Willie Randolph
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Willie Randolph | ||
|---|---|---|
| Second baseman, Manager | ||
| Born: July 6 1954 | Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | ||
| July 29, 1975 for the Pittsburgh Pirates | ||
| Final game | ||
| October 4, 1992 for the New York Mets | ||
| Career statistics | ||
| AVG | .276 | |
| Hits | 2210 | |
| SB | 271 | |
| Teams | ||
|
As Player As Manager
| ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
| ||
Willie Larry Randolph (born July 6 1954, in Holly Hill, South Carolina) is the manager of the New York Mets and a former Major League Baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, and New York Mets.
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
Randolph was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 7th round of the 1972 draft. He made his major league debut in 1975, and was at age 20 the 6th youngest player in the NL.
In December 1975 he was traded by the Pirates with Ken Brett and Dock Ellis to the New York Yankees for Doc Medich.
Randolph spent 13 of his 18 seasons as a player with the New York Yankees, and also played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers and finished his career with the New York Mets. He was selected to six All-Star games over his career. He was known as a top lead-off man, a skilled bunter, and a patient hitter who drew more than 80 walks seven times.
Randolph was also an outstanding defensive player, known especially for his ability to turn the double play. However, he never received the Gold Glove, which was perennially awarded to his more acrobatic contemporaries Frank White of the Kansas City Royals and Lou Whitaker of the Detroit Tigers. He was the Yankees' starting second baseman from 1976-88 and was a member of the 1977 and 1978 World Championship teams.
In 1980 Randolph led the league in walks (119) and was 2nd in the AL in on base percentage (.427), 8th in stolen bases (30), 9th in runs (99), and won the Silver Slugger award at second base in the AL. He also batted .332 leading off the inning, and .340 with men in scoring position.
In 1987 he batted .305 and led the league in at bats per strikeout (18.0), and was 4th in the AL in OBP (.411) and 9th in walks (82). He also batted .366 in tie games, and .345 in games that were late and close.
In December 1988 he signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In May 1990 he was traded by the Dodgers to the Oakland Athletics for Stan Javier.
In April 1991 he signed as a free agent with the Milwaukee Brewers.
In 1991 Randolph was 2nd in the AL on base percentage (.424) and 3rd in batting average (.327). He batted .373 with runners in scoring position.
In December 1991 he signed as a free agent with the New York Mets. In 1992, at 37 years old he was the 8th oldest player in the NL.
His last career game with the Mets lifelong second base player Jeff Kent Moved to what would be his only career start at shortstop to allow Randolph to play his final game at second base.
[edit] Coaching and managing career
Randolph was a Yankees base and bench coach for 11 seasons, interviewing intermittently for managing jobs with other teams. In 2004, Randolph was named Mets manager for the 2005 season, despite never having managed before at any level of baseball. Randolph earned his first win as a manager on April 10, 2005, in a 6-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves. The win halted a five-game losing streak to start the 2005 season. He then guided the Mets to five straight victories, giving the Mets their first six-game winning streak since August 2003.
Randolph ended his first season as manager of the 2005 Mets with an 83-79 record, the first time the franchise had finished above .500 since 2001, and 15 games better than the prior season. That record got them a tie for third place in the National League East.
In 2006, Randolph managed the Mets to a league-best 97-65 record (which also tied for the majors-best record with the crosstown Yankees) and the NL East Division title (the team's first division championship since 1988). The Mets came within one game of reaching the World Series, losing the seventh game of the NLCS to the eventual world-champion St. Louis Cardinals. Randolph is the first manager in big-league history to have his team's record improve by at least 12 games in each of his first two seasons (seasons following strike-shortened seasons are not included). He came in second place in the 2006 NL Manager of the Year voting, losing to Florida Marlins manager Joe Girardi. On January 24 2007, Randolph signed a three year, $5.65 million contract extension with the Mets. He has a club option for 2010 worth an additional $2.5 million. According to the NY Daily News, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa chose Willie to be an assistant coach for the 2007 MLB All Star Game. However he could not do so because he needed to go in for surgery and chose to do so during the All Star break.[1]
[edit] Managerial record
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | |||
| NYM | 2005 | 83 | 79 | .512 | 3rd in NL East | - | - | - | ||
| NYM | 2006 | 97 | 65 | .599 | 1st in NL East | 6 | 4 | .600 | Lost NLCS | |
| NYM | 2007 | 88 | 74 | .543 | 2nd in NL East | - | - | - | ||
| Total | 268 | 217 | .553 | 6 | 4 | - | - | |||
[edit] Trivia
- Randolph is the eighth player to play for and then later manage the Mets. The others are Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra, Joe Torre, Bud Harrelson, Mike Cubbage, Dallas Green and Bobby Valentine.
- Randolph delivered the Commencement Address to Fordham University's 2007 graduating class, of which his daughter was a member.
[edit] See also
- List of major league players with 2,000 hits
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
- Los Angeles Dodgers all-time roster
- New York Yankees all-time roster
- List of Major League Baseball managers in 2006
- List of Major League Baseball managers in 2007
- List of Major League Baseball managers in 2008
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference(as player)
- Retrosheet
- Profile of Willie Randolph in The New York Observer
| Preceded by Graig Nettles | New York Yankees team captain (with Ron Guidry until July 12, 1989) March 4, 1986 to October 2, 1989 | Succeeded by Don Mattingly |
| Preceded by TBA | New York Yankees Third Base Coach 1993-2003 | Succeeded by Luis Sojo |
| Preceded by Don Zimmer | New York Yankees Bench Coach 2004 | Succeeded by Joe Girardi |
| Preceded by Art Howe | New York Mets Manager 2005- | Succeeded by incumbent |
New York Mets managers |
|---|
| Stengel • Westrum • Parker • Hodges • Berra • McMillan • Frazier • Torre • Bamberger • Howard • Johnson • Harrelson • Cubbage • Torborg • Green • Valentine • Howe • Randolph |
New York Mets current roster |
|---|
1 Luis Castillo | 3 Damion Easley | 4 Anderson Hernández | 5 David Wright | 6 Rubén Gotay | 7 José Reyes | 10 Endy Chávez | 11 Ramón Castro | 13 Billy Wagner | 15 Carlos Beltrán | 18 Moisés Alou | 21 Carlos Delgado | 23 Brian Schneider | 25 Pedro Feliciano | 26 Orlando Hernández | 27 Carlos Gómez | 29 Jorge Sosa | 33 John Maine | 34 Mike Pelfrey | 35 Joe Smith | 36 Willie Collazo | 38 Carlos Muniz | 40 Ambiorix Burgos | 43 Jason Vargas | 45 Pedro Martínez | 46 Óliver Pérez | 48 Aaron Heilman | 49 Philip Humber | 50 Duaner Sánchez | 60 Scott Schoeneweis | 72 Adam Bostick | -- Marlon Anderson | -- Ryan Church | -- Angel Pagán | -- Steven Register | -- Brian Stokes | -- Matt Wise | Coaching Staff: Manager 12 Willie Randolph | Bench Coach 53 Jerry Manuel | 1st Base Coach 24 Rickey Henderson | 3rd Base Coach 2 Sandy Alomar, Sr. | Hitting Coach 52 Howard Johnson | Pitching Coach 51 Rick Peterson | Bullpen Coach 56 Guy Conti | Catching Instructor 55 Tom Nieto |
New York Yankees 1977 World Series roster |
|---|
| 2 Paul Blair | 6 Roy White | 9 Graig Nettles | 10 Chris Chambliss | 11 Fred Stanley | 14 Lou Piniella | 15 Thurman Munson | 17 Mickey Rivers | 19 Dick Tidrow | 20 Bucky Dent | 24 Mike Torrez | 25 George Zeber | 28 Sparky Lyle | 29 Catfish Hunter | 30 Willie Randolph | 35 Don Gullett | 41 Cliff Johnson | 44 Reggie Jackson | 49 Ron Guidry | 50 Ken Clay Manager 1 Billy Martin |
| Current Major League Baseball managers | ||
|---|---|---|
| AMERICAN LEAGUE | ||
| EAST DIVISION
47 Trembley (Baltimore) | CENTRAL DIVISION
13 Guillén (Chi. White Sox) | WEST DIVISION
14 Scioscia (L.A. Angels) |
| NATIONAL LEAGUE | ||
| EAST DIVISION
6 Cox (Atlanta) | CENTRAL DIVISION
41 Piniella (Chi. Cubs)
| WEST DIVISION
3 Melvin (Arizona) |
Categories: 1954 births | Living people | Major league second basemen | Los Angeles Dodgers players | Milwaukee Brewers players | New York Mets players | New York Yankees players | Oakland Athletics players | Pittsburgh Pirates players | Major league players from South Carolina | American League All-Stars | National League All-Stars | Baseball managers | New York Mets managers | People from Brooklyn | People from New York City | Samuel J. Tilden High School alumni
