Willie Randolph
| Birthdate | 7/6/1954 |
| Death Date | |
| Debut Year | 1975 |
| Year of Induction | |
| Teams | Athletics, Brewers, Dodgers, Mets, Pirates, Yankees |
| Positions | Manager, Second Base |
Upon his retirement Willie Randolph ranked 5th in games played at 2B, 9th in putouts, 7th in assists, 8th in total chances, & 3rd in double plays.
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Team captain Randolph has a plaque at Yankee Stadium's Monument Park
Team captain Randolph has a plaque at Yankee Stadium's Monument Park
The New York Yankees are the most successful team in the history of Major League Baseball. By the time Willie Randolph joined them after the 1975 season, the Yanks were 20-time World Series champions.
Despite this, before Randolph arrived, the Yankees hadn’t won a title in since 1962. An all star in his first season in New York, Randolph helped the Yankees reach the Fall Classic in a losing effort against the Reds.
The next two seasons New York broke through, beating the Dodgers in back-to-back Fall Classics. In his 13 seasons with the Yankees, Randolph played in five All Star games and helped the team reach the postseason five times.
In 1986 he was named co-captain of the Yankees with pitcher Ron Guidry. He remained at the post until signing with the Dodgers in December, 1988. His final all star campaign came in Los Angeles.
In the collection is this limousine receipt signed by Randolph on January 27, 2008. That night Randolph went to the BBWAA’s annual awards dinner. The limo fare took him to the event held at the New York Hilton Midtown on 53rd and 6th Avenue.
A similar receipt is on Dustin Pedroia’s page on this site. The Boston second sacker attended the dinner to pick up the Rookie of the Year Award.
Willie Randolph's career stats compare nicely to Cooperstown second basemen
Willie Randolph's career stats compare nicely to Cooperstown second basemen
Willie Randolph played 21 seasons of professional baseball. Eighteen of those year he spent in the big leagues. The second baseman played in six All Star Games and won two World Series championships.
By the time he hung up his spikes, Randolph amassed 2,210 hits, 1,239 runs, and a .373 on-base percentage. His numbers compare favorably with many Cooperstown men at his position.
Randolph’s hit total is more than man second basemen already enshrined including Bobby Doerr, Johnny Evers, Joe Gordon, Tony Lazzeri, Bill Mazeroski, and Ryne Sandberg. Of the 20 Hall of Fame second basemen, ten scored less runs than Randolph. Twelve Hall of Fame second basemen finished their careers with a lower on-base percentage.
His 65.5 career WAR is better than 10 Hall of Fame second basemen. His dWAR of 20.2 is higher than all but four Cooperstown second sackers – Mazeroski, Gordon, Frank Frisch, and Nellie Fox.
Despite this, Randolph is rarely mentioned in the Cooperstown discussion.
In the collection is this Milwaukee Brewers lineup card from May 17, 1991. It is signed at the bottom by manager Tom Trebelhorn who penciled Randolph into the 7th spot in the order.
The second basemen went 1-for-5 in the 7-5 win over the Royals. His one-out single in the tenth was the 2,019th hit of his career. The total tied him on the all-time list with Hall of Fame outfielder Earl Averill.
The game was also remarkable for Randolph’s Milwaukee teammate Robin Yount who hit his 506th career double. That moved him into a tie with the great Babe Ruth on the all-time list. Yount finished his career in 1993 with 583 doubles, well past Ruth’s total. Notice Robin’s autograph and inscription on the lineup card.
