Why Willie Hates On The Kids

By Joe Janish
Posted Friday, July 20, 2007

OK, Willie Randolph doesn't really hate the youngsters on his ballclub, but he doesn't have much trust in them. He has openly said things that prove this observation, such as his opinion of Rubén Gotay: "He's an intriguing player, but a lot of the young guys we have on our team, they're just babies. They have a little success, that's always nice. But if you start off waxing superlatives on them, it's too early ... "

So we know Willie doesn't trust youngsters --- even when they're hitting .350 and getting better at-bats than any veteran on the ballclub. But where does this mistrust emanate from?

Maybe the answer lies in Willie's history.

Willie Randolph was a seventh round draft choice of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1972, plucked from Brooklyn's Samuel J. Tilden High School. Three years later, he made his MLB debut with the Pirates, and appeared in 30 games. Apparently, manager Danny Murtaugh wasn't afraid to give the 20-year-old some at-bats during the stretch run -- he played fairly regularly at second base from the end of July through the first week of September. Though he batted only .164 in those 30 games, he was considered a top prospect, and was peddled to the New York Yankees as a key component of a package to obtain George "Doc" Medich -- at the time a 26-year-old righthanded starter with 50 MLB wins and seemingly on his way to a long and successful career.

The 21-year-old Randolph immediately took over the starting second base job for the Yankees, playing in 125 games and batting .267, with an OBP of .356 -- though no one really knew what OBP meant back then. He did impress folks with his plate discipline --- walking 58 times and striking out only 39 times --- and his speed, as he stole 37 bases. The manager at the time was Billy Martin, who apparently didn't feel any concerns about a 21-year-old playing a critical infield position for a championship-bound team. Though, Martin didn't trust him enough to put him at the top of the order -- he batted eighth in nearly every game he started. (By the way, his backup at the time was Sandy Alomar, Sr., for those who wondered about the connection between the two.)

Based on Willie's rookie year, he may have absorbed the fact that it's OK to start a rookie, but not let him bat too high in the lineup. Certainly, that's the way Willie treated David Wright in 2005, when he refused to put Wright in the #3 spot --- despite being the best hitter on the team.

Through his years as a Yankee player, Randolph didn't get to see too many youngsters come up and earn a job -- in fact, he was a rarity on the Bronx teams of the 1970s and '80s. The only significant position players to come up from the farm and start regularly after Willie were Andre Robertson, Bobby Meacham, Dan Pasqua, Mike Pagliarulo, and Don Mattingly. The '80s were a time when the Yankees bought and got burned by veteran players just after their prime --- like Steve Kemp, Roy Smalley, Don Baylor, Omar Moreno, and Dave Collins. What Willie learned from these years, I'm not sure, because the Yankees flat-out stunk the entire decade. If anything, you'd think he'd have realized that the Yankees didn't win year after year because has-beens like Ron Kittle, Gary Ward and Claudell Washington were taking at-bats away from up-and-comers such as Jay Buhner, Hal Morris, and Roberto Kelly.

By 1989 Randolph was a Dodger, though that wasn't one of those Rookie-of-the-Year seasons that the Dodgers seemed to have annually. He bounced around the next three seasons before finally retiring as a player -- with the Mets in 1992.

After his playing career, Randolph joined the Yankees as a coach, first under Buck Showalter and later under Joe Torre. When he joined the Yankees in 1994, Bernie Williams was already established as the starting centerfielder, and 26-year-old Pat Kelly was the main second baseman, but the rest of the lineup was filled with 30-something veterans. It wasn't until 1996 that Randolph coached a rookie starter --- Derek Jeter. Jeter was the lone youngster among many experienced veterans -- guys like Paul O'Neill, Mariano Duncan, Wade Boggs, and Tim Raines. In 1998, 26-year-old Jorge Posada became the regular catcher, but the rest of the lineup (other than Jeter) was over 30. Posada, by the way, played in 60 games the year before as Joe Girardi's caddy. And that was pretty much the modus operandi for the Yankees of the late 90s --- put older, veteran players on the field. Whenever a spot opened up, plug it with another seasoned vet. As a result you saw people in the twilight of their careers -- such as Darryl Strawberry, Chili Davis, Cecil Fielder, Jose Canseco, and David Justice -- hanging on with the Yankees as a DH or in a bench role. Youngsters getting significant playing time was a rarity -- the only ones coming to mind, other than Jeter and Posada, were Alfonso Soriano and Ricky Ledee. Soriano busted through because he was too good to keep down, and Ledee got time because the best outfielders the Yankees had at the time were a collection of 35/36-year olds, headed by Glenallen "over the" Hill. Though there was one other aberration -- Shane Spencer. But Spencer forced his way into the lineup in the same way Mike Jacobs did two years ago --- by hitting 10 homeruns (including 3 grand slams) in his first 67 at-bats.

So, although Randolph was trusted by Billy Martin to start every day as a 21-year-old, his environment outside of that experience taught him otherwise: to go with the veterans, and stick with them, until they faded away. The 77-78 Yankees won back-to-back World Championships because they had a core lineup of veterans --- Nettles, Munson, Jackson, Piniella, Rivers, White, etc. The Yankees won 114 games in 1998 because they had crusty old Scott Brosius, O'Neill, Strawberry, Raines, Chili Davis, and Luis Sojo, who made up for the mistakes of an inexperienced Jeter. They finished first in 2000 because of experienced bats such as Luis Polonia, Felix Jose, Ryan Thompson and Jose Vizcaino on the bench. Guys like Shane Spencer in '98, or Brian Doyle in the 1978 postseason, were just a flash in the pan. You can't count on those guys over the long haul, because they don't know how to play the game. They're just babies, after all.

Randolph's many years in baseball taught him this: winning teams are made up primarily of hardened, seasoned veterans. Only the significantly, over-the-top, exceptional talents (Soriano, Jeter) are worthy of starting roles --- and only if they're surrounded by experienced vets who can show them the way.

Knowing his history, it's easier to understand why Willie is so hesitant to play youngsters in key roles. You don't have to agree with it, but at least you can see it from Randolph's perspective.