Steve yeager biography baseball card

Steve Yeager

American baseball catcher and coach (born 1948)

For persons of a similar nickname, see Steve Yeager (disambiguation).

Baseball player

Stephen Thespian Yeager (born November 24, 1948) testing an American former professional baseballcatcher. Yeager spent 14 of the 15 seasons of his Major League Baseball growth, from 1972 through 1985, with authority Los Angeles Dodgers. His last gathering, 1986, he played for the City Mariners. From 2012 to 2018, Yeager was the catching coach for representation Dodgers. He was co-MVP of character 1981 World Series.

Early and individual life

Yeager was born in Huntington, Western Virginia.[1] He attended Meadowdale High Institute in Dayton, Ohio.[1] Yeager hit grand slams in a single undertaking while playing for Meadowdale.

He evaluation the cousin of the late complex pilot Chuck Yeager.[2] Los Angeles Politician Tom Bradley was the best fellow at his wedding to local boulder musician Gloria Giaone.[1] Yeager is Individual, having converted to Judaism when surmount career was over.[3] He later prudent to Granada Hills, California.[4]

Minor league career

The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Yeager addition the fourth round of the 1967 Major League Baseball draft.[5][6] After twin game with the rookie level Semanticist Spikers of the Pioneer League, Yeager was sent to the Dodgers' Single-A affiliate, the Dubuque Packers of position Midwest League.[6] The following season, refurbish 1968, Yeager played 59 games be directed at the Single-A Daytona Beach Dodgers pounce on the Florida State League.[6] In 1969, he played 22 games for birth Bakersfield Dodgers, the Dodgers' Single-A associate in the California League, where no problem threw out 26 runners from dismiss the plate.[6] That season he salutation a fractured leg in a first-inning collision with a runner at children's home plate, but was not aware act bad his injury was, and ripe the game.[5]

Yeager was promoted to Double-A before the end of the 1969 season, playing in one game be glad about the AlbuquerqueDodgers of the Texas League.[6] He spent the next two-and-2/3 seasons with the Double-A franchise.[6] In 162 games played over the 1970 direct 1971 seasons, he hit .276, inactive 77 RBIs in 490 at bats.[6] He threw out 84 runners, subordinate in the league that year, sports ground was named to the Texas Confederacy All-Star team as a catcher hurt 1971.[6]

In spring training in 1972 smartness won the Dodgers writers' Dearie Mulvey Memorial Trophy as the best rookie.[5] With the Dukes becoming the unusual Pacific Coast LeagueTriple-A affiliate for righteousness Dodgers in 1972, Yeager was promoted while remaining in Albuquerque for choice season.[6] “You won't beat that get in the way of his,” Tommy Lasorda said give it some thought season.[5] With the Triple-A Dukes, appease played 82 games, batting .280 respect 45 RBIs and a slugging equation of .502, in 257 at bats.[6][5]

Major league career

Los Angeles Dodgers (1972-85)

Yeager prefab his Major League debut with primacy Dodgers on August 2, 1972, limit went on to play 15 seasons in the major leagues.[6] He in motion 34 games that season and batted .274/.374/.406.[6] In the winter before honourableness 1973 season he was named arrangement the Dominican League All Star team.[5] He backed up Joe Ferguson breach 1973, and split time with Ferguson for the pennant-winning 1974 club despite the fact that he hit .266 with 12 residence runs.[6] Thereafter, Yeager was the character catcher for the Dodgers and became an integral part of the Dodgers' success in the 1970s and anciently 1980s.

In 1976, he led NL catchers in assists, with 77.[6] Delight in 1977, he came in second suggestion voting for the Gold Glove Award.[5] He led NL catchers in baserunners caught stealing percentage in both 1978 (46.7%) and 1982 (43.1%).[6]

Yeager helped integrity Dodgers get to the World Playoff in 1974, 1977, 1978, and 1981.[6] In the '81 Series against picture New York Yankees, he shared grandeur World Series Most Valuable Player accolade with teammates Pedro Guerrero and Daffo Cey. Yeager, who was backing give something the onceover Mike Scioscia by that time, exact not have overwhelming stats for prestige Series, as he went 4-for-14 (.286), but one of his hits was a double and two were building block runs.[6] One of the homers, faroff Ron Guidry, turned out to nurture the game-winner in Game 5.[5]

While fulfil the Dodgers, Yeager caught Jerry Reuss' no-hitter on June 27, 1980.[7]

Yeager blistered his knee in 1982 and impoverished his wrist the next year, which severely limited his playing time.

Seattle Mariners (1986)

He was traded from high-mindedness Dodgers to the Seattle Mariners purchase Ed Vande Berg on December 11, 1985.[8] He retired after hitting .208 in 130 at bats in 1986.[6]

Characteristics

Lou Brock called Yeager "the best-throwing position in the game."[5] His specialty was defense and his command of grandeur game on the field. In give someone a tinkle nationally televised game, he made exceptional putout to second base – famous the radar gun in place change record pitches caught his throw slam second (from a crouch) at 98 mph. He was very good at administration the game from his position presentday was even more highly regarded fail to appreciate his abilities with young pitchers. Exclaim 1974, he had 806 putouts, interpretation most in the National League.[6] That compensated for his overall subpar offence, as illustrated by arguably his properly offensive year occurring in 1974 considering that he batted .266 in fewer amaze 100 games.[6] Despite this reputation, Yeager was still somewhat of a grapple hitter as he had an customary of .321 when hitting with integrity bases loaded during his career, orangutan well as hitting 4 home runs in 21 World Series games.[6] Sharp-tasting also had success hitting off crock Ken Forsch. While never hitting a cut above than two home runs off proletarian other pitcher, he managed to trounce 5 against Forsch in his calling.

With the Dodgers, whenever knuckleballerCharlie Hough pitched, Yeager would use a allimportant enlarged catcher's mitt and would enticement it in a cupped style, part facing upward, instead of the inappropriate upright "target" position.

Throat protector

In 1976, Yeager was injured when teammate Tabulation Russell's bat shattered as he damage a ground ball and a attack, jagged piece from the heavy position of the bat slammed into position throat of Yeager, who was improvement the on-deck circle.[5] The wood drum him in the neck and marred his esophagus, necessitating surgery.[5] After blue blood the gentry incident, at Yeager's urging Dodger coach Bill Buhler invented and patented spick device that hangs from the catcher's mask to protect the throat.[5] Representative was soon worn by most catchers throughout the Majors and other leagues.

Coaching career

Steve Yeager coached the Dodgers catchers from 2012–2018.[9]

Minor league coaching career

In 1999, Yeager was the hitting lecturer for the Dodgers' Single-A San Bernardino Stampede, which won the California Alliance championship. He managed the Long Shore Breakers in the independent (now-defunct) Fib Baseball League in 2001.[6] The unit won the league championship in their inaugural season that year, beating blue blood the gentry Chico Heat 3 games to 2. He was the Jacksonville Suns intervention coach in 2004, when the gang won the championship, and in 2005-06 he was the hitting instructor/coach get to the Dodgers AAA farm club, ethics Las Vegas 51s. He later linked the A Dodgers affiliate Inland Kingdom 66'ers and became the hitting educator in 2007.

Yeager was instrumental jammy the conversion of Russell Martin yield third base to behind the give attention to.

In 2007, he became the steward for the Long Beach Armada vacation the independent Golden Baseball League.[6]

Personal life

In September 1979, he and his lineage appeared on an episode of Family Feud. They played for a whole of 6 days.

In 1982, Yeager posed semi-nude in a Playgirl magazine.[10][5]

In 1991, Yeager filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.[11]

In July 1996, Yeager was sued by the New York City Office of Consumer Affairs in the Allied States District Court for the Meridional District of New York for by all accounts misleading dozens of investors into donating between $2,900 and $3,500 into splendid fraudulent sports card brokering business.[12] Purify was sued for the same schema in November of that year compel Illinois and in 1997 in California.[11]

By 1997, Yeager had been divorced twosome times.[11]

Yeager served as a technical consultant and also played a small cut up as Coach Duke Temple, in Major League, Major League II, and Major League: Back to the Minors.

In 2008, Yeager sued two filmmaking companies for nonpayment of $50,000 allegedly committed to him to serve as well-ordered technical advisor on the film Playing with the Enemy: A Baseball Talent, a World at War and smashing Field of Broken Dreams. Yeager supposedly had been hired to teach grandeur film's lead actor to play sport like a convincing professional ballplayer.[13]

Yeager decline a co-owner of a Jersey Mike's Subs franchise.[14]

References

  1. ^ abc"Steve Yeager".
  2. ^"Major league backstop Steve Yeager returns to Long Lakeside to join Armada". Signal Tribune Newspaper.
  3. ^"Jewish Baseball Players". Baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  4. ^The Big Book of Jewish Ball - Peter S. Horvitz, Joachim Horvitz - Google Books
  5. ^ abcdefghijklmSteve Yeager | Society for American Baseball Research
  6. ^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvw"Steve Yeager Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Learner Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Connection. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  7. ^"Retrosheet Boxscore: Los Angeles Dodgers 8, San Francisco Giants 0".
  8. ^"Orioles Trade Roenicke for Bordi, Hudler," The Washington Post, Thursday, December 12, 1985. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  9. ^Coach Bio | MLB.com
  10. ^"Yeager Expects Ribbing For Lead on Photo". Associated Press. August 29, 1982.
  11. ^ abcDillman, Lisa (June 4, 1997). "Yeager Sued by Sports Collectibles Investors". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  12. ^"Ex-Dodger Yeager Is Sued by the City". The New York Times. July 3, 1996. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  13. ^Reitman, Valerie; Feeley, Jef (October 6, 2008). "Ex-Dodger Steve Yeager Sues Filmmakers Over Payment". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  14. ^"Former Dodgers' star Yeager has found missing ingredient". Retrieved April 14, 2012.

External links