Ahh, the 1990’s.
You remember them, right? Most of
you do, I’m sure and for those that don’t you missed one of the strangest
decades in Yankee baseball history. The
1990’s started out with a Yankee team in transition. Don Mattingly, the Yankee first baseman and
Captain was beginning to feel the effects of a bad back. Billy Martin had come and gone, come and gone
as Yankee manager. However, Billy died
before the Boss could bring him back one more time. The Yankees would start the season managed by
Bucky Dent and end with Stump Merrill on the bench. Dave Winfield would be traded to the Angels
for Mike Witt. Andy Hawkins, the
resident Yankee ace would pitch a no-hitter but lose the game, 4-0 to the White
Sox thanks to 4 errors by the young Yankee team. There was a lot of hope in some young Yankees
that were making their way through the farm system. Guys like Gerald Williams, Bernie Williams,
Deion Sanders, Dave Eiland, Mike Blowers, Hensley Meulens, Roberto Kelly, Kevin
Maas, and Jim Leyritz were all going to come in and save the future of the
Yankees.
It didn’t happen.
Sure, Bernie Williams will forever go down as a great Yankee but many
scouts thought Gerald was the better Williams.
Hensley Meulens was supposed to be the next great Yankee third
baseman. He even had a cool nickname,
Bam-Bam because he knocked the cover off of the ball at every Minor League
level. Mike Blowers was another highly
touted third base prospect that many teams coveted. Roberto Kelly was going to be the next great
Yankee center fielder. He would even
make an All-Star team with the Yankees in 1992 but would be traded before the
1993 season for Paul O’Neill. Kelly would
actually be part of a trade that saw him go from the Reds to the Braves and
Deion Sanders, who the Yankees released at the end of the season, go from the
Braves to the Reds. Dave Eiland never
managed to put it all together and settled for a middling career before trying
his hand in coaching. Leyritz went on to
become a World Series hero but his ego was always bigger than his actual
talent.
Yes, these were the 1990 New York Yankees. Right fielder Jesse Barfield led the team in
homers with 25. Kevin Maas finished
second with 21. Barfield also led the
team in RBI with 78. Roberto Kelly
finished second with 61. Can you imagine
a Yankee team today with the top RBI guys having those numbers? Tim Leary would lead the league…in losses
with 19 while only winning 9 games. His
ERA was 4.11 which was not awful but not great.
Lee Guetterman, a relief pitcher, led the team with 11 wins. It was an awful time to be a Yankee fan. The team finished with a 67-95 record.
However, lost in the shuffle that was the 1990
Yankees was the future foundation that was laid. What am I talking about? Well, sometimes being awful has its benefits. The 1990 Draft netted the Yankees some pretty
important players for their future. Both
Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte were drafted by the Yankees in the June Amateur
Draft. Pettitte didn’t sign that year
but would sign the next year after getting drafted. Apparently, the Yankees liked the kid. Also drafted that year was Shane Spencer and Ricky
Ledee. Neither of them were great
Yankees but both helped win titles and then were either discarded or traded for
other players that also helped the Yankees win.
In 1991, the Yankees finished with a 71-91 record,
an improvement from 1990. Hawkins would
be released after pitching in only four games and sporting an ERA of 9.95 (and
you thought A.J. Burnett was bad?).
Scott Sanderson was the new Yankee ace and he would make the All-Star
team that year and end up winning 16 games after being purchased from the
Oakland Athletics. Tim Leary, after
signing back with the Yankees as a free agent went 4-10 with a 6.49 ERA. Jeff Johnson would make 23 starts and go 6-11
with a 5.95 ERA (again, you think A.J. is bad?). Wade Taylor, another youngster, would make 22
starts and go 7-12 with a 6.27 ERA.
Things were not looking good in Yankeeland, especially on the
mound. Sure, there were some bright
spots. Steve Farr filled in nicely for a
recently departed Dave Righetti. Steve
Howe emerged as a semi-valuable bullpen arm after coming back from drug
addiction. Pascual Perez seemed to be a
decent pitcher but he could never stay healthy, or apparently sober. Mike Witt was supposed to help stabilize the
rotation but instead blew his arm out after only a couple of starts. Things were so bad Alvaro Espinoza managed to
outpitch several Yankee pitchers, getting both batters he faced out in a
blowout game. Yes, Yankeeland was not a
good place to be. Yankee Stadium was a
funeral parlor compared to what it would become in a couple of seasons.
Offensively, three Yankees topped 20 homers: Roberto
Kelly (20), Kevin Maas (23), and Matt Nokes (24). Steve Sax led the team with a .308 AVG and
Mel Hall led the team in RBI with 80, edging out Matt Nokes who was second with
77. Don Mattingly, still not the same
player he was in the 1980’s finished 4th on the team in RBI with 68,
one behind Roberto Kelly. Mattingly
would also finish second in batting average, hitting at a .288 clip. Mel Hall would be the only other Yankee aside
from Sax and Mattingly who hit above .270.
Overall, the team hit .256 and scored 674 runs. Yikes.
The future, however, was brightened when the Yankees
took high school phenom, Brien Taylor with the number one overall pick in the
June Draft. Taylor was regarded as the
best high school pitcher ever and his minor league numbers offered a glimpse of
what the future ace would be capable of.
Alas, it was never meant to be. In
1993, Taylor, rated the number one prospect in all of baseball separated his
shoulder and tore his labrum in a fight that his brother was involved in. That was the end of his baseball career,
though he tried to come back before officially retiring in 2000. According to Wikipedia, Taylor now works as a
bricklayer and still lives with his parents making $909 a month as of 2006. Regardless, the selection of Taylor with the
first overall pick had many Yankee fans thinking about Dwight Gooden in his
prime with the Mets. Oh, what could have
been!
In 1992, the outlook for the Yankees began to look
up. Danny Tartabull signed before the
season, giving the Yankees a legitimate bat in the middle of the order. Steve Sax was traded to the White Sox for 3
young pitchers, Domingo Jean, Bob Wickman, and Melido Perez. Don Mattingly might revert to his old self at
any moment. Melido Perez emerged as the
Yankee ace, supplanting Scott Sanderson who struggled with a 12-11 record and
4.93 ERA. Perez went 13-16 with a 2.87
ERA. He might have won 20 games if the
Yankees could hit. But, the Yankees
still couldn’t hit. They did score 733
runs, up from the previous season thanks to Mattingly (86 RBI), Tartabull (85
RBI and a team leading 25 homers) and Mel Hall (81). Charlie Hayes became a fan favorite at third,
hitting 18 homers and driving in 66. Still,
the Yankees had no pitching depth and finished a paltry 76-86. Mike Stanley was the backup catcher and was
beginning to show the Yankees what he was capable of and would soon supplant
Matt Nokes as the starter.
Oh yes, the future was bright. Bernie Williams was starting to hit, hitting
.280 in 1992. The Yankees had the #6
selection in the Draft and selected a high school shortstop from Kalamazoo, MI
named Derek Jeter. Jeter and Brien
Taylor would give the Yankees a young core that would take them into the next
century. Yessir, the future was surely
bright. J.T. Snow was one of the best
prospects in baseball and would surely spell Don Mattingly at first base to
ease his back pain before taking the position over full-time. Bam Bam was still young enough to turn it
around and he hit 1 homer and had two other hits in 6 plate appearances that
year without even striking out. He was
only 25 and there was still time for him to become the player the Yankees
thought he could be. Oh boy, the future
was looking good. Bam Bam could be the
third baseman, Snow at first, Taylor as the ace with Melido, who was still only
26 in 1992, backing him up as the #2.
Bernie in center field, Jeter at short, Pat Kelly at second, and
Tartabull in right field, and Roberto Kelly in left, man the Yankees were going
to be unstoppable.
Then, plans changed in 1993 for the Yankees and the
future that looked so bright now had a different shine. Roberto Kelly was traded to the Reds for an
underachieving guy named Paul O’Neill.
Charlie Hayes was taken by the Rockies in the expansion draft. J.T. Snow, Jerry Neilsen, and Russ Springer
were traded to the Angels for Jim Abbott, a one-handed pitcher who had a lot of
talent. Jimmy Key and Wade Boggs were
signed as free agents after the Yankees missed out on Greg Maddux and Barry
Bonds. Hey, the Yankees still had a
bright future. Spike Owen was signed to
man the shortstop position until Jeter was ready.
The 1993 season was when the worm began to turn for
the New York Yankees. Key pieces to the
puzzle were in place. Wade Boggs was
resurrecting his career after the Red Sox thought he was done and went on to
hit .302. Mike Stanley exploded for 26
homers. Danny Tartabull led the team
with 31 homers and became the first player in the 1990’s to drive in over 100
runs with 102, although he only hit .250 with 156 strikeouts. Paul O’Neill hit 20 home runs and drove in 75
runs while batting .311. Left fielder
Dion James hit .332. Don Mattingly hit
17 home runs and got his batting average up to .291 and looked like his back
problems might finally start to be a thing of the past. Bernie Williams, still just 24 years old hit
12 home runs. Jimmy Key won 18 games and
sported a 3.00 ERA. Jim Abbott pitched a
no-hitter on 9/4/93 against the Indians.
The Yankees were in contention for a playoff spot and brought in veteran
Frank Tanana to bolster their rotation after Melido Perez struggled. The bullpen regressed, however, with Steve
Howe, Steve Farr, and Rich Monteleone, the main bullpen guys all sporting ERA’s
north of 4.20. Lee Smith joined Tanana
as a late season acquisition and recorded 3 saves in 8 games and never allowed
a run. Even with a shaky bullpen the Yankees went 88-74, their first winning
season in the 1990’s. Manager Buck
Showalter had the Yankees playing up to their potential.
The 1994 season opened with a mix of optimism and a
little bit of dread. Brien Taylor’s
future was in jeopardy. Derek Jeter
committed 56 errors at Single A Greensboro leaving some to wonder if he had the
moxie to handle shortstop in the Majors.
His bat was fine but his glove was making people wonder. Still, the Yankees won 88 games the year
before and there was no reason to doubt the Yankees wouldn’t improve on that
record. Terry Mulholland, fresh off of a
World Series appearance and decent season with the Phillies was acquired in a
trade. Jimmy Key was an ace. Xavier Hernandez, 28 years old at the time
and fresh off of a year where he struck out 101 batters in 96.2 innings with
the Astros was brought in via trade to replace the departed Steve Farr at
closer. Veteran Jeff Reardon was there
to step in if Hernandez needed help.
Scott Kamieniecki looked poised to take the next step as a starter.
The season started well for the Yankees. Paul O’Neill was amazing, hitting .359 with
21 homers and 83 RBI. Mike Stanley hit
.300 with 17 homers and 57 RBI. Wade
Boggs hit .342. Mattingly hit .304. Tartabull clubbed 19 homers. Jimmy Key won 17 games, on pace to win 24
games. The Yankees were in first place
in the American League and poised to make the playoffs for the first time since
1981. Then, baseball went on strike on August
12, 1994 and didn’t return until April 2, 1995.
No playoffs for the Yankees.
A few adjustments needed to be made going into the
1995 season. The Yankees acquired former
Cy Young winner, Jack McDowell from the White Sox for Lyle Mouton and Keith
Heberling. The Yankees also signed former
All-Star Tony Fernandez to play shortstop, an improvement over Mike Gallego and
Spike Owen of previous years. Danny
Tartabull was not living up to the expectations that came with his contract and
would find himself traded at the trade deadline for Ruben Sierra. David Cone would be acquired in a trade with
the Toronto Blue Jays for Marty Janzen and two other fringe prospects on July
28th after Jimmy Key hurt his shoulder. The Yankees now had 3 aces in Key (when he
returned), McDowell, and Cone. And, the
Yankees took a flyer on Darryl Strawberry who was attempting a comeback from
drug and alcohol abuse. In the minors
one of baseball’s best prospects waited in the wings. His name was Ruben Rivera and he was already
being compared to Mickey Mantle at age 21.
Yankees fans were anxious for the 1995 season to begin.
The Yankees weren’t as good as expectations made
them out to be. Yankee fans wanted World
Series. Instead, they finished 7 games
behind the Red Sox in the AL East. But,
being that this was the first year of a new playoff format, the Yankees went to
the playoffs for the first time since 1981 as the Wild Card. Oh yes, the Bronx was bumping again. Suddenly it was cool to be a Yankee fan
again. The Yankees were a playoff team
and there was still Ruben Rivera and Derek Jeter in the minors. Jeter even made his big league debut in
1995. There were a couple of other
prospects that made their debut that year, Andy Pettitte, who won 12 games as a
rookie, Mariano Rivera, cousin to Ruben, made his debut as a starter at age 25,
and some guy named Jorge Posada, who appeared in 1 game but never got an
at-bat. New York was on the verge of
hysteria as the playoffs began.
The Yankees jumped out to a quick 2 games to none
lead over the Mariners who featured Ken Griffey, Jr., Randy Johnson, Alex
Rodriguez, Edgar Martinez, Tino Martinez, and Jay Buhner. It looked like the Yankees would be on their
way to a showdown with the Cleveland Indians for the American League
Pennant. Then, the world collapsed. The Mariners battled back and eventually beat
the Yankees in the deciding 5th game. As painful as that is, the New York Yankees
would never be the same after that. We
all know what happened in 1996 and subsequent years.
Buck Showalter would be out of a job and replaced by
Joe Torre, leaving many Yankee fans upset and the media calling Torre “Clueless
Joe.” Ruben Rivera would be traded for
Hideki Irabu and become an all-time bust.
Irabu himself would wear the bust label after coming over from Japan
touted as the Japanese Nolan Ryan. Jeter
would start at shortstop after Tony Fernandez went down with an injury and
Mariano Duncan was signed to play second base.
Tim Raines, one of the best players in the 1980’s, was acquired from the
White Sox. Kenny Rogers, coming off of a
17 win season, was signed as a free agent.
Dwight Gooden, coming back from substance abuse, was the #5
starter. The Yankees were poised to do
some damage. Even when Cone went down
with an aneurism, the Yankees were still able to weather the storm. They bolstered their bullpen by acquiring
Graeme Llyod. Cecil Fielder was brought
in for prospect Matt Drews and disgruntled Ruben Sierra. Mariano Rivera was the perfect set-up man to new
closer John Wetteland. Derek Jeter would
win the Rookie of the Year award.
Pettitte won 21 games. Gooden
pitched a no-hitter against the Mariners on May 11th. Oh, and the Yankees went on to win the World
Series. They did it again in 1998, 1999,
and 2000 while winning the AL Pennant in 2001 and 2003 as well. Not bad for a team that was the worst in
baseball to start the decade.
I hope you enjoyed the journey from the darkness
into the light that was the Yankees dynasty in the late 1990’s.
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