Steve Balboni
Looking more like a teamster than a ballplayer, Steve Balboni was a power-hitting first baseman for a brief period in the 1980s, once he was given a chance to play regularly by the Kansas City Royals. Originally drafted by the New York Yankees, the muscular right-handed slugger never cracked their star-studded veteran lineup and was dealt to the Royals in 1983. He was the cleanup man and one true slugger on Kansas City's 1985 World Championship team.
Played For
New York Yankees (1981-1983)
Kansas City Royals (1984-1988)
Seattle Mariners (1988)
New York Yankees (1989-1990)
Texas Rangers (1993)
Minor League Experience
Balboni won the minor league player of the year award twice in the Yankees organization: in 1979 with the Columbus Clippers, again in 1980 for Columbus, and in 1993 for the Ranger's Oklahoma City 89ers.
Best Season: 1985
Balboni, who was essentially a one-dimensional player, was critical to the Royals success in '85. As the team was battling for the AL West title, he hit nine homers down the stretch, many of them in close games. He played in all but two games, and improved his play at first base. In the playoffs against Toronto he struggled at the plate, but he did supply some timely hits in the World Series victory, batting .320 in the seven games. For the season, he slugged 36 homers and drove in 88 runs.
Factoids
In four seasons in the Yankees minor league system, from 1979-1982, Steve Balboni slugged 152 homers and led his league in that category each year.
Description
Steve Balboni was the prototypical streak-hitting slugger. When he was on, he could carry the team for a week at a time, blasting towering home runs. When he was in a funk, which came much too often to keep his batting average above .225, he was dismal. He was never much of an RBI-man, usually driving in most of his runs with the dinger.
Born
Stephen Charles Balboni was born on January 16, 1957, in Brockton, MA.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Primary Position: 1B
Primary Team: NYA
College: Eckerd
Major League Debut
April 22, 1981
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1981
Cal Ripken Jr.
Gary Gaetti
Chili Davis
Brett Butler
Ryne Sandberg
Steve Bedrosian
Tom Brunansky
Kent Hrbek
Steve Sax
Nicknames
Bye-Bye
Similar Players
Dave Kingman, Ron Kittle, Gorman Thomas
Post-Season Appearances
1984 American League Championship Series
1985 American League Championship Series
1985 World Series
Feats
Balboni once struck out in 13 consecutive games, from August 23 to September 5, 1986. Over that span he batted .216 with 21 K's in 52 trips to the plate.
Transactions
June 6, 1978: Drafted by the New York Yankees in the 2nd round of the 1978 amateur draft.
December 8, 1983: Traded by the New York Yankees with Roger Erickson to the Kansas City Royals for Mike Armstrong and Duane Dewey (minors).
December 22, 1986: Released by the Kansas City Royals.
February 25, 1987: Signed as a Free Agent with the Kansas City Royals.
December 21, 1987: Released by the Kansas City Royals.
February 18, 1988: Signed as a Free Agent with the Kansas City Royals.
May 27, 1988: Released by the Kansas City Royals.
June 1, 1988: Signed as a Free Agent with the Seattle Mariners.
March 27, 1989: Traded by the Seattle Mariners to the New York Yankees for Dana Ridenour (minors).
April 1, 1991: Released by the New York Yankees.
June 2, 1991: Signed as a Free Agent with the Texas Rangers.
October 15, 1991: Granted Free Agency.
March 28, 1992: Signed as a Free Agent with the Texas Rangers.
October 15, 1992: Granted Free Agency.
February 8, 1993: Signed as a Free Agent with the Texas Rangers.
October 4, 1993: Granted Free Agency.
January 27, 1994: Signed as a Free Agent with the Kansas City Royals.
Home Run Facts
153 of Balboni's 181 career homers came with the bases empty or just one runner on base... He never hit three home runs in a game, and hit two homers 12 times... He hit five off lefty Frank Tanana, his most off one pitcher... Balboni hit four grand slams, one off Tanana, one against Jose Roman, one off Bert Blyleven, and the final one off southpaw Frank Viola, as a member of the Yankees.
Replaced
KV first baseman Willie Aikens, who was convicted on drug charges.
Replaced By
Back with the Yankees in the late 1980s, Balboni was their main designated hitter for parts of two seasons. He was released just prior to the start of the 1991 season, ironically to make room for a young Yankee prospect who had many of the same skills as he had a decade earlier (but never got the chance in the Bronx) - Kevin Maas.
Best Strength as a Player
Power
Largest Weakness as a Player
Making contact
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