1990 New York Yankees season

1990 New York Yankees
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Yankee Stadium (since 1976)
New York City (since 1903)
Other information
Owner(s)	George Steinbrenner
General manager(s)	Harding "Pete" Peterson, Gene Michael
Manager(s)	Bucky Dent, Stump Merrill
Local television	WPIX (Phil Rizzuto, George Grande, Tom Seaver) MSG (Tony Kubek, Dewayne Staats, Al Trautwig)
Local radio	WABC (AM) (John Sterling, Jay Johnstone)
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The New York Yankees' 1990 season was the 88th season for the Yankees. The team finished in seventh place in the American League East with a record of 67-95, finishing 21 games behind the Boston Red Sox. It was the Yankees' first last-place finish in 24 years, and the first in the two-division era. New York was managed by Stump Merrill and Bucky Dent. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium.

Offseason

Notable transactions

• October 1989: Dickie Noles was released by the Yankees.^[1]
• October 4, 1989: Steve Kiefer was released by the Yankees.^[2]
• November 20, 1989: Rafael Santana was released by the Yankees.^[3]
• November 21, 1989: Pascual Pérez was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.^[4]
• December 12, 1989: Hal Morris and Rodney Imes (minors) were traded by the Yankees to the Cincinnati Reds for Tim Leary and Van Snider.^[5]
• December 20, 1989: Rick Cerone was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.^[6]
• February 17, 1990: Mariano Rivera was signed as an amateur free agent by the Yankees.^[7]
• March 13, 1990: Orlando Miller was traded by the Yankees to the Houston Astros for Dave Silvestri and a player to be named later. The Astros completed the deal by sending Daven Bond (minors) to the Yankees on June 11.^[8]

Death of Billy Martin

Billy Martin's grave in Cemetery of the Gate of Heaven.

Multi-time former Yankees manager Billy Martin was working as a special consultant to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner when he was killed in a one-car crash in Binghamton, New York, on Christmas Day (December 25) in 1989. Martin had been drinking heavily with his friend, William Reedy, who was driving a pickup truck at the time of the accident. When Martin was killed, the media reported that he was a passenger in Reedy's pickup. However, Peter Golenbock, in his book Wild, High, and Tight: The Life and Death of Billy Martin, makes the case that Martin was the driver and that his wife and Reedy covered up the truth. According to the HBO TV series Autopsy,^[9] forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden performed the autopsy on Martin and investigated the accident scene, including the pick-up truck in which Martin died. The autopsy revealed that Martin's impact injuries were all on the right side, and that hair and other DNA found on the right side of the shattered windshield belonged to Martin, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. The conclusion of the autopsy study was that Reedy drove the pick-up.

Billy Martin was eulogized by Cardinal John Joseph O'Connor at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, before his funeral at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York. His grave is located about 150 feet from the grave of Babe Ruth. The following epitaph by Billy Martin himself appears on the headstone: I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform but I was the proudest. Former President of the United States Richard Nixon attended Martin's funeral. The Yankees started the season with a small number 1 on their left sleeves.

Regular season

• June 6, 1990: Yankees Manager Bucky Dent was fired before a game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Although Dent had his greatest moment as a player at Fenway, his worst moment as manager happened there.^[10] However, Steinbrenner was severely criticized for firing Dent, his 18th managerial change in 18 years, because he did it in Boston.^[11]
• On July 30, 1990, Commissioner Fay Vincent banned Steinbrenner from baseball for life after he paid Howie Spira, a small-time gambler, $40,000 for "dirt" after Winfield sued him for failing to pay his foundation the $300,000 ^[12] guaranteed in his contract.
• October 3, 1990: Cecil Fielder hit two home runs at Yankee Stadium to finish with 51 for the season. The 50th home run was hit off of Steve Adkins. Fielder would be the first Major Leaguer since George Foster in 1977 to hit 50 home runs in a season. It was the 18th time that a major leaguer (and the 11th time that an American League player) hit for 50 home runs in a season.

Season standings

AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Boston Red Sox	88	74	0.543	—	51–30	37–44
Toronto Blue Jays	86	76	0.531	2	44–37	42–39
Detroit Tigers	79	83	0.488	9	39–42	40–41
Cleveland Indians	77	85	0.475	11	41–40	36–45
Baltimore Orioles	76	85	0.472	11½	40–40	36–45
Milwaukee Brewers	74	88	0.457	14	39–42	35–46
New York Yankees	67	95	0.414	21	37–44	30–51

Record vs. opponents

1990 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	4–9	7–5	6–6	6–7	6–7	8–3	7–6	6–6	6–7	4–8	3–9	8–4	5–8
Boston	9–4	—	7–5	6–6	9–4	8–5	4–8	5–8	4–8	9–4	4–8	8–4	5–7	10–3
California	5–7	5–7	—	5–8	7–5	5–7	7–6	7–5	9–4	6–6	4–9	5–8	8–5	7–5
Chicago	6–6	6–6	8–5	—	5–7	5–7	9–4	10–2	7–6	10–2	8–5	8–5	7–6	5–7
Cleveland	7–6	4–9	5–7	7–5	—	5–8	6–6	9–4	7–5	5–8	4–8	7–5	7–5	4–9
Detroit	7–6	5–8	7–5	7–5	8–5	—	5–7	3–10	6–6	7–6	6–6	7–5	6–6	5–8
Kansas City	3–8	8–4	6–7	4–9	6–6	7–5	—	4–8	8–5	8–4	4–9	7–6	5–8	5–7
Milwaukee	6–7	8–5	5–7	2–10	4–9	10–3	8–4	—	4–8	6–7	5–7	4–8	5–7	7–6
Minnesota	6–6	8–4	4–9	6–7	5–7	6–6	5–8	8–4	—	6–6	6–7	6–7	5–8	3–9
New York	7–6	4–9	6–6	2–10	8–5	6–7	4–8	7–6	6–6	—	0–12	9–3	3–9	5–8
Oakland	8–4	8–4	9–4	5–8	8–4	6–6	9–4	7–5	7–6	12–0	—	9–4	8–5	7–5
Seattle	9–3	4–8	8–5	5–8	5–7	5–7	6–7	8–4	7–6	3–9	4–9	—	7–6	6–6
Texas	4–8	7–5	5–8	6–7	5–7	6–6	8–5	7–5	8–5	9–3	5–8	6–7	—	7–5
Toronto	8–5	3–10	5–7	7–5	9–4	8–5	7–5	6–7	9–3	8–5	5–7	6–6	5–7	—

Notable transactions

• April 29, 1990: Luis Polonia was traded by the Yankees to the California Angels for Claudell Washington and Rich Monteleone.^[13]
• May 11, 1990: Dave Winfield was traded by the Yankees to the California Angels in exchange for Mike Witt.^[14]
• June 4, 1990: Clay Parker and Lance McCullers were traded by the Yankees to the Detroit Tigers for Matt Nokes.^[15][16]
• September 24, 1990: Deion Sanders was released by the Yankees.^[17]

Draft picks

• June 4, 1990: 1990 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Carl Everett was drafted by the Yankees in the 1st round.^[18]
  • Robert Eenhoorn was drafted by the Yankees in the 2nd round of the 1990 June Draft. Player signed June 10, 1990.^[19]
  • Sam Militello was drafted by the Yankees in the 6th round.^[20]
  • Jalal Leach was drafted by the Yankees in the 7th round. Player signed June 8, 1990.^[21]
  • Ricky Ledée was drafted by the Yankees in the 16th round. Player signed June 5, 1990.^[22]
  • Andy Pettitte was drafted by the Yankees in the 22nd round, but did not sign.^[23]
  • Jorge Posada was drafted by the Yankees in the 24th round. Player signed May 24, 1991.^[24]
  • Shane Spencer was drafted by the Yankees in the 28th round. Player signed June 7, 1990.^[25]

Roster

1990 New York Yankees
Roster
Pitchers 59 Steve Adkins 25 Greg Cadaret 51 Chuck Cary 58 Dave Eiland 35 Lee Guetterman 61 John Habyan 40 Andy Hawkins 26 Jimmy Jones 42 Dave LaPoint 54 Tim Leary 56 Mark Leiter 41 Lance McCullers 28,69 Alan Mills 55 Rich Monteleone 38 Clay Parker 34 Pascual Pérez 33 Eric Plunk 19 Dave Righetti 43 Jeff Robinson 22 Mike Witt		Catchers 11 Rick Cerone 28 Brian Dorsett 53 Bob Geren 38 Matt Nokes Infielders 45 Steve Balboni 24,21 Mike Blowers 20 Álvaro Espinoza 12 Jim Leyritz 24 Kevin Maas 23 Don Mattingly  6 Steve Sax  2 Wayne Tolleson 18 Randy Velarde 63 Jim Walewander		Outfielders 50 Oscar Azócar 29 Jesse Barfield 27 Mel Hall 39 Roberto Kelly 31 Hensley Meulens 21 Deion Sanders 17 Claudell Washington 31 Dave Winfield Other batters 22 Luis Polonia		Manager 20 Bucky Dent 46 Stump Merrill Coaches 52 Mark Connor 36 Billy Connors 44 Mike Ferraro 48 Buck Showalter 46 Joe Sparks 47 Champ Summers

Kevin Maas

• Kevin Maas set a major league record by setting a record for the fewest at bats (72) to hit 10 home runs. He also set a record by hitting his first 15 home runs in the fewest number of at-bats. About halfway through the season a group of a dozen or so young ladies began wearing "Maas-tops" to Yankees home games and sitting in the right field stands. Whenever Maas hit a home run to right, the girls would get up, remove their tops and jump up and down until Maas finished circling the bases. However, after a few home runs the women were banned from entering Yankee Stadium.

Andy Hawkins no-hitter

• July 1, 1990: Yankees pitcher Andy Hawkins threw a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox and lost the game.

Line Score

July 1, Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	3
Chicago	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	x	4	0	2
W: Barry Jones (10-1)  L: Andy Hawkins (1-5)
Attendance: 30,642 Time: 2:34

Batting

New York Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	Chicago White Sox	AB	R	H	RBI
Kelly, cf	4	0	0	0	Johnson, cf	3	1	0	0
Sax, 2b	4	0	0	0	Ventura, 3b	4	1	0	0
Mattingly, 1b	4	0	0	0	Calderon, dh	3	0	0	0
Balboni, dh	4	0	0	0	Pasqua, lf	4	0	0	0
Tolleson, pr, dh	0	0	0	0	Gallagher, lf	0	0	0	0
Barfield, rf	4	0	1	0	Kittle, 1b	3	0	0	0
Leyritz, lf	3	0	1	0	Lyons, 1b	0	0	0	0
Blowers, 3b	3	0	0	0	Karkovice, c	2	0	0	0
Geren, c	3	0	1	0	Fletcher, 2b	2	0	0	0
Espinoza, ss	2	0	1	0	Sosa, rf	3	1	0	0
NONE	0	0	0	0	Guillen, ss	2	1	0	0
Totals	31	0	4	0	Totals	26	4	0	0

Pitching

New York Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Hawkins, L (1-5)	8.0	0	4	0	5	3

Chicago White Sox	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Hibbard	7.0	4	0	0	0	4
Jones W (10-1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1
Radinsky	1.0	0	0	0	0	0

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = position; G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Bob Geren	110	277	59	.213	8	31
1B	Don Mattingly	102	394	101	.256	5	42
2B	Steve Sax	155	615	160	.260	4	42
3B	Jim Leyritz	92	303	78	.257	5	25
SS	Álvaro Espinoza	150	438	98	.224	2	20
LF	Oscar Azócar	65	214	53	.248	5	19
CF	Roberto Kelly	162	641	183	.285	15	61
RF	Jesse Barfield	153	476	117	.246	25	78
DH	Steve Balboni	116	266	51	.192	17	34

Other batters

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Mel Hall	113	360	93	.258	12	46
Kevin Maas	79	254	64	.252	21	41
Matt Nokes	92	240	57	.238	8	32
Rick Cerone	49	139	42	.302	2	11
Deion Sanders	57	133	21	.158	3	9
Claudell Washington	33	80	13	.163	0	6
Wayne Tolleson	73	74	11	.149	0	4
Dave Winfield	20	61	13	.213	2	6
Luis Polonia	11	22	7	.318	0	3

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Tim Leary	31	208	9	19	4.11	138
Chuck Cary	27	156.2	6	12	4.19	134
Dave LaPoint	28	157.2	7	10	4.11	67
Andy Hawkins	28	157.2	5	12	5.37	74
Mike Witt	16	96.2	5	6	4.47	60
Dave Eiland	5	30.1	2	1	3.56	16
Pascual Pérez	3	14	1	2	1.29	12

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Jimmy Jones	17	50	1	2	6.30	25
Clay Parker	5	22	1	1	4.50	20

Relief pitchers

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Dave Righetti	53	1	1	36	3.57	43
Lee Guetterman	64	11	7	2	3.19	48
Jeff Robinson	54	3	6	0	3.45	43
Greg Cadaret	54	5	4	3	4.15	80
Eric Plunk	47	6	3	0	2.72	67
Alan Mills	36	1	5	0	4.10	24
Lance McCullers	11	1	0	0	3.60	11
Rich Monteleone	5	0	1	0	6.14	8

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Columbus Clippers	International League	Stump Merrill and Rick Down
AA	Albany-Colonie Yankees	Eastern League	Rick Down and Dan Radison
A	Prince William Cannons	Carolina League	Gary Denbo
A	Fort Lauderdale Yankees	Florida State League	Mike Hart
A	Greensboro Hornets	South Atlantic League	Brian Butterfield
A-Short Season	Oneonta Yankees	New York–Penn League	Trey Hillman
Rookie	GCL Yankees	Gulf Coast League	Glenn Sherlock

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Oneonta^[26]

References

1. Dickie Noles page at Baseball Reference
2. Steve Kiefer page at Baseball Reference
3. Rafael Santana page at Baseball Reference
4. Pascual Pérez page at Baseball Reference
5. Tim Leary page at Baseball Reference
6. Rick Cerone page at Baseball Reference
7. Mariano Rivera page at Baseball Reference
8. Dave Silvestri page at Baseball Reference
9. Autopsy: Billy Martin
10. Cafardo, Nick (June 7, 1990). "Dent Dumped by Yankees". The Boston Globe. p. 37. Dent's greatest moment as a player—and his worst moment as a manager—came in Boston.
11. Shaughnessy, Dan (June 7, 1990). "His Back Was Against the Wall". The Boston Globe. p. 37.
12. Anderson, Dave (March 7, 1988). "Sports Of The Times; Dave Winfield's Rebuttal". The New York Times.
13. Luis Polonia page at Baseball Reference
14. Dave Winfield page at Baseball Reference
15. Clay Parker page at Baseball Reference
16. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcculla01.shtml
17. Deion Sanders page at Baseball Reference
18. Baseball Draft: 1st Round of the 1990 June Draft - Baseball-Reference.com
19. http://www.baseball-reference.com/e/eenhoro01.shtml
20. Sam Militello page at Baseball Reference
21. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/leachja01.shtml
22. Ricky Ledée page at Baseball Reference
23. Andy Pettitte page at Baseball Reference
24. Jorge Posada page at Baseball Reference
25. Shane Spencer page at Baseball Reference
26. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

• 1990 New York Yankees
• 1990 New York Yankees team page at www.baseball-almanac.com