Steve Yeager

Infobox MLB retired
name=Steve Yeager


position=Catcher
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1948|11|24|
Huntington, West Virginia
debutdate=August 2
debutyear=by|1972
debutteam=Los Angeles Dodgers
finaldate=August 29
finalyear=by|1986
finalteam=Seattle Mariners
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.228
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=102
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=410
teams=
* Los Angeles Dodgers (by|1972-by|1985)
* Seattle Mariners (by|1986)
highlights=
* World Series champion (1981)
* 1981 World Series MVP

Stephen Wayne "Steve" Yeager (born November 24, 1948, in Huntington, West Virginia) is an American right-handed former major league baseball catcher.

Yeager spent 14 of the 15 seasons of his Major League Baseball career, from by|1972 through by|1985, with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His last year, by|1986, he played for the Seattle Mariners.

Yeager once hit two grand slams in one high school game at Meadowdale High School (Ohio) in Dayton, Ohio

Minor League career

Yeager was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 6, by|1967, in the 4th round of the amateur draft. After one game with the rookie level Ogden Spikers of the Pioneer League, Yeager was sent to the Dodgers Single-A affiliate, the Dubuque Packers of the Midwest League. The following season, in by|1968, Yeager played 59 games for the Single-A Daytona Beach Dodgers of the Florida State League. In by|1969, he played 22 games for the Bakersfield Blaze, the Dodgers' Single-A affiliate in the California League, where he threw out 26 runners from behind the plate.

Yeager was promoted to Double-A before the end of the 1969 season, playing in 1 game for the Albuquerque Dodgers of the Texas League. He spent the next two-and-2/3 seasons with the Double-A franchise. In 162 games played over the by|1970 and by|1971 seasons, he hit .276, with 77 RBIs in 490 at bats. He threw out 84 runners (second in the Texas League) and was named to the Texas League All-Star team as a catcher in 1971.

With the Dukes becoming the new Pacific Coast League Triple-A affiliate for the Dodgers in by|1972, Yeager was promoted while remaining in Albuquerque for another season. With the Triple-A Dukes, he played 82 games, batting .280 with 45 RBIs in 257 at bats.

Major League career

Yeager made his Major League debut with the Dodgers on 2 August 1972. He started 34 games that season, backed up Joe Ferguson in 1973, and split time with Ferguson for the pennant-winning 1974 club. Thereafter, Yeager was the starting catcher for the Dodgers and became an integral part of the Dodgers' success in the 1970s and early 1980s. Yeager helped the Dodgers to the World Series in 1974, 1977, 1978, and 1981. In the '81 Series against the New York Yankees, he shared the World Series Most Valuable Player award with teammates Pedro Guerrero and Ron Cey. Yeager, who was backing up Mike Scioscia by that time, did not have overwhelming stats for the Series, as he went 4-for-14 (.286), but three of his hits were a double and two home runs. One of the homers, off Ron Guidry, turned out to be the game-winner in Game 5.

In by|1982, Yeager injured his knee and broke his wrist a year later, severely limiting his playing time. He was traded to the Seattle Mariners for Ed Vande Berg following the by|1985 season and retired after hitting only .208 in by|1986.

Characteristics

Lou Brock called Yeager "the best-throwing catcher in the game." His specialty was defense and his command of the game on the field. He was very good at managing the game from his position and was even more highly regarded for his abilities with young pitchers. In by|1974, he led National League catchers in putouts with 806. This compensated for his overall subpar offense, as illustrated by arguably his best offensive year occurring in 1974 when he batted .266 in fewer than 100 games. Despite this reputation, Yeager was still somewhat of a clutch hitter as he had an average of .321 when hitting with the bases loaded during his career. He also had success hitting off pitcher Ken Forsch. While never hitting more than two home runs off any other pitcher, he managed to hit 5 against Forsch in his career.

Throat protector

In by|1976, Yeager was injured when a piece of Bill Russell's bat shattered and hit him in the neck while in the on-deck circle, piercing his esophagus. He had nine pieces of wood taken out of his neck in 98 minutes of surgery. After the incident, Dodger trainer Bill Buhler invented and patented a throat protector that hangs from the catcher's mask. It was soon worn by most catchers around the Majors and other leagues.

tats

*Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
*Weight: 190 lb (86 kg)
*Batted and Threw: Right
*Uniform number: 7
*World Series: .298 in 21 games, 17 for 57, 10 RBIs
* MLB Career
** Putouts: 6,110
** Assists: 674
** Errors: 88 (catching)
** Double Plays: 75 (catching)
** Fielding Percentage: .987
** Batting average: .228
** Hits: 816
** RBIs: 410
** Home runs: 102

Minor league coaching career

In by|1999, Yeager was the hitting coach for the Dodgers’ Single-A San Bernardino Stampede, which won the California League championship. In by|2001, he managed the Long Beach Breakers in the independent (now-defunct) Western Baseball League, where the team won the league championship in their inaugural season that year beating the Chico Heat 3 games to 2. He was hitting coach for the Jacksonville Suns in by|2004, and in by|2005-06 he was the hitting instructor/coach for the Dodgers AAA farm club, the Las Vegas 51s.

Yeager was instrumental in the conversion of Russell Martin from third base to behind the plate.

In by|2007, he became the manager for the Long Beach Armada of the independent Golden Baseball League.

Outside baseball

*Yeager is a nephew of pilot Chuck Yeager.

*Known for his flashy lifestyle as a player, when he got married on the steps of LA's City Hall, then Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley was best man at his wedding.

*Yeager was famous for having posed nude for "Playgirl" magazine in their October 1982 issue.

*Yeager served as technical advisor and also had a small role, as Coach Duke Temple, in "Major League", "Major League II," and "".

* In September 1979, he and his family appeared on Family Feud with Richard Dawson. They played for a total of 6 days.

* After his playing career, Yeager converted to Judaism.

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0947037/ IMDB Page]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/y/yeagest01.shtml Baseball Reference stats]
* [http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/Y/Steve-Yeager.shtml Baseball Cube stats]
* [http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=1014332&position=C Fangraphs stats]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Steve_Yeager BR Bullpen profile]
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/Y/Yeager_Steve.stm Baseball Library bio]
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=yeagest01 Baseball Almanac bio]
* [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/100best/multi2_interview.html Famous (one of National Geographic 100 best) picture of Yeager kissing coach Monty Basgall]
* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/covers/issues/1974/1021.html Yeager (with Garvey, Fingers, & Buckner) on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the 1974 World Series issue]
* [http://www.uruguay2030.com/rod/eric/yeager.htm "Minor league baseball: Yeager is managing Breakers day by day," 8/29/01]