"First there were three. Three rookies in the Yankees' starting rotation in 1991: Wade Taylor, Jeff Johnson and Scott Kamieniecki.
Now there is one. Kamieniecki, the oldest and least likely to stick of the three, is fighting for a spot on the staff.
Taylor and Johnson are still young enough, but they need more seasoning. Kamieniecki remains, a testament to his intelligence and doggedness.
In his first full major league season last year, the former Michigan Wolverine won six and lost 14 with a 4.36 ERA, but he did his best pitching late in the season, winning three of four starts in a stretch from August 19 to September 6.
Time is running out on the big right-hander, now 29.
But you know what they say about pitchers: they often mature late. And better late than never.
'I'm getting there,' Scott says. 'I'm learning every time out. I'm getting a better grasp of how to win games and succeed at this level.'
Buck Showalter has been patiently waiting for Kamieniecki and now the manager hopes his time has come and that his patience will pay off."
-The New York Yankees Official 1993 Yearbook
"1992 was his first full season in the majors. Kamieniecki posted a 6-14 record with a 4.36 ERA.
He started the season in the minors, rehabilitating from off-season neck surgery. He made one start at Ft. Lauderdale and two and Columbus, combining to go 1-0 with a 0.90 ERA.
Activated from the disabled list on April 28, Kamieniecki made his 1992 debut on May 3 against Minnesota, losing 4-2. He earned his first win on May 15 against the A's, 3-2, in New York (7.0 IP, 2 ER). Overall in May he made six starts, going 1-2 with a 3.40 ERA.
After his May 15 win, Scott made nine winless starts (0-5, 4.68 ERA) before winning his final game before the break on July 9 against Seattle. He was 2-6 with a 4.64 ERA at the break.
Scott won back-to-back starts for the only time during the season on August 19 against Oakland and August 26 against Milwaukee. He posted a 2-3 record with a 3.95 ERA in August and followed that with 2-3 and 3.92 in September/October. Scott's final win came on September 24 at Detroit, winning 10-1 (8.0 IP, 1 ER).
He was 4-6 with a 3.94 ERA over the final two-plus months of the season and 4-8 with a 4.12 ERA after the break. Over his final nine starts Scott was 4-4 with a 3.47 ERA. In his final 11 starts he had a 2.35 ERA (65.0 IP, 17 ER) in innings 1 through 6 and a 10.95 ERA (12.1 IP, 15 ER) beyond the sixth. He allowed just two home runs in his final eight games (55.1 IP).
His 28 starts were a professional best as were his 188.0 innings. Kamie had four complete games, all losses, posting a 3.03 ERA in those games.
The Yankees scored 24 runs in his 14 losses, an average of 1.7 runs per game. Overall, the club scored 125 runs in his 28 starts (4.5 runs per game). The Yankee bullpen allowed nine of 18 inherited runners to score after he left the game. Don Mattingly hit .337 (35-for-104) when Kamieniecki was pitching.
Left-handed batters hit .279 against him, right-handed batters .261. Kamieniecki was 6-4, 4.03 at home, 0-10, 4.70 on the road. Of the 193 hits he allowed, 143 (74%) were singles. The Yankees were 9-19 in games he started.
Scott had a 3.21 ERA (84.0 IP, 74 H, 30 ER) in innings 1 through 3; a 4.01 ERA (76.1 IP, 76 H, 34 ER) in innings 4 through 6, and an 8.13 ERA (27.2 IP, 41 H, 25 ER) in innings 7 through 9. He pitched six-plus in 23 of his 28 starts and seven-plus in 17 of his 28 starts. Scott has pitched six-plus innings in 30 of his 37 career starts
Scott did not make a fielding error in 34 chances, ranking him in a first place tie with six others among American League pitchers.
He signed a contract for the 1993 season.
Although his 1991 season ended with an injury, Scott showed that he is a capable pitcher at the major league level. He finished the year 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. 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. On July 18 at Oakland, Scott earned his final victory of the season. 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) came on August 2 at Detroit, his shortest outing of the year. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on August 5. On October 10 at Northwestern University in Chicago, 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 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.
Kamieniecki pitched at least five innings in eight of his nine starts, and at least six innings in seven of his nine starts. He averaged six innings per start and allowed three earned runs or less in seven of his nine starts. Kamie averaged 5.5 strikeouts per nine innings.
Nine of the 24 runs he allowed (38%) came via the home run; seven of the eight homers he allowed were solo shots. Opponents hit .256 against him; lefties hit .267, righties hit .242. He was 2-2 at home with a 3.76 ERA, and 2-2 on the road with a 4.03 ERA. The team scored 3.7 runs per game when he pitched.
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 (7 GS), 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 (2 SHO). 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 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."
-1993 New York Yankees Information Guide
Named to Carolina League All-Star team, 1987.
Tied for Carolina League lead in complete games (7), 1988.
Led Eastern League in strikeouts (140), 1989.
Tied for American League in fielding percentage (1.000), 1992.
-1993 New York Yankees Information Guide
Scott Andrew Kamieniecki (P) "Kamie" #28
Born April 19, 1964, in Mount Clemens, Michigan, resides in Flint, Michigan. Height: 6-0, weight: 195. Bats right, throws right.
Married, Rita (11/4/89) and father of Matthew Scott (1). Graduated from University of Michigan.
Major League Service: 1 year, 112 days. Opening Day Age: 28.
-1993 New York Yankees Information Guide
