Special Story on Former Shortstop Andy Stankiewicz — in the September Issue of Yankees Magazine
June 13, 2017 — In late April, I spent a day with former Yankees shortstop Andy Stankiewicz in Phoenix, Arizona, for a feature story that will be published in the September Issue of Yankees Magazine.
Stankiewicz came up with the Yankees in 1992, but only after spending seven full seasons in the team’s minor league system. A pint-sized player, Stankiewicz was listed at 5 feet, 7 inches, but he played the game as hard as anyone in the organization, and he knew exactly what he needed to do to realize his dream of making it to the majors.
I met Stankiewicz for lunch at Bobby Q’s, a popular barbecue joint a few miles from the campus of Grand Canyon University, where he currently serves as the head baseball coach. During our lunch, the Yankee fan favorite — and a personal favorite of mine in the early ’90s — spoke about his time in the minors.
“Regardless of what anyone said, I knew that I was going to make it to the majors,” Stankiewicz said from an outside seating area at the restaurant. “Everyone in the minors has good skills, but the guys who make it are those who can grind out the tough days and keep showing up ready to play. You have to be able to forget about the last game, whether it was good or bad and just concentrate on the now. When you are that young, that can be tough, but I needed to make that one of my strengths.”
Stankiewicz, the Yankees’ 12th round pick in 1985, also shared the moving story of how he finally got his big break.
After spending the 1990 and 1991 seasons with the Yankees’ Triple- A affiliate, Stankiewicz knew that his dream was within reach. He worked tirelessly in the offseason leading up to the 1992 season, and he batted .400 in spring training that year.
But with Pat Kelly at the top of the depth chart at second base and Mike Gallego — a high school teammate of Stankiewicz in California — firmly in place at shortstop, the underdog would need a break in order to get a spot on the big league club.
That break came when Gallego, who had just signed a three-year free agent contact, bruised his heel in late March. With Buck Showalter — whose managerial climb mirrored Stankiewicz’s playing journey — now at the helm of the big-league club, Stankiewicz traveled from the team’s spring home in South Florida to New York City for an exhibition series against the Mets in the days leading up to Opening Day. With Gallego’s status for the beginning of the season still uncertain, Stankiewicz was not officially added to the roster as of the morning of Opening Day. But he had certainly proven to Showalter that he could fill a roster spot if the skipper needed an infielder.
“Buck had told me that if Mike was healthy, I’d be going back to Columbus on Opening Day,” Stankiewicz said. “That morning, I was joking around with Mike, telling him not to be in a hurry to get healthy.”
Then, in a real-life scene that would rival the drama of those written in Hollywood, Stankiewicz learned his fate hours before the season got underway.
“Mike was slated to lead off that day, so he took batting practice,” Stankiewicz said. “I was taking ground balls and watching him closely, just to see how his body was reacting. From what I could see, he looked like he was fine, but I really couldn’t tell. While I was taking ground balls, Buck and Mike walked into shallow left field. This was a defining moment for me. I knew that I would either be staying with the Yankees or walking into the clubhouse and getting on a plane to Columbus. As Buck walked away from Mike and headed in my direction, I had no idea where I was going. When Buck got to me, he just said, ‘Hey, we’re going to put Mike on the DL. We’re going to activate you.’”
At 27 years old, Stankiewicz’s moment had finally arrived.
“I always believed that I could play in the big leagues,” Stankiewicz said. “Without that confidence, it never would have happened. It was about setting a goal — even though it was an improbable one — and attaining that goal.”
Stankiewicz not only made the team, but he batted .268 with two home runs and 25 RBI in 1992, playing regularly at shortstop.
As quickly as Stankiewicz’s star began to shine in the Big Apple, it dimmed even faster. Following the 1992 season, the Yankees — anxious to climb back into contention after a sub-par decade — signed veteran shortstop Spike Owen to a long-term free agent contact. With Owen on board, along with Gallego and Kelly, Stankiewicz was forced to begin the 1993 season in Columbus. He was brought back to the Bronx in June for six days and for the final few weeks of the season, but he didn’t collect a hit during those stints in pinstripes. A few months after the 1993 season ended, the Yankees traded Stankiewicz to the Houston Astros.
Despite the short tenure in the Bronx, Stankiewicz’s story is still inspiring, and his recent work with Grand Canyon University — a Division II turned Division I baseball program — is also interesting.
If you want to re-live some memories from the early ’90s — like I did — and read about Stankiewicz’s life today, check out this feature when the September Issue of Yankees Magazine comes out.
— Alfred Santasiere III
