# 1991 New York Yankees season

The 1991 New York Yankees season was the 89th season for the Yankees. The team finished with a record of 71–91 finishing 20 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays. New York was managed by Stump Merrill. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium.

## Offseason

* October 5, 1990: Wayne Tolleson was released by the New York Yankees.
* November 19, 1990: Tim Leary was signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees.
* December 3, 1990: Frank Seminara was drafted by the San Diego Padres from the New York Yankees in the 1990 rule 5 draft.
* December 31, 1990: Scott Sanderson was purchased by the New York Yankees from the Oakland Athletics.
* January 13, 1991: Rick Cerone was released by the New York Yankees.
* March 19, 1991: Torey Lovullo was traded by the Detroit Tigers to the New York Yankees for Mark Leiter.

## Regular season

* Steve Sax led the Yankees with a .304 batting average, 198 hits, 85 runs, and 38 doubles.
* April 11, 1991 – Roberto Kelly had 5 RBI in a game versus the Detroit Tigers.
* June 23, 1991 – Roberto Kelly had 5 hits in a game versus the eventual World Champion Minnesota Twins.

### Season standings

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 91 | 71 | .562 | — | 46‍–‍35 | 45‍–‍36 |
| Boston Red Sox | 84 | 78 | .519 | 7 | 43‍–‍38 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Detroit Tigers | 84 | 78 | .519 | 7 | 49‍–‍32 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 83 | 79 | .512 | 8 | 43‍–‍37 | 40‍–‍42 |
| New York Yankees | 71 | 91 | .438 | 20 | 39‍–‍42 | 32‍–‍49 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 67 | 95 | .414 | 24 | 33‍–‍48 | 34‍–‍47 |
| Cleveland Indians | 57 | 105 | .352 | 34 | 30‍–‍52 | 27‍–‍53 |

### Record vs. opponents

1991 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 8–5 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 3–10 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 3–9 | 4–8 | 9–3 | 5–8 |
| Boston | 5–8 | — | 4–8 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 5–7 | 9–4 |
| California | 6–6 | 8–4 | — | 8–5 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 1–12 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 8–4 | 5–7 | 5–8 | — | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Cleveland | 6–7 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 6–6 | — | 7–6 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 2–10 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 2–10 | 4–8 | 1–12 |
| Detroit | 8–5 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 6–7 | — | 8–4 | 4–9 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
| Kansas City | 8–4 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 4–8 | — | 9–3 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 7–6 | 5–7 |
| Milwaukee | 10–3 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–5 | 9–4 | 3–9 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 6–7 |
| Minnesota | 8–4 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 6–6 | — | 10–2 | 8–5 | 9–4 | 6–7 | 4–8 |
| New York | 8–5 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 2–10 | — | 6–6 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 6–7 |
| Oakland | 9–3 | 4–8 | 12–1 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 6–6 | — | 6–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 |
| Seattle | 8–4 | 3–9 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 10–2 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 9–3 | 4–9 | 9–3 | 7–6 | — | 5–8 | 5–7 |
| Texas | 3–9 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 8–5 | — | 6–6 |
| Toronto | 8–5 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 12–1 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | — |

### Detailed records

American League :
| Opponent | W | L | WP | RS | RA |
| AL East |||||||
| Baltimore Orioles | 8 | 5 | 0.615 | 59 | 55 |
| Boston Red Sox | 7 | 6 | 0.538 | 55 | 53 |
| Cleveland Indians | 7 | 6 | 0.538 | 54 | 42 |
| Detroit Tigers | 5 | 8 | 0.385 | 69 | 77 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 7 | 6 | 0.538 | 61 | 64 |
| New York Yankees | | | | | |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 6 | 7 | 0.462 | 50 | 57 |
| Total | 40 | 38 | 0.513 | 348 | 348 |
| AL West |||||||
| California Angels | 6 | 6 | 0.500 | 48 | 64 |
| Chicago White Sox | 4 | 8 | 0.333 | 52 | 77 |
| Kansas City Royals | 5 | 7 | 0.417 | 46 | 59 |
| Minnesota Twins | 2 | 10 | 0.167 | 46 | 64 |
| Oakland Athletics | 6 | 6 | 0.500 | 56 | 59 |
| Seattle Mariners | 3 | 9 | 0.250 | 32 | 43 |
| Texas Rangers | 5 | 7 | 0.417 | 46 | 63 |
| Total | 31 | 53 | 0.369 | 326 | 429 |
| Season Total | 71 | 91 | 0.438 | 674 | 777 |
| Month | Games | Won | Lost | Win % | RS | RA |
| April | 17 | 6 | 11 | 0.353 | 79 | 93 |
| May | 27 | 14 | 13 | 0.519 | 111 | 107 |
| June | 27 | 13 | 14 | 0.481 | 123 | 122 |
| July | 26 | 13 | 13 | 0.500 | 109 | 121 |
| August | 31 | 12 | 19 | 0.387 | 137 | 183 |
| September | 28 | 9 | 19 | 0.321 | 85 | 126 |
| October | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0.667 | 30 | 25 |
| Total | 162 | 71 | 91 | 0.438 | 674 | 777 |
| | Games | Won | Lost | Win % | RS | RA |
| Home | 81 | 39 | 42 | 0.481 | 356 | 380 |
| Away | 81 | 32 | 49 | 0.395 | 318 | 397 |
| Total | 162 | 71 | 91 | 0.438 | 674 | 777 |

### Notable transactions

* April 1, 1991: Steve Balboni was released by the New York Yankees.
* April 5, 1991: Scott Lusader was selected off waivers by the New York Yankees from the Detroit Tigers.
* May 9, 1991: Andy Hawkins was released by the New York Yankees.
* May 17, 1991: Mike Blowers was traded by the New York Yankees to the Seattle Mariners for a player to be named later and cash. The Seattle Mariners sent Jim Blueberg (minors) (June 22, 1991) to the New York Yankees to complete the trade.
* May 25, 1991: Andy Pettite was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent.

#### Draft picks

* With the first overall pick in the MLB draft, the New York Yankees selected Brien Taylor. He was a left-handed pitcher from Beaufort, North Carolina who competed at East Carteret High School.

##### Notable draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Amateur Club |
| 5 | 126 | Lyle Mouton | OF | Louisiana State University |
| 9 | 230 | Keith Garagozzo | LHP | University of Delaware |

### Roster
## Player stats
### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Matt Nokes | 135 | 456 | 122 | .268 | 24 | 77 |
| 1B | Don Mattingly | 152 | 587 | 169 | .288 | 9 | 68 |
| 2B | Steve Sax | 158 | 652 | 198 | .304 | 10 | 56 |
| 3B | Pat Kelly | 96 | 298 | 72 | .242 | 3 | 23 |
| SS | Álvaro Espinoza | 148 | 480 | 123 | .256 | 5 | 33 |
| LF | Mel Hall | 141 | 492 | 140 | .285 | 19 | 80 |
| CF | Bernie Williams | 85 | 320 | 76 | .238 | 3 | 34 |
| RF | Jesse Barfield | 84 | 284 | 64 | .225 | 17 | 48 |
| DH | Kevin Maas | 148 | 500 | 110 | .220 | 23 | 63 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg.= Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Roberto Kelly | 126 | 486 | 130 | .267 | 20 | 69 |
| Hensley Meulens | 96 | 288 | 64 | .222 | 6 | 29 |
| Randy Velarde | 80 | 184 | 45 | .245 | 1 | 15 |
| Bob Geren | 64 | 128 | 28 | .219 | 2 | 12 |
| Pat Sheridan | 62 | 113 | 23 | .204 | 4 | 7 |
| Jim Leyritz | 32 | 77 | 14 | .182 | 0 | 4 |
| Torey Lovullo | 22 | 51 | 9 | .176 | 0 | 2 |
| Mike Humphreys | 25 | 40 | 8 | .200 | 0 | 3 |
| Carlos Rodríguez | 15 | 37 | 7 | .189 | 0 | 2 |
| Mike Blowers | 15 | 35 | 7 | .200 | 1 | 1 |
| John Ramos | 10 | 26 | 8 | .308 | 0 | 3 |
| Scott Lusader | 11 | 7 | 1 | .143 | 0 | 1 |

### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Scott Sanderson | 34 | 208.0 | 16 | 10 | 3.81 | 130 |
| Jeff Johnson | 23 | 127.0 | 6 | 11 | 5.95 | 62 |
| Wade Taylor | 23 | 116.1 | 7 | 12 | 6.27 | 72 |
| Pascual Pérez | 14 | 73.2 | 2 | 4 | 3.18 | 41 |
| Dave Eiland | 18 | 72.2 | 2 | 5 | 5.33 | 18 |
| Scott Kamieniecki | 9 | 55.1 | 4 | 4 | 3.90 | 34 |
| Chuck Cary | 10 | 53.1 | 1 | 6 | 5.91 | 34 |
| Andy Hawkins | 4 | 12.2 | 0 | 2 | 9.95 | 5 |
| Mike Witt | 2 | 5.1 | 0 | 1 | 10.13 | 0 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Tim Leary | 28 | 120.2 | 4 | 10 | 6.49 | 83 |
| Eric Plunk | 43 | 111.2 | 2 | 5 | 4.76 | 103 |
| Alan Mills | 6 | 16.1 | 1 | 1 | 4.41 | 11 |

##### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Steve Farr | 60 | 5 | 5 | 23 | 2.19 | 60 |
| Greg Cadaret | 68 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 3.62 | 105 |
| John Habyan | 66 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2.30 | 70 |
| Lee Guetterman | 64 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 3.68 | 35 |
| Steve Howe | 37 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1.68 | 34 |
| Rich Monteleone | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3.64 | 34 |
| Darrin Chapin | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.06 | 5 |
| Álvaro Espinoza | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Columbus Clippers | International League | Rick Down |
| AA | Albany-Colonie Yankees | Eastern League | Dan Radison |
| A | Prince William Cannons | Carolina League | Mike Hart |
| A | Fort Lauderdale Yankees | Florida State League | Glenn Sherlock |
| A | Greensboro Hornets | South Atlantic League | Trey Hillman |
| A-Short Season | Oneonta Yankees | New York–Penn League | Jack Gillis |
| Rookie | GCL Yankees | Gulf Coast League | Ken Dominguez |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Columbus, Albany-Colonie