Core Four: The Heart and Soul of the Yankees Dynasty

by Phil Pepe

  But it was in baseball that Jeter excelled. Newhouser was so impressed with his potential that he implored the Astros to select the youngster with the first pick, despite reports that Jeter was prepared to accept a scholarship to play baseball for former Detroit Tigers All-Star catcher Bill Freehan at the University of Michigan.

  Meanwhile, the Yankees, with the sixth pick in the draft, also were closely monitoring Jeter at the urging of Dick Groch, their scout assigned to the Michigan-Ohio territory. It was going to be a hard sell for Groch. The Yankees in the George Steinbrenner era, always looking for immediate gratification, rarely selected high school players in the first round of the draft.

  But Groch persisted. Although Jeter was a spindly 148 pounds— he was already past six feet tall and figured to get bigger and stronger—and had only 59 at-bats in his senior season playing in weather-challenged Michigan, Groch saw in the young shortstop a player with uncanny athletic skills and instincts, excellent makeup, and a tremendous upside. The veteran scout pushed hard for the Yankees to consider taking Jeter should he still be available when their turn came up.

  “Jeter?” said Yankees scouting director Bill Livesey. “Isn’t he going to the University of Michigan?”

  “The only place he’s going,” said Groch, “is Cooperstown.”

  On draft day, June 1, when it was time to make a decision, the Astros, in a five-year slide since winning their last division title and desperate for immediate help, went against the recommendation of Hal Newhouser and opted instead for the winner of the Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s most outstanding college baseball player, Phil Nevin of Cal State Fullerton, partly because they judged him closer to being major league ready than Jeter and partly because they feared Jeter was too rich for their blood. There were reports that with the University of Michigan scholarship his for the taking, Jeter would be looking for a signing bonus of $1 million, more than the Astros had budgeted for their first-round pick.

  So irate and insulted by the Astros refusal to take his advice was Newhouser that he submitted his resignation in protest.

  The Astros, however, would not be alone in bypassing Jeter. Picking second, the Cleveland Indians chose Paul Shuey, a right-handed pitcher from the University of North Carolina. With the third pick, the Montreal Expos opted for B.J. Wallace, a left-handed pitcher from Mississippi State. With the fourth pick, the Baltimore Orioles chose outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds from Stanford.

  Next in line were the Cincinnati Reds, who were known to be high on Jeter. As the Reds deliberated, apparently vacillating between Jeter and a University of Central Florida outfielder named Chad Mottola, the Yankees contingent held its collective breath. When the official announcement came that the Reds had selected Mottola, a euphoric roar went up from the Yankees draft room, which had been set up in George Steinbrenner’s Radisson Bay Harbor Hotel in Tampa.

  On June 27, 1992, a day after his 18th birthday, the Yankees announced the signing of their No. 1 pick in the 1992 MLB amateur free agent draft, one Derek Sanderson Jeter, a shortstop from Kalamazoo Central High School who received a signing bonus of $800,000, some $200,000 less than he was believed to be seeking. Ironically, the Astros gave Nevin a $700,000 signing bonus, so if money was truly the issue, by refusing to go $100,000 over budget for the No. 1 draft pick in the nation, the Astros missed out on a future Hall of Famer who could have filled their shortstop position for two decades.

  It’s interesting to look back years later at that draft and assess how it turned out. Others selected in the June 1992 draft, all after Jeter, were Todd Helton, Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, Shannon Stewart, Preston Wilson, and Ron Villone.

  Of the 48 players selected by the Yankees, only four others besides Jeter made it to the big leagues. Their second choice, No. 102 overall, right-handed pitcher Mike Buddie, had a 5–4 record in five seasons with the Yankees and Brewers. Outfielder Matt Luke, taken in the eighth round (214th overall), batted .242 with 15 homers and 40 RBI in 123 games with the Yankees, Dodgers, Indians, and Angels. Left-handed pitcher Ryan Karp, drafted in the ninth round (242nd), was 1–1 in 16 games with the Phillies. And right-hander Mike DeJean, selected in the 24th round (662nd), pitched for 10 big league seasons with a 30–33 record for the Rockies, Brewers, Mets, Cardinals, and Orioles.

  Of the five players chosen ahead of Jeter, Nevin played 12 years with seven teams: the Padres, Tigers, Rangers, Twins, Cubs, Angels, and Astros, while batting .270 with 1,131 hits, 208 home runs, and 743 runs batted in. Hammonds played 13 years with six teams—the Orioles, Brewers, Giants, Reds, Rockies, and Nationals—had 824 hits, batted .272, hit 110 homers, and drove in 423 runs. Mottola played five seasons with Blue Jays, Reds, Orioles, and Marlins, batted .200 in 59 games, hit four homers, and had 12 RBI. Shuey pitched for 11 seasons with the Indians, Dodgers, and Orioles, winning 45 games and losing 28. And Wallace pitched three years in the minor leagues, won 15 games, lost 15, and never got to the big leagues.

  All five were out of baseball by 2008, while Jeter motored on, piling up almost 2,200 more hits than Nevin and almost 2,500 more than Hammonds through the 2012 season.

  To launch his professional career, the Yankees sent Jeter to play for the Tampa Yankees in the Gulf Coast Rookie League, and off went this teenage prodigy to conquer the baseball world. He couldn’t even conquer the Gulf Coast League. In his first game he was hitless in seven at-bats with five strikeouts.

  “When I went to rookie ball I made a bunch of errors,” Jeter would say almost 20 years later. “I couldn’t get a hit for anything and they tied this big, red Wiffle ball bat in my locker with a big sign that said, ‘Maybe you should try this one.’ Now looking back it was funny, but when you’re 18 years old you want to go into the bathroom and cry because you don’t know who these guys are and now they’re making fun of you.”

  There was a good deal of crying on the almost-nightly telephone calls to his folks back home as Jeter, frustrated, lonely, and homesick, experienced failure for the first (and last) time in his baseball life. In 47 games for the Tampa Yankees he made 12 errors and batted a paltry .202. He was saved from total humiliation by a wise and compassionate manager, Gary Denbo, who benched Jeter on the final day of the season in order to spare him the ultimate indignity of a batting average below .200.

  Despite his failure, the Yankees remained high on Jeter’s potential and his future. They reasoned that his problems in Tampa were the result of being away from home for the first time, missing his comfort zone, and competing against better players, most of whom were several years older than he was. With the Gulf Coast League season completed, the Yankees promoted Jeter to Greensboro in the Class A South Atlantic League, where he could get more at-bats and, therefore, more experience and also become acclimated to the town that would be his home in the 1993 season.

  At Greensboro in 1993 it all began to click in for Jeter and he started to display the potential that Dick Groch and the Yankees had seen in him. His offensive skills began to surface with a .295 average, five home runs, 71 RBI, and 18 stolen bases, but his defensive difficulties continued. By midseason he had committed more than 30 errors and he was visited by the Yankees’ general manager, Gene Michael. A former shortstop himself who, at 6'2" and 183 pounds, was built similar to Jeter. Michael also had defensive problems in the minor leagues. In his first minor league season with the Grand Forks Chiefs in the Class C Northern League, Michael made 56 errors in 124 games. He impressed upon Jeter the importance of playing relaxed.

  Although he made a staggering 56 errors in 126 games for the Greensboro Hornets, most of them on throws, he showed tremendous range in the field and an athleticism that enabled him to make some acrobatic plays. Baseball America named him the South Atlantic League’s best defensive shortstop, most exciting player, best infield arm, and the 16th-best prospect in baseball.

  Jeter began the 1994 season with the Tampa Bay Yankees of the Class A Florida State League, where his manager was
former Yankees catcher and University of Mississippi football star Jake Gibbs, and where he batted .329 in 69 games. He was moved rapidly up the ladder to the Albany-Colonie Yankees of the Class AA Eastern League, where he batted .377 in 34 games before being moved to the Columbus Clippers of the Class AAA International League, where he batted .349 in 35 games. He had hit for a combined .344 average at three levels with 43 extra-base hits and 50 steals in 58 attempts, while cutting his errors from 56 in 126 games to 25 in 138 games. For this he was named Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America, The Sporting News, Baseball Weekly, and Topps, and was voted Most Valuable Player of the Florida State League.

  Jeter might have played for a fourth team that year. The Yankees were contemplating bringing him up to the big club for a few games at the end of the season, but a strike cut short the major league season. Nevertheless, all of a sudden the circuitous journey that would take him from Pequannock, New Jersey, to the Bronx, by way of Kalamazoo, Michigan, appeared close to reaching its culmination for Derek Sanderson Jeter.

  5. Sticktoitiveness

  On July 30, 1990, Major League Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent came down heavy and permanently banned the Yankees’ volatile and controversial principal owner George M. Steinbrenner. His crime was paying $40,000 to a small-time local gambler named Howie Spira to dig up dirt on the team’s star outfielder, Dave Winfield, who had sued the Yankees for failing to contribute $300,000 to his foundation, as was stipulated in Winfield’s contract.

  It was the second time Steinbrenner had been “permanently” suspended from baseball. In 1974, after pleading guilty to making illegal contributions to president Richard M. Nixon’s reelection campaign, Steinbrenner was suspended by then-commissioner Bowie Kuhn for two years. Kuhn later reduced the suspension to 15 months and, in 1989, in one of the final acts of his presidency, Ronald Reagan granted Steinbrenner a pardon.

  The latest suspension by Vincent did not mean that Steinbrenner had to relinquish ownership of the Yankees, but he was banned from the day-to-day management of the team, which would prove to be a blessing in disguise for the Yankees.

  Steinbrenner’s last act before his suspension took effect was to fire his general manager, Harding “Pete” Peterson. A month later Gene Michael, who had been working for the Yankees as a scout, replaced Peterson. It would be the second time he occupied the Yankees’ general manager’s chair. He filled it in 1980 and 1981, but was let go by Steinbrenner. This time, however, he would be able to do his job without interference from the meddlesome Steinbrenner.

  Gene Michael was born in Kent, Ohio. He attended Kent State University, where he played baseball and basketball. He played a season with the Columbus Comets of the North American Basketball Association and was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1959. He played one season with the Pirates and was traded along with Bob Bailey to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Maury Wills. In November 1967, the Dodgers sold Michael to the Yankees. He took over as their shortstop and moved his family to New Jersey as he began what would be a long association with the Yankees.

  Michael’s playing career with the Yankees spanned from 1968 to 1974. He joined the team after they had dominated major league baseball with five straight pennants (1960–64) and left them just before they began a new streak with three straight pennants (1976–78). His seven-year tenure with New York was a period of mediocrity for the Yankees, who finished fifth in the American League twice, fourth three times, and second twice.

  As a switch-hitter—or non-hitter, as the case may be—he batted a puny .233 in his seven seasons with the Yankees, hit 12 home runs, and drove in 204 runs. But he was a defensive wizard who specialized in pulling the hidden-ball trick. Five times in his career, Michael caught unsuspecting runners napping at second base. His modus operandi was a simple one. With a runner on second base he would first inform the second base umpire that he was up to something and to be alert. Once he had told the umpire what he was concocting, Michael casually walked over to second base and asked the runner to step off the base for a moment so that Michael could straighten the bag. When the unsuspecting, or naïve, runner complied, the baseball miraculously materialized in Michael’s glove and the runner was tagged out.

  Before long Michael, who picked up the nickname “Stick” because of his slim, 6'2", 180-pound frame, was a favorite of the writers covering the Yankees for his affability, his baseball wisdom, his storytelling, and his wit. (Referring to his hitting, he once said, “The bat really jumps off my ball.”) He also put his Ohio upbringing behind him and became a popular and often-visible man-about-town in New York social circles.

  When he retired, Michael began a relationship with the Yankees that, including his seven years as a player, has lasted almost a half-century, with two years out to manage the Chicago Cubs in 1986–87. In his time with the Yankees, he has served in just about every conceivable capacity, from minor league manager (Columbus Clippers), to major league coach, major league manager (two terms, 1981–82), general manager, and scout.

  Throughout his years with the Yankees, Michael had an on-again, off-again, love-hate relationship with Boss Steinbrenner. They feuded, they made up, then they feuded again, and they made up again. While being a demanding boss, Steinbrenner nevertheless had deep affection for Michael and a great appreciation for his baseball knowledge and his eye for talent. Several times he refused to grant to teams in search of a manager (the Boston Red Sox, the New York Mets) the permission to talk to Michael and then rewarded Michael with a title, a promotion, and a raise in pay.

  Meanwhile, for his part, Michael, while exasperated with Steinbrenner’s meddling, impatience, and impetuous trading of players—especially young ones—admired the Boss’ desire and determination to put a winning product on the field and was grateful to him for the years of employment and financial compensation.

  With Steinbrenner out of the picture, Michael was able to implement his plan to rebuild the Yankees’ brand. He held on to the team’s young stars—most notably Bernie Williams—showed foresight, used his great eye for talent in pulling off brilliant trades (i.e., Roberto Kelly to the Cincinnati Reds for Paul O’Neill, and Russ Davis and Sterling Hitchcock to the Seattle Mariners for Jeff Nelson, Jim Mecir, and Tino Martinez), and built up the farm system.

  Michael was a scout and a sounding board in personnel decisions when the Yankees signed Mariano Rivera, and he was the general manager when they drafted Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, and Derek Jeter.

  Steinbrenner was reinstated in 1993. He returned somewhat more docile when it came to the operations of the team, but he still was the Boss. In October 1995, he fired Michael as general manager and replaced him with Bob Watson. But this time a more gentle, more submissive George Steinbrenner retained Michael, first as director of major league scouting, then as vice president of major league scouting, and finally as a vice president and adviser, all roles Michael much preferred to the heat that came with the position of general manager. And each time he got a new title, Michael also got a raise in pay.

  After Michael left the general manager’s office, the Yankees went on to win six American League pennants and four World Series with teams he constructed. His Yankees legacy was secure, not only as the mastermind of one of the greatest periods in the team’s history, but as the “Godfather of the Core Four.”

  Paul O’Neill

  On November 3, 1992, the Yankees pulled off a trade of outfielders with the Cincinnati Reds, sending Roberto Kelly to Cincinnati in exchange for Paul O’Neill. It may or may not have been the best trade Gene Michael ever made, but it certainly was the best thing that happened to O’Neill’s career.

  In eight seasons with the Reds, O’Neill batted .259, hit 96 home runs, and drove home 411 runs. In nine seasons with the Yankees, aided by being in the midst of a more formidable lineup and playing half of his games in friendly Yankee Stadium, with its easily reachable right-field seats, O’Neill batted .303, hit 185 home runs, and d
rove home 858 runs. He was a four-time All-Star with the Yankees, played on four World Series–championship teams, batted .300 or better six times (including a league-leading .359 in 1994), hit 20 or more home runs six times, drove in 100 or more runs four times, and is among the Yankees’ top 20 career batting leaders in home runs, batting average, doubles, and RBI.

  O’Neill is the only player in baseball history to have been on the winning side for three perfect games (Tom Browning with the Reds, David Wells and David Cone with the Yankees).

  Known for his fiery temper, O’Neill brought that competitiveness to the Yankees, earning the admiration of owner George Steinbrenner, who called O’Neill “a warrior.” As a result of his emotional outbursts, when he retired, O’Neill left in his wake smashed water coolers and a legion of adoring and grateful fans.

  6. Hello Columbus

  The future Core Four of the New York Yankees got together for the first time during the latter part of the 1994 season with the Columbus Clippers of the International League, but there was nothing to commemorate the occasion. There were no bleacher fans chanting their names at the start of a game, no recording of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” blaring through the public address system to signal Mariano Rivera’s entrance into a game, and no postseason parade down Columbus’ High Street in Capitol Square as the Clippers finished in third place, 6½ games behind the Richmond Braves in the International League West.

  No credit (or blame) for the Clippers’ mediocre season can be placed on the Core Four. The big names for the 1994 Clippers (and on the Yankees radar) were Russ Davis, Dave Silvestri, Royal Clayton, and Dave Eiland. Their closer was Joe Ausanio, who saved 13 games and would get into 41 games for the Yankees between 1994–95, with a 4–1 record and one save.

  The manager of the 1994 Columbus Clippers was Carl “Stump” Merrill, a loyal and dependable baseball lifer who has spent almost a half-century in the game—most of his years with the Yankees—as a minor league player, minor league manager, minor league coach, major league manager, major league coach, scout, and general all-around troubleshooter. He managed the Yankees between Bucky Dent and Buck Showalter from 1990 to 1991.