The 1993 Yankees were a pivot point. After posting four straight losing seasons for the first time in nearly 80 years, the ’93 squad climbed out of the morass with an 88-win season. While that finish left them with the third-best record in a two-team AL playoff picture, it served notice that the Gene Michael and Buck Showalter-led Yankees were on the rise. On a team laden with veteran stars like Don Mattingly, Wade Boggs, and Paul O’Neill alongside up-and-comers like Bernie Williams, the team’s most
valuable position player was a much less heralded player who, at the age of 30, was getting the chance to start full-time for the first time in his career.
Robert Michael Stanley
Born: June 25, 1963 (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Yankees Tenure: 1992-95, 1997
Mike Stanley grew up in Florida, where he starred on both sides of the ball at the University of Florida, earning all-scholastic SEC team honors. Taken by Texas in the 16th round of the 1985 MLB Draft, the catcher quickly rose through the Rangers’ system, hitting .327 across three levels of the minor leagues to turn himself into a legitimate prospect. Stanley made his debut on the day before his 23rd birthday in 1986 and the future looked bright.
However, he struggled to translate his offensive profile into big-league success. Over parts of six seasons, he never held down a regular job while posting a subpar .699 OPS. “I never knew until about the last day (of spring training) whether I had a job,” said Stanley of this frustrating period. Things got bad enough that he considered walking away from the game altogether. “I love fishing,” he later said. “I thought I might open a tackle shop.”
The Rangers did not offer Stanley a contract after the 1991 season, letting him become a free agent. With his career on the brink, Michael offered him an opportunity as a non-roster invitee to compete in Yankees camp for a backup role behind Matt Nokes. The legendary talent evaluator saw enough in the consistent, “quality at-bat” and ability to handle a pitching staff Stanley demonstrated with Texas. “I made calls around to ask people I respect about him, and I liked what I heard,” said the Yankees GM of the fortuitous decision.
Stanley indeed won a role with the ’92 Yankees and began to show some offensive upside, hitting a career-high eight homers in just 173 at-bats while posting an .800 OPS. He also contributed positively to the clubhouse culture, making “gooners” t-shirts for himself, Pat Kelly, Mike Gallego, Jim Leyritz, and Randy Velarde to wear in a tongue-in-cheek embrace of their roles as part-time players.
That performance was enough to net Stanley a two-year extension after the season, giving him some welcome stability for the first time in his career. “When you’re not a superstar and not one of the top five players in the game, you feel fortunate to be in the majors,” Stanley said upon receiving the deal. “I think you sit back and appreciate it more when you’ve been the 25th man. I know I do.”
Expected to serve as a backup once again, Stanley quickly overtook a struggling Nokes and ended up playing in 130 games, by far the most of his career. He emerged suddenly and unexpectedly as one of the best offensive catchers in baseball, slashing .305/.389/.534 with 26 homers and 84 RBI while leading Yankees regulars in everything from WAR to OPS and OPS+ and earning a Silver Slugger.
Even the man himself was caught off guard by his sudden dominance. “There is no explaining it. I never hit like this on the big-league level,” said Stanley. ”I feel good, don’t feel any extra pressure. I feel I belong.”
His manager agreed. “Mike Stanley exemplifies what in a lot of ways our team is about this year,” said Showalter. “He’s a gamer.”
Entering the ’94 season with higher expectations, Stanley proved his first season as a starter was no fluke, once again hitting .300 and improving on his OPS in the strike-shortened season. By the time baseball returned in ’95, Stanley was firmly entrenched in the middle of the Yankees’ order, making his first and only All-Star. In the first game of a doubleheader on August 10th, he set career-highs against the Cleveland team that would romp to the pennant, clobbering three homers and driving in seven runs.
That October, Stanley joined most of his teammates in seeing the first playoff action of his career. He rose to the challenge against Seattle, recording at least one hit in each of the four ALDS games in which he played. He particularly shone as a bright spot in his team’s losses, reaching base in six of his 14 plate appearances in Games 3-5.
The Yankees’ heartbreaking first-round exit prompted many changes before the ’96 season. Michael and Showalter were out at GM and manager, with Bob Watson and Joe Torre taking their places. With Stanley a free agent and his greatest internal champions no longer calling the shots, the new administration chose to trade for the more defensively sound Joe Girardi to man the backstop and let Stanley walk.
Stanley signed with the Red Sox that offseason and was magnanimous after his departure, offering his best wishes to Girardi when the latter was booed at a fan festival by Yankees fans upset with Stanley’s departure. “I appreciate immensely the fanfare I had in New York,” Stanley said. “But it’s not (Girardi’s) fault. What’s done is done. It’s time for me to move on and for him to come in and do a job for them.”
Perhaps in part due to the grace with which he handled his exit, Stanley had a brief second act in pinstripes. To augment an aging roster at first base and DH, Watson traded for Stanley in August of 1997 in what would be the last trade between the Yankees and Red Sox for 17 years. So beloved was Stanley among his former teammates that Wade Boggs and Paul O’Neill had made sure his locker, situated between theirs, remained empty after his departure. With his locker reclaimed, Stanley posted an .871 OPS in 28 games before going 3-for-4 during another futile ALDS tilt, this time at the hands of Cleveland.
Despite Watson expressing an interest in retaining Stanley, he signed with Toronto that offseason. He’d play three more seasons, splitting time between the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Athletics before retiring at the age of 37. The 16th-rounder who didn’t earn a regular role until the age of 30 ended his career with 1,138 hits and 187 home runs to go with a sterling .827 OPS.
After hanging up his spikes, Stanley briefly served as a bench coach for Boston in 2002 before retiring to Florida for good. He remains a fan favorite among the Yankees faithful for his underdog narrative, prowess on both sides of the ball, and reliability during a time when baseball in the Bronx became exciting again. Please join us in wishing a very happy 63rd birthday to Mike Stanley.
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