games and stole 16 bases. He established himself as one of the league's best fielding shortstops, posting a .977 fielding percentage. Spike played in 119 games in 1985, hitting .259 for the Mariners. He struck out only 27 times in 352 at-bats (13 AB/1K). He spent time on the DL from July 15-August 1 with a pulled hamstring.
In 1986 Owen was obtained for the stretch run by the Red Sox, along with outfielder Dave Henderson for shortstop Rey Quinones, pitchers Mike Brown and Mike Trujillo, a player to be named later (outfielder John Christensen) and cash. He was installed as the regular shortstop for the stretch run, making 41 starts.
In his third game with Boston, Spike went 4-for-5 and tied a major league record by scoring six runs. Overall for 1986 he played in 154 games (his career high) and led American League shortstops in assists (466), total chances (765) and double plays (132).
Spike rose to the occasion by hitting .429 in all seven League Championship games against the Angels and by hitting .300 in the World Series against the Mets, playing in all seven games.
He had a stellar season in 1987, his first full year with the Red Sox, tying his career high by hitting .259 and setting a personal best with 48 RBIs in 132 games. Spike hit .317 with runners in scoring position. He had a career best 12-game hitting streak from July 22-August 7.
Spike hit .249 in 89 games for Boston in 1988, his lowest game total since his rookie year with Seattle in 1988. He began the season as the starting shortstop and began sharing the position with Jody Reed after hitting just .153 through May 24.
He caught fire by hitting .337 from May 25 through June 20. Owen was limited by injuries, as he was hit by a pitch on his left foot on June 29 and suffered a bruised left calf when hit by another pitch on July 7. He appeared in one game of the ALCS against Oakland and drew a walk.
Owen was obtained by the Expos from the Red Sox in December 1988 with pitcher Dan Gakeler in exchange for pitcher John Dopson and shortstop Luis Rivera. He hit .233 in 1989 but hit career bests in walks (76) and intentional walks (25) and set a career high with six home runs. The 25 intentional walks ranked second in the National League to Kevin Mitchell and was one shy of the club record set by Tim Raines.
He made 140 starts at shortstop despite being on the 15-day DL from July 16-August 1 with a sprained right ankle, suffered while sliding into third on July 16 at Cincinnati.
Spike's first National League home run came on April 30 against Houston off Derek Lilliquist, batting right-handed. On May 10 at Houston, he precipitated a bench-clearing brawl after being knocked down by Larry Andersen. On May 15 against San Diego, he stole home on the back end of a double steal with Raines. Spike hit a three-run homer on June 26 off Dwight Gooden as the Expos moved into first place for the first of 41 consecutive days. Against Chicago on September 26, he went 3-for-4 and tied a career high with four RBIs.
He opened the 1990 season with a bang, setting a National League single-season record for shortstops by not erring in 63 games. Owen's glove is now on display in Cooperstown. He broke the previous mark of 60 games set by Kevin Elster in 1988.
The streak began on Opening Day. Owen tied Elster's record on June 18 against the Cubs and broke the record the next day. The streak ended on June 23 when he fired a routine groundball from R.J. Reynolds over the head of Andres Gallarage at first base.
Spike had handled 252 consecutive chances without an error. His last miscue had come on September 23, 1989 at Shea Stadium. Cal Ripken set the major league mark for shortstops in 1990, going 95 errorless games from April 14-July 28.
He ended the season leading all National League shortstops in fielding percentage with .989 in 148 games, tied for the sixth best single-season mark by a shortstop in major league history and setting an Expos club record. Spike committed just six errors in 562 total chances in beating Ozzie Smith (.980) for the fielding title.
The Expos Player of the Month for April, hitting .359 over 18 games, Spike hit three home runs by June 7, but none after. He reached base safely seven straight times on May 26-27 against Cincinnati (3 H, 4 BB). He batted second on May 30, following 182 consecutive starts as an Expo in the eighth spot. He hit leadoff for the first time in his career on June 29 against Atlanta. He played in his 1,000th major league game on September 15 against Pittsburgh.
1991 was a steady season for the veteran shortstop. Owen hit .255 in 139 games, with three home, eight triples and 26 RBIs. His batting average and hits (108) were his best marks since 1987. Starting 119 games at shortstop, he finished second among NL shortstops in fielding percentage, .987 to .986, to Ozzie Smith (Owen led NL shortstops in fielding over the 1989-90 seasons). He handled 4.31 chances per game compared to Ozzie's 4.26.
Spike began the season playing errorless defense in his first 26 games, handling 122 chances without a miscue before booting a Tony Gwynn grounder on May 11. On August 13 at Chicago, he committed two errors in a game for the first and only time in his NL career.
He was hitting .203 on June 30 but hit an even .300 the rest of the way. Spike hit .286 in July, .296 in August, 292 in September and .381 in five October contests.
On September 4 against Atlanta, he tied a career high with four hits, his first four-hit game since August 18, 1987. He finished the season with a nine-game hitting streak and hit in 15 of his last 17 games.
Over his last 48 games Owen hit .308 with eight doubles, five triples and a home run. For the season, he hit leadoff twice, second 31 times, seventh six times and eighth in 80 games.
Spike attended the University of Texas where was a teammate of Roger Clemens and Calvin Schiraldi. Named Southwest Conference Player of the Year in 1981, he was named to the Sporting News All-America team for 1982 and was a third-team All-American in '81 and '82.
In 1982, his junior year, Spike hit .336 with 39 steals and scored 77 runs in 64 games. He holds the Longhorn career records for walks (247), runs (250) and stolen bases (95).
Spike graduated from Cleburne (TX) High School. His older brother Dave played for the Royals and Cubs."
-1993 New York Yankees Information Guide
Named Southwest Conference Player of the Year, 1981.
Named shortstop on the Sporting News College All-America team, 1982.
Shares major league single-game record for runs scored (6), August 21, 1986.
Led American League shortstops in total chances (767), 1986.
Led American League shortstops in double plays (133), 1986.
Holds National League single-season record for most consecutive errorless games by a shortstop (63), April 9- June 22, 1990.
-1993 New York Yankees Information Guide
Spike Dee Owen (SS) #41
Born April 19, 1961 in Cleburne, Texas, resides in Austin, Texas. Height: 5-10, weight: 170. Bats left and right, throws right. Attended University of Texas.
Married, Gail (11/11/83), and father of Jacob (6) and Preston Dee (4).
Major league service: 9 years, 100 days. Opening Day age: 31.
-1993 New York Yankees Information Guide
