Eric Yelding

Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=black
bgcolor2=#95322c
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=Eric Yelding
position=Shortstop, Center Field
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1964|10|22
debutdate=April 9
debutyear=by|1989
debutteam=Houston Astros
finaldate=October 3
finalyear=by|1993
finalteam=Chicago Cubs
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.244
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=242
stat3label=Stolen bases
stat3value=89
teams=
*Houston Astros (by|1989-by|1992)
*Chicago Cubs (by|1993)
highlights=
*2nd in the NL in stolen bases in by|1990 with 64

Eric Girard Yelding (born February 22, 1965 in Montrose, Alabama), is a former Major League baseball player who was with the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs from by|1989-by|1993. Known for his blazing speed and strong arm, he played primarily centerfield and shortstop.

Minor Leagues

Young was a star athlete at Fairhope High School in Fairhope, Alabama and was later drafted in the 1th round of the by|1984 MLB amateur draft out of Chipola College by the Toronto Blue Jays. He made an immediate impact with his speed and arm, stealing 93 bases and adding 19 outfield assists in his first 200 games at Medicine Hat and Kinston. Because of his strong arm, he was moved to shortstop the following season at Ventura County. Although he found success with the bat and on the basepaths, hitting .280 with 41 steals, he made an astounding 58 fielding errors. He spent the by|1987 year between Myrtle Beach and Double-A Knoxville, where he stole a combined 83 bases, though his fielding did not improve as he made another 59 errors. Despite being a liability in the field, his prowess on the basepaths earned him a promotion to AAA Syracuse where he was moved to second base in an attempt to alleviate his fielding woes. Although his play in the field was still suspect, he did cut his season error total down to 35 while hitting .250 and stealing 59 bases for the Chiefs.

Major Leagues

Houston Astros

On December 5, by|1988 Yelding was selected by the Chicago Cubs from Toronto in the Rule V Draft. He was waived by the Cubs and selected off waivers by the Houston Astros the following April. In order to satisfy the Rule V terms, the Astros were mandated to either keep Yelding on the Major League club for the entire season or forfeit their rights to him. Faced with the dilemma of having a player not yet ready for everyday play on their roster, but not wanting to lose their rights to what they considered a future star, the Astros used Yelding primarily as a pinch hitter and pinch runner. He appeared in 70 games, but played the field in only 38 of them and recorded less than 100 plate appearances.

The Astros' patience with Yelding paid early dividends, as he became their full-time leadoff hitter in by|1990 and finished second in the National League with 64 stolen bases. Though he improved and even showed flashes of brilliance in the field, his defense was still subpar though he did show his versatility by appearing at second base, third base, shortstop, and in the outfield.

Unfortunately, 1990 would be his last full season in the major leagues. He missed half on by|1991 due to injury and struggled when healthy. He had only 8 at-bats for the Astros in by|1992, spending most of the season at AAA Tucson. On July 10, 1992, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Rich Scheid. He finished the 1992 season at Vancouver before being released by the White Sox at the end of the season. He was signed by the Cincinnati Reds during the winter, but released during the 1993 spring training before being signed for the second time by the Chicago Cubs.

Chicago Cubs

Yelding was used by the Cubs primarily as a utility infielder and pinch hitter/runner. Although his fielding had greatly improved since his early days with the Astros (only 2 errors in 32 games at second base in '93), he struggled with the bat, hitting only .204. He missed a large part of the 1993 season due to injury, as well as the following year, in which he appeared in only 29 games with the Iowa Cubs.

Yelding spent by|1995 and by|1996 in the Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners minor league systems. He would never appear in another major league baseball game, although he did play in spring training as a replacement player for the Cleveland Indians during the 1994 Major League Baseball strike.

External links

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/y/yeldier01.shtml Eric Yelding at Baseball Reference.com]
* [http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/Y/Eric-Yelding.shtml Baseball Cube statistics]