1973 Recap: After hitting rock bottom in 1972 the Yankees made a huge splash of a trade by acquiring Ernesto Garcia and also dipped into the Mexican League to snag veteran 1B Aitor de la Rosa. All of this meant that the team improved 19 games in the standings to 88 Ws and a 2nd place finish. They did this with a league-best offense (745 runs scored) but a kind of bad defense (754 runs allowed). That offense in particular is... I don't know if "weird" is the right word but it was the kind of offense that 80s and 90s stat nerds loved: 2nd worst in hitting (.250) and steals (55) but #1 in HRs (173), on-base percentage (.337), and walks (706).
Outlook: It was a nice year but fans of the team should hit pause for a couple of reasons. One, the team did allow more runs than they scored, and while that means they were super clutch (33-16 in one run games!) that also just might point to them overachieving a bit in 1973. Two, even with the fine finish they were still a full 12 games behind the Tigers. The AL East is a tough, tough division right now. One factor that might help in some ways and hurt in others is the fact that after decades at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees are going to be temporarily relocating from the Bronx to Queens and Shea Stadium in 1974. Goodbye short porch in right and goodbye for good to the monuments that are in play in deep centerfield.
Jonathan Banks
SS/2B No. 50
RR, 5'11" 194 lbs.
Born 1947-01-08
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 SYR AAA | .298 | 85 | 315 | 32 | 94 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 43 | 29 | 27 | 0 |
| 1971 NYY MLB | .313 | 56 | 211 | 25 | 66 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 13 | 21 | 0 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | .267 | 127 | 454 | 32 | 121 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 22 | 37 | 0 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .248 | 139 | 488 | 43 | 121 | 27 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 16 | 34 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
I'm sure I said this about him last year but even though he's only 26, Banks has this aura about him that just screams "crusty ex-cop turned antihero". He continued to play basically every day for the 2nd consecutive year with the Yankees, although the loss of both German Ybarra (gone to Cleveland in the Ernesto Garcia trade) and Vladimir Matorin (hustled out to Atlanta as part of the package that brought back Santos Rodriguez in June) meant that Banks played a lot more shortstop last year.
Banks slumped to .248 last season after a good, solid .267 campaign in 1972. His real level might be closer to the 1972 ability. Otherwise, he's pretty much the prototypical bottom-of-the-lineup middle infielder: decent gap power, swings at everything, no power. He also makes good contact which would make him a solid #2 guy except that he's pretty slow in the field. As a defender he'd be a Gold Glove quality second baseman if the Yankees left him there but at the same time that would be a real waste of an 80 grade arm so shortstop feels more "right" even if he'll never win hardware there. Banks laid down 7 bunts last year; I'd expect that total to increase.
With the other SS options on this team just not looking all that great, Banks heads into 1974 the clear front-runner at the position. He also doesn't seem to be a guy who's set to hold onto the job for a decade but hey, you never know.
John Booth
LHP No. 12
LL, 6'4" 201 lbs.
Born 1936-03-25
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 SF MLB | 7 | 8 | 23 | 3.29 | 64 | 0 | 0 | 90.0 | 88 | 35 | 33 | 36 | 42 |
| 1972 SF MLB | 6 | 10 | 19 | 3.31 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 81.1 | 76 | 35 | 30 | 50 | 29 |
| 1973 SF MLB | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1.42 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 31.2 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 6 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | 3 | 0 | 9 | 3.09 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 40.2 | 33 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 5 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
I just don't know what to do with the Assassin anymore. On the one hand, his strikeout rate in 1971 was already a pretty low 4.2 K/9 and it's fallen by at least 1 K in each of the last 2 seasons since. Now it's at deadball-era, "you can't win with that" levels. On the other hand... he's still getting results, isn't he? Last year the Yankees acquired Booth, who'd been with the Giants since the winter of 67-68, for cash considerations and although he walked 3 times as many guys as he struck out he still saved a total of 16 games in 21 opportunities, which is average to above average for the era. He actually hit as many guys as he K'd for New York last year... yeah, probably best if I don't look at that too hard.
I've already penciled Booth into a lefty specialist role moving into 1974. Last year he held lefty batters to a .172 average so that's nice. I still think he's going to absolutely fall apart but 70s era me has to think like "he's our guy until he isn't".
Manny Carbajal
RHP No. 57
RR, 5'11" 198 lbs.
Born 1942-10-25
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 SYR AAA | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.91 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 61.0 | 42 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 28 |
| 1971 NYY MLB | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.27 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 57.2 | 50 | 25 | 21 | 12 | 46 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | 11 | 16 | 0 | 2.63 | 32 | 32 | 11 | 246.0 | 225 | 77 | 72 | 59 | 156 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | 6 | 10 | 0 | 4.91 | 27 | 21 | 5 | 150.0 | 161 | 93 | 82 | 44 | 80 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
In 1972 Carbajal looked like a potential staff ace who just couldn't will his offense to score enough runs when he was on the mound. In 1973 he was woefully inconsistent. In fact, in July (0-2, 7.42) and August (3-3, 6.20) the 30 year old looked like a batting practice pitcher. You'd love to say you should discount those months as he was still recovering from back stiffness that caused him to miss most of June... but injuries happen and Manny's back is not known for staying in one piece.
Manny's bread and butter pitch is a curve with some late breaking movement but he'll also rear back and throw a cut fastball that gets into the low 90s. In years past he's used that combination plus a pretty decent circle change to get some decent whiffs but whiffs were lacking last season and he labored, allowing 22 HRs. Unfortunately, even in an otherwise good 1972 he allowed 28; taters now seem to be an issue for the right-handed Carbajal. This is one guy who might benefit from the new stadium, that is if the Yankees continue to employ him.
Carbajal's been with this team forever - 1965 was his first year - without ever really securing a role. It looked like he had a rotational job covered after 1972 but baseball fate is fickle and now there's a great chance that Carbajal will open 1974 with a completely different team.
John Carpenter
LHP No. 20
LL, 5'11" 176 lbs.
Born 1948-10-29
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 WH AA | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1.84 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 44.0 | 35 | 11 | 9 | 22 | 32 |
| 1971 IOW AAA | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2.41 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 74.2 | 52 | 21 | 20 | 35 | 41 |
| 1971 NYY MLB | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.58 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 38.1 | 34 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 32 |
| 1971 SYR AAA | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.86 | 14 | 14 | 2 | 103.2 | 95 | 42 | 33 | 38 | 56 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | 14 | 14 | 0 | 3.25 | 31 | 31 | 7 | 229.1 | 204 | 90 | 83 | 84 | 140 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | 23 | 13 | 0 | 3.48 | 38 | 38 | 17 | 296.2 | 283 | 121 | 115 | 85 | 196 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
In just his 2nd full year as a starter, the 24 year old Carpenter really burst onto the scene and played the part of the staff ace for the Yankees this year. He threw a lot of pitches and finished a lot of what he started but hey, he's young and can handle it, right? Also, I feel the need to note that his pitches per game didn't actually increase all that much: from 108 in 72 to 115 last year. At one point in August it did seem like maybe Carpenter was flagging a little, as he finished the month 3-3, 4.32, but he proved his doubters wrong with a 5-1, 1.74 September that included 2 shutouts and 3 complete games in 6 starts and the AL Pitcher of the Month award.
For all the whiffs he collects - Carpenter finished 3rd in the AL in Ks - the lefty doesn't actually throw that hard. Instead, he relies on some seriously crazy movement on a splitter and a sinking fastball and a very deceptive change of pace to get those outs. Could he use a pitch with more left-to-right movement? Some say yes but the results last year say maybe this is enough. He worked hard to keep the pitches he does throw over the plate in 1973 and that really paid dividends for him: in spite of throwing almost 70 more innings last year he gave up just 1 more walk compared to the year prior. He did double his HRs allowed from 7 to 15 but frankly 15 is still pretty good; the advantage of not having a classic 4-seam fastball is that everything he throws is down in the zone.
Carpeenter will open up 1974 as the team's #1 starting pitcher. Expect opposing hitters to have a real, um, Halloween of a time.
Gabriel Covarrubias
RHP No. 2
LR, 6'3" 202 lbs.
Born 1946-07-03
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 IOW AAA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 1971 NYY MLB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.80 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 1971 SYR AAA | 2 | 3 | 10 | 4.04 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 62.1 | 67 | 28 | 28 | 26 | 41 |
| 1971 OAK MLB | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.25 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12.0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| 1972 SYR AAA | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1.56 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 51.2 | 39 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 45 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.74 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 30.1 | 35 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 10 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | 8 | 7 | 16 | 3.02 | 54 | 3 | 1 | 92.1 | 96 | 35 | 31 | 23 | 44 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
I don't know, Gabriel Covarrubias is good and all... I just don't see him as a true Yankees stopper type. You expect that guy to be flashy. Covarrubias is
fine but in his first full year in the big leagues he was really hot and cold. The heat, the fans loved, including a 0-1, 2.38, 4 save June. The coolness (the very next month he went 0-3, 5.74 with just 4 saves in 8 tries) was not so beloved and by season's end he was splitting the closer duties with the Assassin John Booth (more on him above).
Of the two of them I do trust Covarrubias more but it's still a bit of an enigma why his fastball, which touches the low to mid 90s, doesn't produce more swings and misses. He mixes it with a curve and a change that are together nothing super special, although they do allow him to spot start on occasion. Last year Covarrubias was able to concentrate a bit more than he has in seasons past, cutting the walk rate to 2.2 BB/9, but a lot of that concentration also seemed to fall apart with runners on base: last season this man inherited 29 runners and allowed 14 of them - nearly half! - to score. In spite of the low-ish ERA he had 7 blown saves and 8 meltdowns.
So... yeah, Covarrubias is a bit volatile, maybe a little too much so to give the hardest innings to. On the other hand, who else gets this job? I'm not sure John Booth seems to have left his fastball in San Francisco and is operating on fumes at this point.
Dustin Clark
IF No. 7
RR, 5'11" 180 lbs.
Born 1944-09-26
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 BAL MLB | .209 | 67 | 139 | 11 | 29 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 15 | 23 | 0 |
| 1972 ASH AA | .167 | 13 | 24 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 1972 ROC AAA | .208 | 32 | 96 | 12 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 23 | 1 |
| 1972 BAL MLB | .208 | 19 | 24 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .232 | 70 | 164 | 17 | 38 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 20 | 33 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
The Yankees, needing an infielder and ideally a guy who could start at shortstop, acquired Clark from the Orioles in April. Well... they didn't give up much for him at least (AAA shortstop Larry Scudder). Clark drew walks, which is nice and had pretty OK middle infielder power but that's about the size of it. He had even splits last year but you could probably still carve out a platoon-ish type situation with him, I guess. He's a decent fielder, not a guy you necessarily want out there daily at short but solid at 2nd and 3rd - of course, his bat won't carry at those positions.
Yeah, he's a guy.
Aitor De La Rosa
1B/OF No. 21
LL, 6'4" 217 lbs.
Born 1941-03-10
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 TLA MLB | .297 | 112 | 380 | 60 | 113 | 17 | 0 | 24 | 80 | 64 | 93 | 0 |
| 1972 YUC MLB | .320 | 97 | 338 | 53 | 108 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 71 | 51 | 91 | 1 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .286 | 105 | 311 | 58 | 89 | 16 | 1 | 21 | 69 | 63 | 88 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
When healthy, the 32 year old Mexican League star Aitor de la Rosa was as powerful a hitter for the Yankees as anyone on the team aside from Ernesto Garcia. The problem is, de la Rosa was hurt a lot. A huuuge amount, in fact. Garcia is probably a lock for DH reps now because of his inability to play the field but there were *several* times when de la Rosa had to miss time, including almost all of June (he had just 7 at-bats the whole month) and a good chunk of September as well (only 11 starts, 49 at-bats). The Yankees would love a bit more availability in 1974.
De la Rosa likes the fastball at the waist or higher and specializes in absolutely socking th ball. Critics who said that the power wouldn't translate into the bigger league were just plain wrong if the first year means anything. While he's not especially fast, everything that comes off of his bat is a line drive and if balls aren't hit right at guys, they go a long ways. He did have a worrying tendency to swing and miss at pitches, a tendency that carried over from the Mexican League, too, so we should probably assume it's a part of his game. De La Rosa is a decent defensive first baseman who can also hold his own in left and, at least theoretically, right (he didn't play there at all last year but got into about a hundred games in 71 and 72 with Tampico and Yucatan).
De la Rosa is the real deal. Even though he was on his 3rd team in 3 years with New York, it appears he's hit the pinnacle of his ambitions and he isn't likely to move further. He's also a real contrast with the team's other superstar Garcia in the way he spends so much extra time at the batting cage and shagging balls in the outfield to keep up his skills there.
Dave Dornbush
OF No. 36
RR, 5'10" 201 lbs.
Born 1944-08-02
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 SYR AAA | .239 | 100 | 364 | 66 | 87 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 43 | 59 | 47 | 18 |
| 1972 SYR AAA | .293 | 86 | 300 | 46 | 88 | 18 | 3 | 14 | 44 | 32 | 53 | 9 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | .249 | 55 | 197 | 24 | 49 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 25 | 22 | 34 | 2 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .218 | 38 | 78 | 7 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
In 1972 you could say that Dave Dornbush was the kind of 5th outfielder every team needs. In 1973, not so much. Dornbush has exhibited 30-steal speed in the minor leagues in seasons past but so far he hasn't been able to take advantage of that in a way that would help the batting average in the majors. A high-ish K rate is a big culprit but Dornbush has also just plain not "hit em where they ain't", as the saying goes. He's probably a better CF than Johan Ullman right now but there's nothing about his bat that makes you think he'd be anything but a bottom of the order guy and while good out there he's no defensive wizard. When he does get on base, which isn't a lot (a mere .276 OBP in 1973) he does a lot of good things to advance (although he was 0/2 on steal attempts).
Dornbush is just a guy but hey, you need "just a guys" on teams, even when those teams are the Yankees.
Akiho Fujimoto
SS No. 22
RR, 6'3" 199 lbs.
Born 1938-05-02
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 SF MLB | .254 | 131 | 500 | 46 | 127 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 41 | 42 | 44 | 2 |
| 1972 SF MLB | .280 | 131 | 475 | 45 | 133 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 39 | 56 | 59 | 0 |
| 1973 SF MLB | .265 | 9 | 34 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .224 | 56 | 161 | 9 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
The Yankees' approach to shortstop in this post Ty Stover world has been "throw everything at the position and see what sticks". This year they tossed some money - a good amount of money, it's rumored - to the Giants to acquire Fujimoto, who came over to the US at age 31 in 1969 and was a 3-year starter for the Padres and Giants from 1970-1972. Upon arrival to the Yankees he looked like just another guy. The contact hitting was still there but Fujimoto, who's now 35 years old, just wasn't able to beat out sharp grounders or hit line drives in the hole the way he had with the Giants the previous two seasons and as a result he barely played in the second half (just 20 games and 12 starts from July 1 onward). Part of the issue you can point to is that he was dealing with a chronically sore elbow but... guess what 35 yeaar olds who have to throw for a living get a lot?
Fujimoto is still on the roster but if he's not shipped off somewhere he's a 50/50 chance at best to make the Opening Day roster.
Ernesto Garcia
DH/1B No. 80
LL, 5'9" 192 lbs.
Born 1944-01-01
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 CLE MLB | .270 | 156 | 627 | 105 | 169 | 30 | 0 | 65 | 147 | 44 | 119 | 1 |
| 1972 CLE MLB | .296 | 147 | 561 | 117 | 166 | 22 | 1 | 68 | 166 | 65 | 77 | 0 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .254 | 158 | 627 | 99 | 159 | 24 | 2 | 55 | 134 | 61 | 98 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Ernesto Garcia had a year last year that was only disappointing to the absolute haters out there. Yeah, some people looked at his left-handed pull-everything approach and thought that the short porch in right meant he might break the 70 HR mark. To those people, we say: 55 HRs is still a lot. And yes, technically his 134 RBIs were his lowest since 1970. He still led the league in both categories and the only thing standing in the way of a 3rd straight MVP is potential voter aparthy.
Garcia had a rough July (.197, 5, 22) but belted 19 of his HRs and 49 of his RBIs from August 1 onward. He's a true clutch hitter in the classic sense, and moving him to DH (he played in the field just 11 times last year) meant he was in the lineup day in and day out. Garcia actually led the league in plate appearances with 696. I'm going on about his accomplishments because... what else is there to say about his hitting? It's everything scouts say it is: all-or-nothing, don't ever deliver him a fastball above the waist unless you enjoy seeing pitches driven a long, long way... he's not even "worst in the league" levels of slow anymore, although he's attempted just 2 steals in the past 3 years. He's a poor fielder but again, we all knew this.
The biggest deal with Garcia in Cleveland was that he was a bit of a malcontent who forced the move of Carlos Hernandez to the Angels. Okay, "a bit" is understating things. So far in NYC he's been the "good" Ernesto Garcia, which is to say he still loafs a lot but he's no longer picking fights in the clubhouse or (allegedly) pulling guns on teammates. Garcia won't turn 30 until January 1 and already has 341 HRs to his name, the 14th most in MLB history. I feel like he's destined to end his career earlier than you'd think but he could easily wind up with 600 ding-dongs.
Adam Groves
OF/DH No. 4
RR, 6'3" 203 lbs.
Born 1940-09-09
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 CHC MLB | .264 | 93 | 277 | 50 | 73 | 11 | 3 | 11 | 39 | 48 | 60 | 10 |
| 1971 OAK MLB | .326 | 26 | 95 | 20 | 31 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 14 | 19 | 1 |
| 1972 OAK MLB | .211 | 120 | 379 | 62 | 80 | 11 | 3 | 12 | 41 | 58 | 80 | 14 |
| 1973 SYR AAA | .261 | 6 | 23 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .279 | 120 | 445 | 84 | 124 | 14 | 9 | 16 | 60 | 69 | 93 | 22 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Following a disappointing 1972 in Oakland the 33 year old Wright put together a quietly efficient 1973 - well, perhaps not so quiet since he was even named to his 2nd All-Star team in the middle of a monster July (.391, 4, 22 and a .480 OBP) that saw him pick up his first ever Player of the Month award. His bat, it should be said, dropped off a bit after that and he looked just straight up tired in September (.218, 3, 13). Well... the Yankees hope it was just "tired" and not "prematurely old" or "slipping back ot what he did in Oakland".
Groves has good speed - he's the fastest guy on the team, in fact, with 40% of the team's steals in 1973 - but his hitting stroke isn't made to take advantage of it. He loves to swing at stuff above the waist and he hits it far often enough to assume that this is a good tactic. Groves is also good at taking pitches he doesn't like, although this is mitigated by that looping swing that is made to generate a lot of whiffs and bad looking strikeouts. All this is, when he's hitting well like he did most of last year, still good enough for him to reach base a lot: he led the NL in walks in 1968 (86) and finished 8th in OBP this year (.379). As a defender he's a guy in his mid 30s who's lost a bit of range as you do but he's still a solid enough left fielder.
Groves isn't a leader but he is a potential leadoff hitter who's still got a few years left in the tank.
Phil Hartman
RF No. 18
LL, 6'1" 203 lbs.
Born 1948-01-18
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 SYR AAA | .340 | 66 | 212 | 45 | 72 | 19 | 0 | 4 | 44 | 81 | 27 | 1 |
| 1971 NYY MLB | .274 | 82 | 292 | 53 | 80 | 21 | 1 | 10 | 40 | 64 | 64 | 0 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | .278 | 143 | 514 | 74 | 143 | 29 | 3 | 10 | 50 | 100 | 95 | 0 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .241 | 147 | 518 | 83 | 125 | 18 | 3 | 14 | 63 | 105 | 87 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Phil Hartman suffered a pretty bad sophomore (junior?) slump in his second full season in the major leagues but was still a solid contributor. His average dipped almost 40 points and he lost a lot of the gap power he displayed in 71 and 72. On the other hand, he was still as selective and annoying as ever at the plate, finishing 2nd in the AL in walks after leading in that category in 1972 and, in spite of the poor average, finishing 10th in OBP overall. In the field, Hartman is... enigmatic. He's slow and got picked on something terrible in the field last year. Also, he committed a *ton* of errors - 12, for a .958 fielding average and tied with Detroit's Frankie Faison for the most by a RF in baseball - but he also managed to erase an MLB-high 19 baserunners. Hartman isn't the kind of guy to dog it - the opposite in fact - but if he was you could wonder if he was misplaying balls just to get those kills.
Hartman is a guy who lights a fire on the team by talking about his days as an unfrozen cave man lawyer, which we're pretty sure are apocryphal tales. Usually you expect those guys to be frisky on the bases but Hartman just plain lacks natural speed. He's still a good guy to have in the clubhouse and maybe he can one day learn how to field at a major league level.
Justin Inkster
C No. 24
SR, 6'0" 202 lbs.
Born 1945-07-04
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 SYR AAA | .262 | 55 | 122 | 11 | 32 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 14 | 20 | 0 |
| 1972 SYR AAA | .252 | 93 | 305 | 38 | 77 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 38 | 37 | 59 | 0 |
| 1973 SYR AAA | .333 | 16 | 48 | 5 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .205 | 56 | 112 | 12 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 16 | 27 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
The 28 year old Inkster's been sitting in AAA Syracuse ever since he was promoted there in 1970, in spite of a couple of other guys shooting right up past him and into the majors. Last year he inally got his chance to play and he pretty well demonstrated that the Yankees were right to keep him in AAA all these years. The one thing he has over the incumbent Khalil Tabb is his willingness to draw the occasional walk. Otherwise, he adds nothing on offense and has an only marginally better arm.
To Inkster's credit, he keeps his head down and works hard to get where he is. Given the state of catcher in this league he could very well maintain a backup role, if not here, then somewhere else for a few more years.
Pete Jennings
1B/DH No. 16
RR, 5'10" 201 lbs.
Born 1941-06-26
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 CHW MLB | .283 | 158 | 621 | 90 | 176 | 28 | 3 | 16 | 77 | 68 | 75 | 2 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | .261 | 129 | 402 | 45 | 105 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 38 | 36 | 42 | 2 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .248 | 118 | 355 | 38 | 88 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 44 | 33 | 38 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
More than anybody else, Pete Jennings is a great example of the fickleness of the Yankees. He was acquired in the offseason of 71-72 from the White Sox to fill a hole at first base and then, just on the basis of not being an immediate All-Star at the position (which, he even made the Midsummer Classic 4 times between 1966 and 1969 so he's no stranger), they replaced him not just once but twice over with Aitor de la Rosa and Ernesto Garcia. Thanks to injuries to the former player and the fact that he's a right-handed bat, Jennings still managed to pick up 79 starts at 1st, DH, and even a game at 3rd.
Jennings, I guess to be fair to the Yankees, is a contact hitter who's only managed to hit .255 with his new team. In his better years he was known for getting a hold of inside pitches about waist high and pulling them down the left field line. The last 2 years, those balls have wound up as hard grounders to third base more often than not. He's still doing a good job of getting the ball in play even through his struggles although the power has gone from kind of meh for a first baseman to absent. Jennings is no threat to steal. He's a solid first baseman and you can see how he was a quality major league third baseman as recently as '69 but those days are past him now.
Jennings is really not happy with the situation that's presented itself in New York. The Yankees are used to dealing with disgruntled guys; however, it seems unlikely that their previous path of regruntlement, which is to just win enough games to paper all this over, will work anymore, and so they'd behoove themselves to get some value for the 32 year old before he ups and quits.
Jaak Joala
IF No. 9
RR, 6'1" 194 lbs.
Born 1950-06-26
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 FL A | .291 | 71 | 227 | 20 | 66 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 30 | 16 | 18 | 2 |
| 1971 WH AA | .331 | 35 | 139 | 21 | 46 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 5 | 11 | 0 |
| 1971 SYR AAA | .289 | 12 | 38 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 1972 SYR AAA | .343 | 59 | 207 | 30 | 71 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 35 | 16 | 26 | 1 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | .298 | 50 | 84 | 9 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 1 |
| 1973 SYR AAA | .260 | 98 | 308 | 30 | 80 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 34 | 3 | 41 | 0 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .327 | 27 | 110 | 15 | 36 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 2 | 12 | 1 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
You see what the Yankees did with Tommy Weiss (see below) and you hope they won't do the same with Jaak Joala, a 23 year old Estonian flautist and bass player who is in a band with the translated name of Northern Lights and also looks like a pretty decent baseball player. Of course, the Yanks are in a much different position now than they were in Weiss's formative years in the 60s. Last year Joala mostly played in AAA save a 12 game trip to the majors in June to cover for a Weiss injury and then a longer look in September. He certainly seemed to have shown enough, at least in my book.
Joala has a major league average of .314 across 194 at-bats now. Is he really a .300 hitter? That's hard to say but the Yankees would behoove themselves to find out. He hits balls all over the infield although when he gets a pitch above the waist and on the inside part of the plate he's usually unable to avoid swiping at it. The approach does lead to a decent amount of HRs, at least for a middle infielder. He isn't nearly as selective at the plate as the incumbent 3rd sacker. Joala played 33 games at shortstop at Syracuse last year but doesn't really look like a major league shortstop. He could perhaps stick as a 2nd baseman. Truth be told, though, his best infield tool is his arm... and his worst is that he's slow to make the pivot on the double play. Probably not a great combo for a 2nd baseman... although who else do the Yankees have?
In my mind (and look, my mind RULES) Joala has to be considered the front-runner for the second base job. The increasingly finesse-based Yankees pitching staff could probably use a more reliable fielder out there but it's not like you can magically combine Jon Reid's glove with Joala's bat and make one player out of it. And Joala is still young enough to where he could potentially become... adequate at the position.
Gene Lueders
LHP No. 38
LL, 6'1" 208 lbs.
Born 1945-07-20
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 NYY MLB | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3.49 | 35 | 17 | 5 | 136.2 | 141 | 58 | 53 | 43 | 60 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | 10 | 17 | 0 | 3.39 | 32 | 32 | 11 | 246.1 | 217 | 98 | 93 | 94 | 110 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | 9 | 9 | 0 | 4.57 | 36 | 26 | 6 | 202.2 | 230 | 115 | 103 | 75 | 114 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
It's generally considered a good tactic to utilize left-handers as much as possible in Yankee Stadium, right? Well... Gene Lueders was not so great. By some accounts he improved on a kind of a disaster of a 1972 season, posting a .500 record a season after finishing 3rd in the AL In losses. On the other hand, his ERA ballooned by more than a run with hitters teeing off on him to the tune of a .290 batting average. Things might look a liiiiiittle worse than they seem at first glance, though: after Lueders got kicked out of the rotation in July he was really really bad in relief: 0-0, 5.02 in 14.1 IP over 10 G - and while he wasn't super fantastic in September (1-2, 5.81) he was... okay, there's no nice way to say it, he was bad in the second half.
Like John Carpenter, Lueders is a guy who will try to beat you with movement and guile instead of pure stuff. Unlike Carpenter, he just doesn't have the wild movement on his pitches. He does have a good forkball but some games that and a decent but not amazing cut fastball are all he has to rely on. The stat nerds insist that a .318 BABIP and a career-low 68.4 LOB% are signs that he was unlucky but pshh what even is luck? Lueders does have an absolutely devastating pickoff move: runners were statistically 7/23 on steal attempts against him last year.
Gene Lueders enters his 4th season with the Yankees at a real potential turning point in his career. After a nice 12-10, 3.39 1969 season with the White Sox he's never quite had that kind of consistency since. Last year he just plain gave up too many hits. If he can stop that he could be a good middle of the rotation starter but, as the saying goes if my grandma had wheels she'd be a car.
Henning Mankell
RHP No. 19
RR, 5'10" 155 lbs.
Born 1948-01-20
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 SYR AAA | 17 | 4 | 0 | 2.40 | 23 | 23 | 7 | 183.2 | 178 | 54 | 49 | 60 | 99 |
| 1971 NYY MLB | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3.87 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 72.0 | 78 | 32 | 31 | 23 | 35 |
| 1972 SYR AAA | 7 | 6 | 0 | 4.35 | 16 | 16 | 3 | 122.0 | 130 | 64 | 59 | 35 | 95 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | 8 | 5 | 0 | 2.51 | 18 | 18 | 5 | 132.2 | 106 | 43 | 37 | 45 | 82 |
| 1973 SYR AAA | 9 | 4 | 0 | 2.47 | 16 | 16 | 4 | 120.0 | 102 | 43 | 33 | 32 | 94 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3.44 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 60.0 | 55 | 25 | 23 | 18 | 37 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Mankell had quite the storied 1973: he wrote a novel called
The Stone Blaster about the labour movement in his home country of Sweden and made so much money from it that he plans to move to Guinea-Bisseau in the offseason. Oh and also he was pretty good at baseball. He had the bad luck of suffering a strained shoulder muscle just as spring training came to a close which put him out of contention for a starting job. He came back in May but after just 3 big-league starts, which to be fair did not go well (2-1, 7.85 with 4 HRA in 18 IP), he was sent back down to Syracuse for more seasoning. Wouldn't you know it, he didn't really need the seasoning and when he got the September call-up he looked aces (4-1, 1.56).
Mankell seemed to have lost a mile or so on his 2-seamer last year but scouts think he can get it right back. His pitches are best described as "decent", which means that in order to be really successful he needs to command them well. So far in 3 chances in the big leagues he's improved on that every year. He's not really gifted with the ability to go deep in to games and indeed his 2 complete games in the majors last year were also shutouts. Mankell sees baseball as another way to fund his lifestyle as an island hopping novelist, which is great for him, I'm sure, but maybe not so great for his actual baseball future.
For good or for bad, Mankell's surely proven himself worthy of a rotation spot for 1974. You're never going to confuse him with a staff ace but he looks like he could be an excellent finesse guy in the bigs.
Archie Manning
RHP No. 35
SR, 6'3" 212 lbs.
Born 1949-05-06
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 MAN AA | 13 | 8 | 0 | 2.87 | 21 | 21 | 16 | 181.1 | 168 | 64 | 58 | 80 | 99 |
| 1971 SYR AAA | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1.98 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 22.2 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| 1971 NYY MLB | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18.00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 1972 MAN AA | 14 | 8 | 1 | 2.70 | 24 | 23 | 19 | 196.2 | 175 | 69 | 59 | 45 | 122 |
| 1972 SYR AAA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.49 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 1973 SYR AAA | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4.44 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 54.2 | 58 | 28 | 27 | 16 | 44 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | 6 | 9 | 0 | 4.79 | 19 | 16 | 2 | 103.1 | 123 | 64 | 55 | 30 | 56 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
What better place for a strong-armed All-American quarterback than on the mound with the most baseball of all baseball teams, right? That was the script, at least. In practice... things didn't go so well. The script looked like this: after a promising 1972 spent mostly in Manchester, the Yanks would push him to AAA Syracuse for 1973 and then watch him be "super" in the majors starting in 1974. Instead, Manning kind of struggled in the minor leagues to open the year but the team decided they liked his fastball and the Ks it was generating so they promoted him anyway. And honestly, it even worked pretty well in June (1-3, 4.01) and July (4-0, 2.23, and the AL Rookie of the Month award) before the wheels fell off in August (1-6, 7.62). In September he barely played as the team decided to turn its attention towards other youths.
Manning's fastball cuts away from righties but the real star of his arsenal is a change-up that makes hitters do the Bugs Bunny thing (I've probably already made that reference this year but I don't care). He also throws a slider and a change. Hitters were just not fooled by the deception last year either in the minors or the majors and as a result Manning gave up 24 HRs in 158 IP overall. That's a lot for 1973. Let's be honest, he also seems like a guy who gives up so much in football that he doesn't have a lot left stamina-wise when the baseball season comes around. That change-up gave him some pretty hard reverse splits last year although that also meant righties absolutely tattooed him: 326/357/475 last year.
It seems inconceivable to have to push such a lively arm and iconic name into the bullpen but that might be what the Yankees are stuck doing with this guy. Then again, he's still only 24: maybe he'll figure this out. On the third hand, the Yankees have a lot of arms to fit into this rotation.
Tracy Mosher
LHP No. 15
LL, 5'11" 199 lbs.
Born 1938-09-13
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 NYY MLB | 19 | 17 | 0 | 3.39 | 39 | 39 | 14 | 291.1 | 287 | 127 | 110 | 64 | 209 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | 11 | 15 | 0 | 3.60 | 33 | 33 | 9 | 249.1 | 219 | 105 | 100 | 83 | 148 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | 11 | 10 | 0 | 4.30 | 37 | 19 | 7 | 175.2 | 188 | 93 | 84 | 45 | 79 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
1973 marked a real down year for the longtime Yankees vet and at the end of it the 3-time AL innings pitched leader pitched the lowest number of innings and starts since he was converted to starter back in 1963. Are we nearing the end of the line? Mosher was just devastatingly bad in April (2-2, 6.99) and May (2-4, 5.27) and as much as it broke the hearts of Yankees fans there was really no choice but to push him into relief. To his credit he was a lot better from June on out, as he did well in spot starts, completing 4 of the 8 starts he picked up from June 1 onward.
Mosher used to have a pretty hard fastball but all those years of overuse have taken a few miles off of it and now he's stuck getting guys out with a curveball that's still really hard for lefties to track and a decent change of pace. That's meant fewer and fewer Ks over the years and 1973's rate of 4.0/9 was a career low. He's always had good command of his pitches to help make up for that, although he has had a tendency to miss over the plate when he does miss, as evidenced by a league-worst 29 HRs allowed in 1971. He was down to a respectable 16 last year and at that 10 of those were hit off him in the first 2 months of the season. Mosher did OK with moving from role to role last year but reportedly wasn't happy about it; he's a guy who likes to know what he's supposed to do day in and day out.
With a career record of 187-124, Tracy Mosher is the Yankees' 2nd leading pitcher in wins behind his old teammate Jose Luguin (204-133, 3.15 in a career spanning 1953-1966). He's only 17 wins away; in years past you'd say Mosher's less than a year away. Now you have to hope that his 2nd half was for real for that to have any chance to happen. Even though Mosher's been around forever, he's still only 35 so perhaps not finished just yet, although a 2nd career as a finesse guy is what awaits the former fireballers.
Jon Reid
2B/SS No. 27
RR, 6'0" 193 lbs.
Born 1945-07-11
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 ATL MLB | .267 | 145 | 559 | 62 | 149 | 27 | 1 | 6 | 63 | 35 | 99 | 0 |
| 1972 IOW AAA | .222 | 11 | 36 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 1972 ATL MLB | .204 | 55 | 167 | 13 | 34 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 15 | 28 | 0 |
| 1972 OAK MLB | .230 | 57 | 178 | 16 | 41 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 39 | 0 |
| 1973 OAK MLB | .250 | 97 | 336 | 26 | 84 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 33 | 24 | 75 | 0 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .213 | 33 | 94 | 11 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 12 | 25 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Reed came over to the Yankees last year in a mid-August waiver trade that was basically a salary dump by the A's. New York was hoping he could become their second baseman but all a month and a half did for them was demonstrate that they need to keep looking for their starter at a position where they already churned through Jonathan Banks and TJ Pritchett (the latter of whom was released when the Reid deal was complete).
Although he played very little shortstop upon his arrival in the Big Apple, Reid's got the range of a guy who can at least cut it at either middle infield position and that makes him really valuable as a second baseman... if he can hit, that is. He's got a career .246 average but hasn't gone over that mark in either of the last 2 years, and at this point a look at his tools makes you wonder if an average in the .240s is even to be expected. Reid has below average speed on the bases - in the field, it's another matter - and he strikes out a ton - in fact, the 25 Ks in just 94 NYC at-bats gave him an even 100 on the year, the 5th most in the American League. It's hard to see how that's a recipe for success with contact and he doesn't do the other things at the plate to make up for it.
Reid almost has to be in the mix at second base if for no other reason than they don't have a lot of other options. He still seems like a last resort kind of a guy.
Santos Rodriguez
LHP No. 17
LL, 6'0" 182 lbs.
Born 1949-04-21
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 LAD MLB | 8 | 11 | 0 | 3.65 | 32 | 25 | 6 | 187.1 | 176 | 92 | 76 | 63 | 126 |
| 1972 BAL MLB | 16 | 10 | 0 | 2.20 | 34 | 34 | 12 | 257.1 | 217 | 69 | 63 | 54 | 154 |
| 1973 SYR AAA | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2.49 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 36.0 | 30 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 34 |
| 1973 ATL MLB | 5 | 8 | 0 | 3.56 | 13 | 13 | 5 | 93.1 | 80 | 43 | 37 | 30 | 65 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | 6 | 7 | 0 | 5.54 | 19 | 15 | 1 | 97.1 | 120 | 65 | 60 | 40 | 63 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Santos Rodriguez led the AL in ERA in 1972 and for his efforts he was shipped off to Atlanta in exchange for RF Dante Chairez and a pitching prospect. Things didn't work out so well in Hotlanta, who's been really quick to pull the trigger finger on trades lately, too, so after a 5-8 start he came to the Yankees for prospects... and that's when everything went sideways. Santos went 3-4, 7.01 in July and the Yankees even sent him down in August. He came back up in September but barely played.
Even though Rodriguez is a lefty, the Yankees probably should have looked a little closer at the label on the packaging because his two best pitches are a circle change and a screwball. That's right, he's a reverse lefty. To be fair, he had pretty even splits in 1973: .273 vs LHB, .270 vs RHB. The bigger issue was that in 1972 he induced a 54% groundball percentage and allowed just 7 HRs all season long. Last year it was down to 52% and the HRs went up to 11, and to make matters worse he missed his spots a lot more, nearly doubling his walk rate from 1.9/9 innings to 3.3. Rodriguez has decent stuff but when he's not getting Ks he needs better control to keep the ERA down. He averaged only 85 pitches a game in New York, although that was as much because he got knocked out early than any real knock on his stamina.
Rodriguez is a guy who keeps to himself and doesn't make waves and that's a decent kind of guy to have on a team with so many loud personalities. For 1974 New York will hope that his confidence returns and he can get back to being that low-ERA guy he was with the Orioles.
Elias Sanchez
RHP No. 26
RR, 6'2" 199 lbs.
Born 1938-05-08
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 CLE MLB | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2.84 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 72.2 | 68 | 27 | 23 | 23 | 27 |
| 1972 CLE MLB | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2.93 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 58.1 | 54 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 25 |
| 1973 CLE MLB | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3.85 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 25.2 | 21 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 14 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3.09 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 40.2 | 37 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 15 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
Never let it be said that the Yankees don't go out to get what they want. The Yankees acquired Sanchez in June from Cleveland in a trade involving the hard throwing but inconsistent Alfredo Contreras. Sanchez, who once led the NL in saves with 23 in 1965 (13-9, 2.38) is no longer closer material but he continued to do a solid job with the new team and finished the year 1-3, 3.39 with 4 saves, 3 holds, and no blown saves (3 meltdowns though). He wasn't called on to pitch much in high leverage situations and that was just fine for both the Yankees and the 35 year old.
Sanchez has a fastball that can on good days break a pane of glass but his real ace in the hole is a very deceptive change of pace. Right-handers hit just .196 against him last season as that pitch induced weak pop-ups again and again. Weak contact is the name of the game wih Sanchez nowadays. His control over the first half with the Indians was spotty but he got it back under control in New York and when he does that he can give you a sub-3 ERA.
Sanchez just is who he is at this point: a solid if not spectacular middle reliever.
Armin Shimerman
LF/1B No. 13
LL, 6'4" 202 lbs.
Born 1949-10-25
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 FL A | .308 | 55 | 208 | 20 | 64 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 19 | 17 | 0 |
| 1971 MAN AA | .306 | 27 | 111 | 16 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 0 |
| 1972 WH AA | .294 | 96 | 367 | 36 | 108 | 13 | 2 | 12 | 46 | 28 | 21 | 0 |
| 1972 SYR AAA | .297 | 16 | 64 | 9 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| 1973 WH AA | .328 | 15 | 67 | 7 | 22 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 1973 SYR AAA | .319 | 61 | 229 | 29 | 73 | 15 | 0 | 10 | 34 | 8 | 26 | 0 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .325 | 43 | 80 | 8 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Shimerman is a weird looking guy - look, we hate to say it but he does not have the "baseball head" - who has been aggressively pushed up following being drafted in the 8th round in 1971. Is it too aggressive? Maybe but the kid keeps hitting wherever he goes. Last year he got the final promotion into the big leagues in July and served as a 4th outfielder and pinch-hitter during the second half. Shimerman makes great contact and makes up for a lack of speed by pasting everything he hits. The biggest problem for him with the Yankees, and perhaps what makes you think he's the most obvious trade bait ever, is that he just plain doesn't have a position to play. He's got no range in the outfield and while he could probably train up to be an adequate first baseman... one, who can't do that, and two, the Yankees are loaded with first basemen right now.
Look to Shimerman to be traded somewhere off in, let's say, a deep space nine.
Khalil Tabb
C No. 39
RR, 5'10" 196 lbs.
Born 1945-03-18
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 NYY MLB | .283 | 124 | 438 | 50 | 124 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 49 | 43 | 70 | 1 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | .230 | 92 | 313 | 23 | 72 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 27 | 53 | 0 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .218 | 128 | 377 | 43 | 82 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 30 | 69 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Tabb went from making his first All-Star Game in 1971 to ride-sharing with John Lennon to getting his old job back over the course of 3 years. It was a ride. He sure did not look like a good choice to open the season, hitting just .169 in April and giving rise to the short-sighted fans who called for backup Justin Inkster to take over. Things got better from there although he never really did get on track and he posted career lows in average, on-base percentage (.273), and slugging (.255).
Tabb came up as a backstop who could hit for good contact and really looked the part in 1969, for example, when he hit .339 in 186 at-bats. His issue is that singles are pretty much all you get even when things are going well: he's too slow to threaten on the bases, he tends to hit the ball on the ground and look for holes in the defense, and he's surprisingly bad at tracking pitches for a guy who looked like he had a plus contact tool a few sort years ago. All of this would be fine if he was a good defender but a good defender, Tabb is not, although to be fair to him he's improved his game in the major leagues. At this point I guess it's fair to say that he is good at blocking pitches and dong most of the catchers' duties; what stands in his way now is a not-too-great arm that could only throw out 32.4% of stealers last year in spite of a lefty-dominaed pitching staff.
Maybe it is time for the 28 year old Tabb to give up the reins. On the other hand, especially given that John Lennon is now a member of the Tribe (he left in the Ernesto Garcia deal), the top guy in their system is at least another year away.
Steve Tidwell
RHP No. 30
LR, 5'9" 187 lbs.
Born 1941-02-14
Code:
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| yrtmlvl | w | l | sv | era | g | gs | cg | ip | h | r | er | bb | k |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
| 1971 CHC MLB | 14 | 11 | 0 | 4.18 | 31 | 31 | 9 | 212.2 | 232 | 108 | 99 | 89 | 139 |
| 1972 OAK MLB | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4.67 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 52.0 | 57 | 29 | 27 | 27 | 21 |
| 1972 STL MLB | 5 | 8 | 0 | 3.90 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 108.1 | 111 | 47 | 47 | 41 | 46 |
| 1973 STL MLB | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4.14 | 23 | 22 | 4 | 149.2 | 158 | 71 | 69 | 52 | 91 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4.46 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 76.2 | 79 | 43 | 38 | 31 | 57 |
+ ------------ + ------ + ------ + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------ +
The Yankees needed rotational help so they traded with the Yankees of the National League - just kidding there are no Yankees of the NL - to get the veteran Steve Tidwell. It's hard to argue with the results although truth be told he had an ERA over 4 in St Louis and just carried that over to New York. On the year he only had 12 decisions in 33 starts, which, given the ERA, might have been a blessing. He had 19 quality starts which is I think kind of par for the course for a guy with an over-4 ERA.
Tidwell throws slow, slower, and slowest at guys and all the change of paces gives him some pretty even splits: good for a reliever, maybe not so good when you're a starter who is giving up a .273 opponents' average. He did strike out a lot more guys upon his move to New York although along with all that came some inability to shut guys down in clutch situations, leading the team to pull him for an early reliever an awful lot. In years past he hasn't had stamina issues so the verdict here is that the Yankees just didn't trust him.
Tidwell's actually never won more than 14 games in a season and his combined 226.1 IP in 1973 was a career high. It would be, to say the least, very surprising to see him repeat this performance. I mean, I just plain can't see *that*; if he opens the year with a higher-than-4 ERA again he'll be banished to the bullpen or worse.
Johan Ullman
CF No. 6
RR, 5'12" 168 lbs.
Born 1952-03-14
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 ONE S A | .255 | 42 | 141 | 18 | 36 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 34 | 2 |
| 1972 KIN A | .311 | 48 | 183 | 24 | 57 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 32 | 15 | 25 | 3 |
| 1972 FL A | .313 | 20 | 64 | 4 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| 1972 LAR DL | .355 | 32 | 141 | 32 | 50 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 27 | 10 | 25 | 1 |
| 1973 WH AA | .265 | 112 | 446 | 54 | 118 | 16 | 3 | 24 | 62 | 29 | 35 | 4 |
| 1973 SYR AAA | .307 | 22 | 88 | 9 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .316 | 21 | 95 | 15 | 30 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
Center field was kind of a mess last year. Ullman is actually the highest-PA guy listed as a primary "8" still on the roster: the starter Micah MacMillan (.270, 10, 30) got sold off to the Cardinals in a waiver "trade" in September, Jeff Murphy (.237, 3, 15) met the same fate in August, only going off to the Expos, and former starter Marc Ash (.130, 1, 6) returned from a season and a half in Montreal to put together a month so terrible that when he was outrighted to AAA Syracuse nobody bothered to claim him. Ullman was only called up in September and... well, he played well, let's be honest.
Ullman, a Swedish international signing, is very, very young, still just 21 years of age, and so one needs to pump the brakes a bit when looking at him. He did have an absolutely insane year in the winter leagues in 1972 which turned a lot of people onto him... including the Yankees themselves, who went keeping the guy down in rookie to A ball before last year to promoting him over 3 levels over the course of 2 months. Ullman already has major league level contact and spent most of September in a leadoff role for this team. The only guy faster than him on the roster is Adam Groves. He didn't show any power in the bigs but part of what got him pushed to AAA and then the majors in the first place was 24 HRs in AA West Haven.
The biggest knock on Ullman is that defensively he doesn't look super well suited for center. In spite of that speed, he doesn't make good reads on the ball - chalk some of that up to coming from a non-baseball country - and he's prone to lapses in concentration. The Yankees as an organizaton also tried him in left, right, and even shortstop last year (although he only played in CF in the majors). Will they just live with the growing pains in 74, or will the Yankees seek to find a better fit? Who are we kidding? Of course they'll do the latter. This is the Yankees.
Tom Weiss
3B/1B No. 11
RR, 5'10" 193 lbs.
Born 1939-10-05
Code:
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| yrtmlvl | avg | g | ab | r | h | 2b | 3b | hr | rbi | bb | so | sb |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
| 1971 NYY MLB | .307 | 152 | 567 | 87 | 174 | 26 | 4 | 27 | 99 | 101 | 64 | 0 |
| 1972 NYY MLB | .253 | 143 | 525 | 54 | 133 | 21 | 0 | 18 | 65 | 65 | 90 | 0 |
| 1973 NYY MLB | .285 | 145 | 530 | 90 | 151 | 36 | 2 | 18 | 75 | 118 | 84 | 0 |
+ ------------ + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- +
On just about any other team, "Tiptoe" Tommy Weiss would be chasing down 2,000 hits and looking like a surefire future Hall of Famer. On the Yankees, he didn't get a chance to start full-time until he was already 28 years of age and also this prime of his keeps extending - he just turned 34 on the 5th of October - it feels like he's got to stay at this level for another 5 years to really make a case for himself. He did make his 4th straight All-Star Game, so that's nice at least.
Weiss isn't necessarily a guy who's going to give you a .300 average year in, year out, although he's capable of getting there in a good year. He is a big fan of the inside fastball but is also very, very adept at fouling off virtually everything until he sees a pitch he likes or, what was just as common last year, he browbeats the opposing pitcher into a 9 pitch walk. Weiss led the AL in walks last year after finishing in the top 3 in both 1970 and 1971. He doesn't have world-class power but it's nothing to be sneezed at and if he didn't collect a huge amount of RBIs batting 3rd in the order for most of the season, you can probably chalk that up more to issues with the guys in front of him not setting the plate than with a lack of clutch. Well... Weiss did only hit .250 with RISP; maybe he's got the fantods after all. In the field Weiss has a rocket arm that should keep him a good third baseman for the next few years.
Weiss will collect hit number 1,000 next year (he has 972). Yeah... it's crazy how long this guy languished in the minor leagues for this team. But we can only speak about now and right now Weiss is one of the top 3rd sackers in the game.