The Official New York Yankees Thread

#5,705
#5,705
ESPN did a biggest one-hit wonders for every team. The first name that came to mind for me was Shane Spencer.

Kevin Maas (1990)

Stats: .252/.367/.535, 21 HR, 41 RBIs, 1.2 WAR

Maybe there were better one-year wonders in franchise history than Maas, but ask any Yankees fan over the age of 25 to name one and 99.9% of them will mention Maas. Really, it was more like a half-year wonder. In the midst of the worst Yankees season since 1913 -- they would finish 67-95 -- Maas came up in late June 1990 to replace Deion Sanders on the roster and fill in for an injured Don Mattingly at first base, and immediately started mashing home runs to provide a beacon of hope. In his first 30 games (27 starts), Maas hit .292/.398/.688 with 12 home runs.

"The brightest new player on the Yankees, and, conceivably, the start of something big," a New York Times columnist wrote in August. "He is 25 years old, has a lean, boyish face that looks almost small under the long bill of his cap, wide blue eyes, a thin waist, sizable biceps and a compact, lovely, lethal swing that has produced 15 home runs in eight weeks."

That age should have been a giveaway that perhaps Maas wasn't quite the real deal. Yes, sometimes a player develops late -- think of somebody like Josh Donaldson among current players -- but Maas had been a 22nd-round pick and was hardly a top prospect (although he was hitting .320 at Triple-A when he was called up). He simply ran into a hot streak at the start of his career, creating the unrealistic idea that he might even be the next Mattingly. Instead, he hit .220 in 1991, .248 in 1992 and by 1993 was back in the minors. The Yankees released him in spring training in 1994.

"I wish I knew what happened," general manager Gene Michael said.

"As far as what happened to Kevin, that's a puzzle," manager Buck Showalter said.

"Maybe the expectations were too high," Maas said.
 
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#5,720
#5,720
Glad to see they added the young flame throwers to the taxi squad. Will be a good experience for them.
 
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