Tonight before the game between the New York Yankees and the
Detroit Tigers the Yankees will honor former second baseman and team captain
Willie Randolph with a plaque in Monument Park. Today is Old Timer’s Day at
Yankee Stadium as well with Randolph taking up usual position at second base
making this a great day all around for the former Yankees player. The Old
Timer’s Day invitation and the plaque in Monument Park do not compare to the
honor that I, Daniel Burch, am about to bestow upon him though as I introduce
you all to and ask that you meet a prospect, Willie Randolph.
Willie Larry Randolph was born on July 6, 1954 and became a
Major League Baseball player and manager before his plaque was put up inside
Monument Park this afternoon. Randolph played 18 seasons with six different
teams including the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Oakland
Athletics, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Mets.
At the time of his retirement after the 1992 season Randolph ranked fifth in
games played for the position with 2,152, ninth in putouts with 4,859, seventh
in assists with 6,336, eighth in total chances with 11,429 and third in double
plays turned with 1,547.
Randolph grew up in Brooklyn, New York where he graduated
from Samuel J. Tilden High School. While attending there he caught the eye of
the Pittsburgh Pirates enough for the team to draft him in the 7th
round of the 1972 draft. Randolph made his major league debut three seasons
later in 1975 at age 21 before being shipped away with Ken Brett and Dock Ellis
to the New York Yankees for Doc Medich. Randolph would go on to spend 13 of his
18 professional seasons with the Yankees and even was named co-captain along
with Ron Guidry from 1986 to 1988 by the late George Steinbrenner. As a player
Randolph was named to six All-Star teams and a World Series Champion twice in
1977 and 1978 as the Yankees starting second baseman.
When Randolph retired he was immediately hired on as a coach
for the New York Yankees where he spent his next 11 years of his career as a
base coach and a bench coach. Randolph also managed the New York Mets from 2005
to 2008 before being relieved of his duties after becoming just the eighth
person to ever manage and play for the Mets in the franchise’s history. Randolph led the Mets to the National League
East Division title in 2006 and came within one game of reaching the World
Series for the first time since the 2000 season before the St. Louis Cardinals
ended their season in seven games. Randolph
then interviewed with the Milwaukee Brewers for their managerial position but
lost out to Ken Macha and ultimately settled on a bench coach position with the
team in 2009. Randolph held that position with Milwaukee until November of 2010
before being named to Buck Showalter’s Baltimore Orioles staff for the 2011
season. Randolph spent one season as the bench coach and third base coach in
Baltimore before deciding to part ways with the organization. Randolph spent
the 2012 season mostly out of baseball although he did act as the third base
coach for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Randolph now serves as an
analyst on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight and occasionally is used as a postseason
baseball analyst for the league.
All that means very little to Randolph though presumably as
he prepares to enter the immortality that is Monument Park inside Yankee
Stadium. Randolph spent much of his life with the club and will forever be
linked to the team, the stadium and the history. Welcome to Monument Park
Willie, it’s well deserved and long past due.