R.I.P. Whitey Ford

 The Greatest Yankee Pitcher of All Time

1992 Profiles: Rich Monteleone and Andy Stankiewicz

RICH MONTELEONE

"Rich Monteleone is hardly a household name in Yankee vernacular. But after his '91 performance, that may change. The imposing 6-3, 236-pound right-hander was selected to the Triple-A All-Star team as a member of the Columbus Clippers, and his call-up to New York capped a strong season.

'Monte' made the most of his stint in Pinstripes, collecting three wins and a 3.64 ERA in 26 games as a middle reliever. The Tampa, FL, resident was particularly tough on right-handed batters, allowing a paltry .173 batting average. Seven times he pitched three-plus innings and had a 1.11 ERA in that capacity.
If the 1992 Yankees need a tough right-handed reliever, Monteleone is only a phone call away."

-The New York Yankees Official 1992 Yearbook

"Rich started the 1991 season at Columbus and had his contract purchased on April 14. At the time of his promotion, he had not pitched for the Clippers. Rich made five April appearances, posting a 3.38 ERA (5.1 IP). Both the runs he allowed came on a Jose Canseco home run on April 30 at Oakland.
He pitched three times in May before being outrighted to Columbus on May 14. He took the loss on May 5 at Seattle, allowing a two-run homer to Greg Briley in the 16th inning in a 5-4 Yankee loss. At the time of the outright he had allowed five runs in 12.0 innings, four via home runs.
At Columbus, Rich appeared in 32 games and posted a 1-4 record with 17 saves and a 2.12 ERA. He walked just seven batters while striking out 51. He had his contract purchased for a second time on August 7 and he remained in New York for the remainder of the season.
Rich appeared in nine games in August, going 1-0 with a 4.08 ERA (17.2 IP). He notched a win on August 16 against Chicago, his first win since June 27, 1989, when he was with the Angels. He pitched nine more times in September/October, going 2-0 with a 3.12 ERA. He earned wins on September 23 at Milwaukee (3.1 IP) and on October 1 against Baltimore (3.0 IP).
During the 1991 season Rich dominated right-handed hitters, allowing only a .173 batting average against (18-for-104) while conversely, left-handed hitters hit .324 (24-for-74). On grass surfaces, he had a 3.16 ERA (42.2 IP) and a batting average against of .215.
Rich pitched most effectively in the role of long reliever. Seven times he pitched three-plus innings and had a 1.11 ERA (24.1 IP); in his other 19 appearances of less than three innings, his ERA was 6.35. He retired the first hitter upon entering a game 17 of 26 times and stranded 17 of 25 inherited baserunners. Rich was hurt most by the long ball as homers accounted for 10 of his 19 earned runs (53%).
With the Clippers, he led the club in saves and tied for second in the International League. Columbus was 24-8 when he pitched and opponents hit .215 against him. Rich was named IL Pitcher of the Week for May 26-June 1 (7.1 IP, 0 R) and was selected for the AAA All-Star Game, but did not play because of a viral infection.
He signed a contract for the 1992 season.

In 1990, Rich was obtained by the Yankees from the California Angels on April 29 along with outfielder Claudell Washington in exchange for outfielder Luis Polonia. At the time of the trade, he was with the AAA Edmonton Trappers. Over five games (one start) he was 1-0 with a save and a 1.93 ERA.
Rich reported directly to Columbus and pitched there for a majority of the season until having his contract purchased on September 11. At the time of the promotion he had appeared in 38 games (all in relief) and was 4-4 with a team-best nine saves and a 2.24 ERA.
He made his Yankee debut on September 16 at Detroit (1.0 IP, 0 R, 1 H) in a 5-2 Yankee loss. His second outing on September 20 against Cleveland was disastrous as Rich was the losing pitcher, allowing four earned runs in one inning. He pitched consistently over his next three appearances (5.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 6K), lowering his ERA from 18.00 to 6.14. Overall with New York, Rich stranded two of three inherited baserunners.
Rich was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the first round (20th player taken) of the June 1982 free agent draft. He was signed by future Yankee executive George Bradley. That year Rich began his professional career at rookie league Bristol of the Appalachian League, tossing a 1-hitter against Elizabethton on July 24. He allowed an Appalachian League-high eight home runs.
He split the 1983 season between Class-A Lakeland and AA Birmingham. He ranked fourth in the Florida State League with 124 strikeouts and had a career best nine wins at Lakeland. He split the 1984 season between Birmingham and AAA Evansville. He combined for 12 wins in 30 starts, throwing six complete games while fanning 110 batters in 188.0 innings.
Rich established a personal best in 1985, starting 26 games at AAA Nashville. In December 1985, he was obtained by the Seattle Mariners for infielder Darnell Coles. He set a personal best in 1986 by hurling 157.2 innings for AAA Calgary.
He made his major league debut on April 15, 1987 against California. He appeared in three games for Seattle (7.0 IP), then led Calgary in games (51) and saves (15). His first 21 games for Calgary were starts and he finished with 17 relief appearances.
Rich started the 1988 season with Calgary and was 0-0 with a 12.54 ERA when he was released on May 9. He was signed as a free agent by the Angels and reported to Edmonton on May 13.
He went 4-7 with a 5.08 ERA over 20 games (16 GS) with Edmonton and struck out a team best 97 batters. He made his Angels debut on September 10 at Texas. Overall in three appearances with California, he did not allow an earned run over 4.1 innings.
Rich made five trips between Edmonton and Anaheim in 1989, pitching three times for each club. He started the season with Edmonton and was recalled on May 1. He was sent down on May 15, recalled on June 7, sent down for a final time on July 9 and recalled a final time on July 20. Rich allowed just one earned run in his first 10 appearances with California (15.1 IP) and pitched a career best 5.1 innings (0 R, 2 H) against Toronto on June 20.
With the Angels, Rich was 2-1, 2.12 in night games with a batting average against of .218- in day games opponents hit .414. He had a 2.67 ERA (30.1 IP) on grass fields. Rich surrendered three home runs during the season (Bob Boone, Henry Cotto, Mel Hall), all on the road; 17 of his 24 appearances were on the road. Overall, he stranded 11 of 16 inherited baserunners.
Rich graduated from Tampa Catholic High in 1982. He was an All-American in baseball and football there and was a teammate of Lance McCullers, playing against Donnie Scott and Fred McGriff. He played Little League and American Legion ball in Wellswood, Florida.
Rich enjoys Tak-Kwon-Do and golf. He is a brother-in-law of Edmonton pitching coach Chuck Hernandez."

-1992 New York Yankees Information Guide

ANDY STANKIEWICZ

"In 1991 Andy spent his second full season with the AAA Columbus Clippers. He hit .272 over 125 games while stealing 29 bases. A versatile player, Andy saw action at second base (81 games), shortstop (31 G) and at third base (8 G). He also pitched once, allowing a hit and a walk in a third of an inning.

He signed a contract for the 1992 season.

Andy spent the entire 1990 season with Columbus, his first full season at AAA. He hit .229 with 48 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 32 attempts. He was among the club leaders in several categories: second in games (135), at-bats (446) and walks (71) and third in stolen bases. He was named Clipper of the Month for April when he hit .304 with 14 RBIs.

He split time between second base (73 games) and shortstop (68 games). An outstanding defensive player, Andy made only 10 errors in 646 chances, a .984 fielding percentage; he made only two errors at second base all year (.994).

Andy was the Yankees' 12th round pick in the regular phase of the June 1986 free agent draft. He was signed by Yankee scout Orrin Freeman. He played 59 games with the Class-A Oneonta Yankees, where he batted .296 with eight doubles and 17 RBIs.

Spending the entire 1987 season at Class-A Ft. Lauderdale, Andy hit .307 in 119 games with 26 stolen bases, 18 doubles, seven triples, two home runs and 47 RBIs. He was named to the Florida State League All-Star team.

Andy started the 1988 season with the AA Albany-Colonie Yankees and was promoted to Columbus. With Albany, he hit .268 over 109 games with 20 doubles, two triples, a homer, 34 RBIs and 15 stolen bases and was named to the Eastern League All-Star team.

Andy spent the 1989 season with Albany and was named to the Eastern League All-Star team.  He hit .267 over 133 games and led the Eastern League in runs (74), stolen bases (41) and sacrifice flies (11), was second in at-bats (498), third in hits (133) and tied for third in doubles (26).

Among second basemen, Andy led the league in games (133), total chances (615), putouts (242), assists (369) and double plays (85). He had a streak of 93 errorless games which was snapped on July 23 against Harrisburg.

Andy attended Pepperdine University in California. In 1982 he graduated from St. Paul High School (CA) where he played baseball, basketball and football."

-1992 New York Yankees Information Guide

1992 Profile: Jeff Johnson

"On-the-job training is an ideal way of learning a craft, but it can also be frustrating. Such was the case for 25-year-old Jeff Johnson, who in one year went from Class-A Fort Lauderdale to Yankee Stadium. Johnson, along with Wade Taylor and Scott Kamieniecki, was one of three rookie starters who started out strong but then struggled in 1991.
'He's still learning, and at times that can be frustrating,' says Yankees pitching coach Mark Connor. 'But he has still shown that he can pitch at the major league level.'
That he has. Johnson has excellent control and the ability to pitch deep into the game, two musts for a successful starter. The left-hander also demonstrated a strong pick-off move, leading the staff with three caught stealings last year. Jeff Johnson is a fast learner and, with the consistency that comes from experience, could be at the head of the class in 1992."

-The New York Yankees Official 1992 Yearbook

"Jeff began the 1991 season at Columbus and was recalled on June 5. At the time of his recall he was 4-0 with a 2.61 ERA in 10 starts. He finished his freshman season with the Yankees with a 6-11 record and 5.95 ERA.
He joined the rotation immediately and made five starts in June posting a 1-3 record with a 4.25 ERA. His major league debut came on June 5 against Toronto, with Jeff taking the loss in the 4-1 defeat (7.0 IP, 4 R, 2 ER). His first big league win came in his third start, June 19 at Toronto,  while pitching seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 blanking of the Blue Jays, with Steve Howe getting the save.
July was Jeff's most successful month, with a 3-0 record and 2.78 ERA. His longest outing as a Yankee came on July 13 at California when he pitched 8.1 scoreless innings in a 2-0 win. He followed that with eight scoreless innings on July 19 at Oakland in a 3-0 blanking; he started that game with 4.2 hitless innings. He extended his scoreless streak to 17.1 innings on July 24 against Seattle with a scoreless inning. He also extended his winning streak to a season best three games as the Yankees beat the Mariners 10-2.
The streak came to a screeching halt as Jeff lost his first four games in August. On August 8 at Chicago he struck out a career high seven men in a 4-1 loss. For the month he finished 1-5 with a 10.87 ERA; from July 24-August 29, his ERA ballooned from 2.70 to 5.65. Jeff broke the skid with a 6-5 win on August 24 at Toronto.
He proceeded to lose his next four outings, August 29-September  13, as his ERA rose to 5.99. He had an outstanding effort on September 18 against Milwaukee, receiving a no-decision (8.0 IP, 1 ER) in a 2-1 Yankee triumph. Jeff finished the month of September with his ERA rising to a season high of 6.08. His year ended on a positive note, however, as he notched the win in a 9-6 Yankee victory on October 3 against Baltimore. The win broke a string of seven consecutive starts without a victory.
Along with Wade Taylor and Scott Kamieniecki, Johnson was part of the first rookie trio to crack the Yankee starting rotation since June 1986 (Doug Drabek, Bob Tewksbury, Alphonso Pulido). Taylor, Kamieniecki and Johnson became the first rookie trio to notch wins on consecutive days since at least 1946 (Yankee research materials do not predate 1947).
Although not recalled until June 5, Johnson finished second on the team in innings pitched with 127.0. When he made his debut he became the eighth different Yankee and the second left-hander to start a game in 1991. The streak of 17.1 innings was the longest by a Yankee starter in 1991 and the longest by a Yankee since Andy Hawkins went 23.0 innings in 1989.
For the season opponents batted .305 overall against him; right-handed hitters batted .313 (144-460), left-handed hitters .231 (12-for-52). Jeff walked only 33 batters in 127.0 innings for a ratio of 2.3 per nine innings. The ratio was second best among Yankee starters to Scott Sanderson. Jeff had a 1.9 strikeouts/walk ratio. He was involved in three of the Yankees 11 shutouts, second among starters to Sanderson (5).
Jeff finished 2-6 with a 5.57 ERA at home, 4-5 with a 6.35 ERA on the road. He pitched five-plus innings in 18 of his 23 innings and averaged 5.2 innings per start. He was hurt most at the beginning of games as indicated by innings and runs allowed: 1st-19, 2nd-19, 3rd-11, 4th-11, 5th-7, 6th-18, 7th-4, 8th-0, 9th-0. 25 of the 84 runs (30%) he allowed came via the home run.
In his six wins Jeff had a 2.08 ERA (43.1 IP, 10 ER). He was supported with 4.1 runs per start overall but only 2.4 runs in his losses. He caught three runners stealing, most among Yankee starters.
He is unsigned for the 1992 season.
Jeff started the 1990 season at Class-A Ft. Lauderdale and was promoted to AA Albany in mid-July. He combined to post a 10-11 record with four complete games and a 2.90 ERA over 26 starts.
At Ft. Lauderdale, Johnson was 6-8 with a complete game and a 3.65 ERA, including 4-3 with a 2.60 ERA at Ft. Lauderdale Stadium. His best month was May when he registered a 4-1 record with a 1.85 ERA in five starts. At Albany, he was 4-3 with three complete games and a 1.63 ERA in nine starts- Jeff was unbeatable at home, posting a 3-0 record with a 0.86 ERA (21.0 IP, 2 ER) in three starts.
In 1989 Johnson spent a full season at Class-A Prince William of the Carolina League, with a 4-10 record and a 2.92 ERA over 25 games (24 starts), allowing 125 hits over 138.2 innings. 1988 was his first season in professional baseball. Johnson spent that season at Oneonta, achieving an impressive 6-1 record with a 2.98 ERA over 14 starts. He allowed just 67 hits and fanned 91 batters over 87.2 innings.
Jeff was the Yankees' 6th round pick in the June 1988 free agent draft. He was signed by New York scout Jeff Taylor.
He graduated from the University of North Carolina with a degree in mathematics. A four-year letterman on the baseball team, he had a 9-5 record over his 38-game career. He played alongside current major leaguer Chris Haney.
Jeff played Little League and Babe Ruth baseball in Butner, North Carolina. He's an avid crappie fisherman."

-1992 New York Yankees Information Guide

R.I.P. Lou Johnson

R.I.P. Jay Johnstone

1992 Profile: Dion James

 "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

1992 Profile: Scott Kamieniecki

"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