October 6 – Happy Birthday Ruben Sierra
There were two reasons why I liked Ruben Sierra. First of all, he looked exactly like a guy who used to umpire Little League games back when I was a coach for my two sons’ teams. Secondly, Ruben could hit. After the Yankees traded Danny Tartabull to Oakland for him during the 1995 season, Sierra drove in 44 runs for New York in the 56 games he played for them that year. Yes he could be moody, mouthy and sometimes too flamboyant, but I loved to watch his at bats, especially his eyes when he glared out at an opposing pitcher. Unfortunately for Ruben, Joe Torre did not like or appreciate him as much as I did. Four months into Torre’s inaugural 1996 season as Yankee skipper, New York dealt Sierra to the Tigers for slugging first baseman, Cecil Fielder. Ruben was hurt by the trade and said some unkind and exaggerated things about Torre’s managing style. The two eventually patched things up and Sierra rejoined Torre and the Yankees in June of 2003. I was amazed to find out that Ruben played for nine different teams during his 20-year big league career and hit 306 home runs. My question is, has there ever been another player who hit so many home runs playing for as many teams as Sierra did? Ruben was born in Puerto Rico on this date in 1965.
Another Yankee born on today’s date is former pitcher Steve Kline. Do you remember which Yankee playoff hero became a Yankee in a trade involving Kline? Find out here. Also born on October 6th is Yankee pitcher Freddie Garcia and this long-ago NY shortstop.
| Year | Tm | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | NYY | 56 | 242 | 215 | 33 | 56 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 44 | 1 | 22 | 34 | .260 | .322 | .428 | .750 |
| 1996 | NYY | 96 | 407 | 360 | 39 | 93 | 17 | 1 | 11 | 52 | 1 | 40 | 58 | .258 | .327 | .403 | .730 |
| 2003 | NYY | 63 | 189 | 174 | 19 | 48 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 31 | 1 | 13 | 20 | .276 | .323 | .437 | .760 |
| 2004 | NYY | 107 | 338 | 307 | 40 | 75 | 12 | 1 | 17 | 65 | 1 | 25 | 55 | .244 | .296 | .456 | .752 |
| 2005 | NYY | 61 | 181 | 170 | 14 | 39 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 29 | 0 | 9 | 41 | .229 | .265 | .371 | .636 |
| 20 Yrs | 2186 | 8782 | 8044 | 1084 | 2152 | 428 | 59 | 306 | 1322 | 142 | 610 | 1239 | .268 | .315 | .450 | .765 | |
| TEX (10 yrs) | 1190 | 4975 | 4580 | 645 | 1281 | 257 | 44 | 180 | 742 | 90 | 321 | 676 | .280 | .323 | .473 | .796 | |
| NYY (5 yrs) | 383 | 1357 | 1226 | 145 | 311 | 64 | 3 | 45 | 221 | 4 | 109 | 208 | .254 | .310 | .421 | .730 | |
| OAK (4 yrs) | 365 | 1560 | 1421 | 205 | 359 | 65 | 7 | 60 | 252 | 39 | 113 | 212 | .253 | .303 | .435 | .737 | |
| MIN (1 yr) | 14 | 33 | 28 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 7 | .179 | .273 | .214 | .487 | |
| CIN (1 yr) | 25 | 96 | 90 | 6 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 21 | .244 | .292 | .389 | .681 | |
| SEA (1 yr) | 122 | 452 | 419 | 47 | 113 | 23 | 0 | 13 | 60 | 4 | 31 | 66 | .270 | .319 | .418 | .736 | |
| DET (1 yr) | 46 | 180 | 158 | 22 | 35 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 3 | 20 | 25 | .222 | .306 | .310 | .616 | |
| CHW (1 yr) | 27 | 77 | 74 | 7 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 11 | .216 | .247 | .459 | .706 | |
| TOR (1 yr) | 14 | 52 | 48 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 13 | .208 | .250 | .354 | .604 | |
Pinstripe Birthdays 