Kevin Maas

Last updated

Kevin Maas
Designated hitter / First baseman
Born: (1965-01-20) January 20, 1965 (age 59)
Castro Valley, California, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
Professional debut
MLB: June 29, 1990, for the New York Yankees
NPB: June 30, 1996, for the Hanshin Tigers
Last appearance
MLB: June 20, 1995, for the Minnesota Twins
NPB: October 9, 1996, for the Hanshin Tigers

Kevin Christian Maas (born January 20, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball player. Originally viewed as a top prospect for the New York Yankees he was unable to replicate the success of his rookie year and played for two major league ballclubs over five years.

Contents

Professional career

The New York Yankees selected Maas in the 22nd round of the 1986 draft after attending the University of California. He made his major league debut for the Yankees on June 29, 1990 when they called him up from the Columbus Clippers. It was hoped that he would be the heir to Don Mattingly. His first Major League hit was a single off Jack McDowell.

He started his big league career on a tear, setting a record for the fewest at bats (72) to hit 10 home runs (since broken by Shane Spencer in 1998). [1] [2] He also set a record for fastest rookie to 13 and 15 with 110 and 133 at-bats, thirteen fewer than Sam Horn took to reach 13 and two fewer than Wally Berger took to reach 15. [3] [4] [5] He was helped by a three-game series at Texas when he homered in each game of the series. At the end of the 1990 season, Maas had hit 21 home runs in 79 games and he finished second in The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award voting to Sandy Alomar Jr. of the Cleveland Indians.

Maas was a left-handed batter. As a result, many of his home runs went into the right field stands. About halfway through the season a group of a dozen or so young ladies began wearing "Maas-tops" to the Yankees home games and sitting in the right field stands. Whenever Maas hit a home run to right, the girls would get up, remove their tops and jump up and down until Maas finished circling the bases. [6]

The following season he served as the Yankees designated hitter and occasional fill-in for Mattingly at first base. Even though he played in 148 games, his sophomore season was not as successful as his first. He did hit 23 home runs (in 500 at bats), but hit just .220 with 128 strikeouts.

By 1992, Maas was shuffling back and forth between the major and minor leagues. He was released by the Yankees in 1994. He bounced around between San Diego, Cincinnati, and Minnesota. He briefly returned to the majors in 1995 with Minnesota. Maas then signed with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan's Central League in 1996 to replace Glenn Davis. His ouendan theme with the Tigers was similar to club legend Randy Bass, due to their similarities in name, but the Tigers ouendan stopped using it when Maas was nowhere near the level of Bass.

Personal life

As of 2008, Maas works at Charles Schwab as a financial consultant in his hometown of Castro Valley, California. He is divorced and has a daughter named Lacey and a son named Christian. He is regularly invited to Old-Timers' Day at the Yankee Stadium and participated in the 2008, 2011, and 2017 games. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Mattingly</span> American baseball player and coach (born 1961)

Donald Arthur Mattingly is an American professional baseball coach, and former first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays of MLB. Nicknamed "the Hit Man" and "Donnie Baseball", he spent his entire 14-year MLB playing career with the New York Yankees and later managed the Los Angeles Dodgers for five years and the Miami Marlins for seven years.

Richard Stephen "Bubba" Crosby is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees from 2003 to 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcus Thames</span> American baseball player and coach (born 1977)

Marcus Markley Thames is an American professional baseball player and baseball coach. He played for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left fielder and designated hitter from 2002 through 2011. He coached with the Yankees from 2016 through 2021, the Miami Marlins in 2022 and the Los Angeles Angels in 2023. He is currently the hitting coach for the Chicago White Sox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Phelps</span> American baseball player (born 1954)

Kenneth Allen Phelps is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman. He played for six different Major League Baseball (MLB) teams from 1980 to 1990, primarily with the Seattle Mariners. Baseball statistician Bill James cited Phelps as an example of a player who is unfairly denied a chance to play in the majors, despite compiling strong minor league statistics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane Spencer</span> American baseball player and manager

Michael Shane Spencer is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played a total of 538 games in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, and New York Mets, compiling 438 hits, 59 home runs, and 242 runs batted in. He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Hanshin Tigers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delmon Young</span> American baseball player (born 1985)

Delmon Damarcus Young is an American former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies, and Baltimore Orioles. He is the younger brother of former major league outfielder and first baseman Dmitri Young. He was the first-overall pick in the 2003 MLB draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Easler</span> American baseball player (born 1950)

Michael Anthony Easler, nicknamed "the Hit Man", is an American former professional baseball outfielder, designated hitter, and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, California Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Philadelphia Phillies, from 1973 to 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Hegan</span> American baseball player (1942–2013)

James Michael Hegan was an American professional baseball player, who later worked as a sports commentator. In Major League Baseball (MLB) he was a first baseman and outfielder, and played for three different American League (AL) franchises between 1964 and 1977. He was the son of longtime Cleveland Indians catcher Jim Hegan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Johnson (1930s outfielder)</span> American baseball player

Roy Cleveland Johnson was an American left fielder and right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Detroit Tigers (1929–32), Boston Red Sox (1932–35), New York Yankees (1936–37) and Boston Bees (1937–38). A native of Pryor, Oklahoma, who grew up in Tacoma, Washington, he was the elder brother of "Indian Bob" Johnson, also a major league outfielder. The Johnson brothers were one-quarter Cherokee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Revering</span> American baseball player (born 1953)

David Alvin Revering is an American former professional baseball player. He appeared in 557 games as a first baseman, designated hitter and pinch hitter in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1982 for four American League teams. He batted left-handed and threw right handed, and was listed as 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall and 210 pounds (95 kg).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Paschal</span> American baseball player (1895-1974)

Benjamin Edwin Paschal was an American baseball outfielder who played eight seasons in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1929, mostly for the New York Yankees. After two "cup of coffee" stints with the Cleveland Indians in 1915 and the Boston Red Sox in 1920, Paschal spent most of his career as the fourth outfielder and right-handed pinch hitter of the Yankees' Murderers' Row championship teams of the late 1920s. Paschal is best known for hitting .360 in the 1925 season while standing in for Babe Ruth, who missed the first 40 games with a stomach ailment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 New York Yankees season</span> Season for the Major League Baseball team the New York Yankees

The 2007 New York Yankees season was the Yankees' 105th. The season started with the Yankees trying to win the American League East championship, a title they had won every season since the 1998 season, but ultimately they came in second place to the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees instead won the American League wild card, beating out the Seattle Mariners and the Detroit Tigers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Long (baseball)</span> American baseball coach (born 1966)

Kevin Richard Long is an American former minor league baseball player and the current hitting coach for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has formerly served as the hitting coach for the New York Yankees (2007–14), New York Mets (2015–17) and Washington Nationals (2018–21).

The 1984 New York Yankees season was the 82nd season for the Yankees. The team finished in third place in the American League Eastern Division with a record of 87–75, finishing 17 games behind the Detroit Tigers. New York was managed by Yogi Berra. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium.

The 1986 New York Yankees season was the 84th season for the Yankees. The team finished with a record of 90–72, finishing in second-place, 5.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox. New York was managed by Lou Piniella. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium.

The 1987 New York Yankees season was the 85th season for the Yankees. The team finished in fourth place with a record of 89–73, finishing 9 games behind the Detroit Tigers. New York was managed by Lou Piniella. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium.

The 1990 New York Yankees season was the 88th season for the Yankees. The team finished in seventh place in the American League East with a record of 67–95, finishing 21 games behind the Boston Red Sox. It was the Yankees' first last-place finish in 24 years, their most losses in a season since 1912, and their most recent last-place finish to date. New York was managed by Stump Merrill and Bucky Dent. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium.

The 1994 New York Yankees season was the 92nd season for the Yankees. New York was managed by Buck Showalter and played at Yankee Stadium. The season was cut short by the 1994 player's strike, which wiped out any postseason aspirations for their first postseason appearance since losing the 1981 World Series and any postseason aspirations that their star player and captain, Don Mattingly, had for the first time in his career. On the day the strike began, the team had a record of 70–43, 6+1⁄2 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles, the best record in the American League and the second-best record in Major League Baseball. The Yankees were on pace to win at least 100 games for the first time since 1980. The Yankees' ace, 33-year-old veteran Jimmy Key, was leading the majors with 17 wins and was on pace to win 24 games. Right fielder Paul O'Neill was also having a career year, as he was leading the league with a .359 batting average.

The 2011 New York Yankees season was the 109th season for the New York Yankees franchise. The Yankees began the season at home against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, March 31. The Yankees clinched a playoff berth in the first game of a doubleheader on September 21, and clinched the American League East title in the second game. The Yankees season ended on October 6 when they lost a deciding Game 5 of the 2011 American League Division Series to the Detroit Tigers 3–2. It was the first time since 2007 that the Yankees lost an elimination game at home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Judge</span> American baseball player (born 1992)

Aaron James Judge is an American professional baseball outfielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). A six-time MLB All-Star and two-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) winner, Judge set the AL record for most home runs in a season with 62, breaking the 61-year-old record held by Roger Maris. He stands 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) tall and weighs 282 pounds (128 kg), making him one of the tallest and largest players in MLB.

References

  1. ↑ Sexton, Joe (August 7, 1990). "Gloom Lifts as Maas Hits His 11th Homer". The New York Times . Retrieved January 10, 2011.
  2. ↑ Martinez, Michael (August 3, 1990). "BASEBALL; Lemon's Triple in 14th Lifts Tigers Past Yanks". The New York Times . Retrieved January 10, 2011.
  3. ↑ Martinez, Michael (August 12, 1990). "BASEBALL; A'S CONTINUE DOMINATION OF YANKEES". The New York Times . Retrieved January 10, 2011.
  4. ↑ Berkow, Ira (August 23, 1990). "SPORTS OF THE TIMES; A Story Of a Pair Of Eras". The New York Times . Retrieved January 10, 2011.
  5. ↑ Sexton, Joe (August 21, 1990). "Yanks Top Blue Jays In 11 on Espinoza Hit". The New York Times . Retrieved January 10, 2011.
  6. 1 2 McCarron, Anthony (October 4, 2008). "Where are they now? Former Yankee Kevin Maas is a solid investment". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.