VINTAGE BASEBALL MEMORABILIA

Vintage Baseball Memorabilia

Willie Randolph

Position: Second Baseman
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
5-11, 165lb (180cm, 74kg)
Born: July 6, 1954  in Holly Hill, SC us
Draft: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 7th round of the 1972 MLB June Amateur Draft from Tilden HS (Brooklyn, NY).
High School: Tilden HS (Brooklyn, NY)
Debut: July 29, 1975 (13,679th in major league history)
vs. PHI 4 AB, 1 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: October 4, 1992
vs. PIT 3 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Full Name: Willie Larry Randolph
Nicknames: Mickey

View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1975

Willie Randolph
Jack Clark
Chet Lemon
Craig Reynolds
Dennis Eckersley
Roy Smalley
Ron Guidry
Donnie Moore
Lyman Bostock

Notable Events and Chronology for Willie Randolph Career

SearchSearch Events, Dates and More Date (Newest)Title (A - Z)

December 11, 1975

Yankees trade for Willie Randolph

May 5, 1977

Fans at Yankee Stadium throw dozens of newly created “Reggie” bars onto the field

June 10, 1977

Ron Guidry‚ with relief help‚ stops the Twins‚ to give New York a 4 – 1 win. Willie Randolph’s two-run double is the key blow.

June 24, 1977

Yankees walk it off vs Red Sox after Roy White launches a dramatic two-out two-run home run

July 12, 1977

Willie Randolph hits the game-winning homer and Don Gullett pitches the Yankees to a 5 – 2 win over the Brewers. The win stops the Yanks loss streak at three games.

September 27, 1977

Hal McRae vs Willie Randolph in 1977.

October 9, 1977

New York Yankees stun Royals with three runs in the ninth inning to capture ALCS

September 7, 1978

The Yankees take game one of the Boston Massacre with a 15 – 3 route

September 16, 1978

the Yankees walk off on Thurman Munson Sacrifice fly vs Red Sox

September 26, 1978

Woman invade club house in New York

September 29, 1978

Brian Doyle gets added to Yankee Roster

October 9, 1980

In Game 2 of the ALCS with the Yankees trailing 3-2 with two outs in the top of the eighth inning, George Steinbrenner is caught on live national television jumping out of his seat and shouting what appears to be profanities when Willie Randolph is tagged out at home on a relay throw by George Brett. The Yankees’ owner wants third base coach Mike Ferraro fired on the spot, but manager Dick Howser refuses, and the skipper will lose his job when the team is swept in three games by the Royals, despite a first-place finish in the American League East, compiling a 103-59 record.

October 15, 1981

New York Yankees their 33rd American League pennant

April 29, 1985

4/29/1985: Yankee Bobby Meacham batted in the top of the fourth inning in Texas with two runners on and one out. He homered off Frank Tanana, but didn’t expect the ball to leave the park. While he was running towards and around first, the runner at first, Willie Randolph was headed back to the bag to tag up. Neither Randolph nor Meacham expected the ball to leave the yard. They collided just past first base and Meacham was called out for passing Randolph and ended up being credited with a two-run single. By the way, this was Billy Martin’s first day on the job for one of his stints as New York manager.

January 8, 1987

Collusion becomes the topic as 10 players including Future HOF players Dawson and Raines remain unsigned

December 10, 1988

1988 – Free-agent Willie Randolph signs with the Dodgers. He will replace Steve Sax in the lineup, who earlier this month signed with Randolph’s former club, the Yankees.

May 1, 1991

At County Stadium, the Milwaukee Brewers defeat the Chicago White Sox in a six-hour, five-minute, 19-inning contest, the longest in the American League since the same two clubs played 25 innings on May 8, 1984. Willie Randolph gets the winning RBI in the 19th.

November 3, 2000

2000 – After being turned down by Yankees third base coach Willie Randolph and their own third base coach, Ron Oester, because of below-market contract offers, the Cincinnati Reds hire Bob Boone as manager, replacing Jack McKeon. A former All-Star catcher, Boone had a 181-206 record as manager of the Kansas City Royals.

November 4, 2004

The Mets introduced Willie Randolph as the franchise’s 18th manager. The long-time Yankee second baseman and third base coach becomes the first black to manage in New York.

November 15, 2006

Joe Girardi, six weeks after the Marlins fire him, wins the NL Manager of the Year award when he receives 18 of 32 first-place votes in the BBWAA’s balloting. The unemployed freshman skipper, who easily outpointed Willie Randolph of the Mets for the honor, is the first manager of a losing team (78-84) to cop the award.

January 25, 2007

Willie Randolph, who brought New York within one game of a World Series appearance, agrees to a $5.65 million, three-year deal to continue as the manager of the Mets

May 11, 2008

5/11/2008 – In the top of the ninth, after a double switch, the Reds batted out of order when David Ross hit in Corey Patterson’s spot. Ross flew out to right and then Mets Manager Willie Randolph told the umpires about the issue. Patterson was called out instead of Ross and Ross batted again and singled. Randolph should have taken the out and kept quiet.

October 3, 2008

Jerry Manuel inks a two year deal to manage mets

October 31, 2008

The Mets waste no time in exercising their $12 million option on Carlos Delgado. After a well-publicized slow start, which strained the relationship with his then-manager Willie Randolph, the 36 year-old first baseman batted .313, blasted 24 homers, and drove in 70 runs during the last three months of the season playing for new skipper Jerry Manuel.

November 8, 2008

The Brewers hire Willie Randolph as bench coach to work with the team’s new manager Ken Macha

October 20, 2009

The Brewers hire Rick Peterson as their pitching coach to improve the club’s woeful starting pitching, which posted a 5.37 ERA last season. The 54 year-old pitching guru, known for his focus on motion analysis, is reunited with bench coach Willie Randolph and skipper Ken Macha, who were his former managers with the Mets and the A’s, teams he toiled for in a similar role.

Biography

 
Known as a stabilizing influence on a tumultuous team, Randolph’s consistency on offense earned the respect of teammates and opponents. After a 30-game stint with the Pirates in 1975, Randolph was one of three players traded to the Yankees for pitcher Doc Medich in the off-season. Randolph immediately became the starting second baseman, and stayed in that role through 13 seasons and 32 shortstops. During Randolph’s first six seasons with the Yankees, they won five division championships, four AL pennants, and World Series titles in 1977 and 1978.

During 1980, when the Yankees won 103 games, Randolph led the AL in walks with 119, the most by a Yankee since Mickey Mantle’s 122 in 1962, and he was second in the league in on-base percentage (.429). He was named to postseason all-star teams in 1977, 1978, and 1980. He had typical Randolph years throughout the 1980s, and he established career highs in 1987 in batting average (.305) and RBI (67). Randolph, however, suffered through an injury-plagued .230 season in 1988 and was not re-signed by New York. Instead, he signed a free-agent contract with the Dodgers, spent time with the A’s and Brewers, and then finished his career with the Mets.

He left the Yankees ranking high on their star-studded all-time lists: second in stolen bases, seventh in at-bats and runs, eighth in games, tenth in hits, and ninteenth in triples. He returned after his retirement to become their third-base coach@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@