# 1992 New York Yankees season

The 1992 New York Yankees season was the 90th season for the Yankees, their 69th at Yankee Stadium and their first under manager Buck Showalter. The team looked to improve their standings from 1991 when they finished fifth in the American League East with a 71–91 record.
The Yankees did improve their record by five games and finished tied for fourth place with the Cleveland Indians at 76–86, twenty games behind the eventual world champion Toronto Blue Jays. Nevertheless, the team finished with a losing record for the fourth consecutive year, with 86 being their fewest losses in that span. As of 2024, this is the last time that the Yankees have finished with a losing record.

## Offseason

* November 13, 1991: Ramiro Mendoza was signed as an amateur free agent by the Yankees.
* November 20, 1991: Eric Plunk was released by the New York Yankees.
* December 2, 1991: Bob Geren was selected off waivers from the Yankees by the Cincinnati Reds.
* January 6, 1992: Danny Tartabull was signed as a free agent with the Yankees.
* January 8, 1992: Darrin Chapin was traded by the Yankees to the Philadelphia Phillies for a player to be named later. The Phillies completed the deal by sending Charlie Hayes to the Yankees on February 19.
* January 9, 1992: Mike Gallego signed as a free agent with the Yankees.
* January 10, 1992: Steve Sax was traded by the Yankees to the Chicago White Sox for Bob Wickman, Domingo Jean and Mélido Pérez.

## Regular season

* On August 12, pitcher Scott Sanderson threw exactly three pitches and recorded three outs. This was accomplished in the fifth inning.
* J. T. Snow made his major league debut on September 20 against the Kansas City Royals. In five at bats he had no hits.

### Season standings

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 96 | 66 | .593 | — | 53‍–‍28 | 43‍–‍38 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 92 | 70 | .568 | 4 | 53‍–‍28 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 89 | 73 | .549 | 7 | 43‍–‍38 | 46‍–‍35 |
| Cleveland Indians | 76 | 86 | .469 | 20 | 41‍–‍40 | 35‍–‍46 |
| New York Yankees | 76 | 86 | .469 | 20 | 41‍–‍40 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Detroit Tigers | 75 | 87 | .463 | 21 | 38‍–‍42 | 37‍–‍45 |
| Boston Red Sox | 73 | 89 | .451 | 23 | 44‍–‍37 | 29‍–‍52 |

### Record vs. opponents

1992 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 8–5 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 10–3 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 5–8 |
| Boston | 5–8 | — | 8–4 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 4–9 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 3–9 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 |
| California | 4–8 | 4–8 | — | 3–10 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 2–11 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 9–4 | 5–7 |
| Chicago | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–3 | — | 7–5 | 10–2 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 4–9 | 5–8 | 5–7 |
| Cleveland | 6–7 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 5–7 | — | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–7 |
| Detroit | 3–10 | 9–4 | 5–7 | 2–10 | 8–5 | — | 7–5 | 5–8 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 5–8 |
| Kansas City | 4–8 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 5–7 | — | 7–5 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 5–7 |
| Milwaukee | 7–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 8–5 |
| Minnesota | 6–6 | 9–3 | 11–2 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 7–6 | 6–6 | — | 7–5 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 5–7 |
| New York | 8–5 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 5–7 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 2–11 |
| Oakland | 6–6 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 5–7 | 8–5 | 6–6 | — | 12–1 | 9–4 | 6–6 |
| Seattle | 5–7 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 9–4 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 1–12 | — | 4–9 | 4–8 |
| Texas | 5–7 | 8–4 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 9–4 | — | 3–9 |
| Toronto | 8–5 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 11–2 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 9–3 | — |

### Notable transactions

* April 9, 1992: Shawn Hillegas was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.
* June 1, 1992: Derek Jeter was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 1st round (6th pick) of the 1992 amateur draft. Player signed June 27, 1992.
* August 22, 1992: Tim Leary and cash were traded by the Yankees to the Seattle Mariners for Sean Twitty (minors).
* August 22, 1992: Shawn Hillegas was released by the New York Yankees.

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting
#### 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 | 121 | 384 | 86 | .224 | 22 | 59 |
| 1B | Don Mattingly | 157 | 640 | 184 | .288 | 14 | 86 |
| 2B | Pat Kelly | 106 | 318 | 72 | .226 | 7 | 27 |
| 3B | Charlie Hayes | 142 | 509 | 131 | .257 | 18 | 66 |
| SS | Andy Stankiewicz | 116 | 400 | 107 | .268 | 2 | 25 |
| LF | Mel Hall | 152 | 583 | 163 | .280 | 15 | 81 |
| CF | Roberto Kelly | 152 | 580 | 158 | .272 | 10 | 66 |
| RF | Danny Tartabull | 123 | 421 | 112 | .266 | 25 | 85 |
| DH | Kevin Maas | 98 | 286 | 71 | .248 | 11 | 35 |

#### 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 |
| Randy Velarde | 121 | 412 | 112 | .272 | 7 | 46 |
| Bernie Williams | 62 | 261 | 73 | .280 | 5 | 26 |
| Mike Stanley | 68 | 173 | 43 | .249 | 8 | 27 |
| Mike Gallego | 53 | 173 | 44 | .254 | 3 | 14 |
| Dion James | 67 | 145 | 38 | .262 | 3 | 17 |
| Jim Leyritz | 63 | 144 | 37 | .257 | 7 | 26 |
| Jesse Barfield | 30 | 95 | 13 | .137 | 2 | 7 |
| Gerald Williams | 15 | 27 | 8 | .296 | 3 | 6 |
| J.T. Snow | 7 | 14 | 2 | .143 | 0 | 2 |
| Dave Silvestri | 7 | 13 | 4 | .308 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Humphreys | 4 | 10 | 1 | .100 | 0 | 0 |
| Hensley Meulens | 2 | 5 | 3 | .600 | 1 | 1 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts; BB = Walks allowed
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | BB |
| Mélido Pérez | 33 | 247.2 | 13 | 16 | 2.87 | 218 | 93 |
| Scott Sanderson | 33 | 193.1 | 12 | 11 | 4.93 | 104 | 64 |
| Scott Kamieniecki | 28 | 188.0 | 6 | 14 | 4.36 | 88 | 74 |
| Tim Leary | 18 | 97.0 | 5 | 6 | 5.57 | 34 | 57 |
| Sam Militello | 9 | 60.0 | 3 | 3 | 3.45 | 42 | 32 |
| Bob Wickman | 8 | 50.1 | 6 | 1 | 4.11 | 21 | 20 |
| Sterling Hitchcock | 3 | 13.0 | 0 | 2 | 8.31 | 6 | 6 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts; BB = Walks allowed
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | BB |
| Greg Cadaret | 46 | 103.2 | 4 | 8 | 4.25 | 73 | 74 |
| Shawn Hillegas | 21 | 78.1 | 1 | 8 | 5.51 | 46 | 33 |
| Jeff Johnson | 13 | 52.2 | 2 | 3 | 6.66 | 14 | 23 |
| Curt Young | 13 | 43.1 | 3 | 0 | 3.32 | 13 | 10 |

##### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts; BB = Walks allowed
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO | BB |
| Steve Farr | 50 | 52.0 | 2 | 2 | 30 | 1.56 | 37 | 19 |
| John Habyan | 56 | 72.2 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 3.84 | 44 | 21 |
| Rich Monteleone | 47 | 92.2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3.30 | 62 | 27 |
| Tim Burke | 23 | 27.2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3.25 | 8 | 15 |
| Steve Howe | 20 | 22.0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2.45 | 12 | 3 |
| Jerry Nielsen | 20 | 19.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.58 | 12 | 18 |
| Lee Guetterman | 15 | 22.2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9.53 | 5 | 13 |
| Russ Springer | 14 | 16.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.19 | 12 | 10 |

## Awards and records

1992 MLB All-Star Game
* Roberto Kelly, outfield, reserve

## 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 | Brian Butterfield |
| 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 | Gary Denbo |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Columbus