Willie Randolph Endures the Yankee Turmoil

Willie Randolph has played 13 seasons under George Steinbrenner.

Think of that.

For 16 years, Steinbrenner’s New York Yankees have made a spectacle of themselves. They’ve fired managers, shuttled coaches between the majors and minors, and traded their future for a present that never pleases them.

And for 13 of those years, Randolph has played second base.

“I try not to stop and think too much about how long I’ve been here,” he said recently. “I’d just rather continue to be here if I can. When you start looking back, that’s when they catch up to you. I don’t believe in looking back. I just want to keep playing, and help out as much as I can. No doubt it’s unusual to stay with a club as long as I have.”

Especially this club.

Randolph came to the Yankees Dec. 11, 1975, with Ken Brett and Dock Ellis in a deal that sent Doc Medich to Pittsburgh. Seldom have the Yankees traded so well. At that time, they hadn’t finished first since 1964. Suddenly, they began to win again. They went to the World Series in 1976, ‘77, and ‘78, winning twice. They won the American League East in 1980, and advanced to the World Series the following year. It wasn’t a coincidence.

“I think I understand the importance of the team concept more than some guys,” Randolph said. “If you win, it’s good for everyone. I think a lot of players nowadays don’t stop and think about what happens when you do everything you can do to win.”

Randolph spoke as the clubhouse emptied following a Yankee victory. The All-Star Game had taken place without him, even though he ranks among the best in the league at his position. He looked a trifle weary. Baseball season can do that, when you’ve played 90 and there are 72 to go.

Besides, Manager Billy Martin had been fired not long before. And Steinbrenner had just ripped three of Randolph’s teammates, Rickey Henderson, Dave Winfield and Don Mattingly. In other words, it was just another day with the Yankees. With them, it’s always something. Anything to get in the papers. Yet Randolph endures.

“You have to deal with the surroundings and everything, and controversy and all that stuff,” he said. “But when you get down to the basics, it’s doing the things you have to do to win. And I love to win. I’d like to bottle it sometimes, spread it around a little bit. But you can’t do that.”

Randolph was born in Holly Hill, S.C., July 6, 1954. He grew up in Brooklyn, and the Pirates made him a seventh-round pick in 1972, bringing him up for 30 games in 1975 before including him in the trade with the Yankees. He took a .277 lifetime average into this season, and he has made five All-Star teams.

If his game contains a flaw, it’s a lack of durability. Randolph has never played in more than 153 games a season, and last year made only 120. A hand injury may require surgery after the season.

But every time he is on the field, he represents the class the Yankees always talk about but so seldom show. He works without noise. He makes the plays. And he adjusts. Besides enduring all the verbiage in the clubhouse, he has hit first, second and seventh in the lineup. Through July 18 he had played with 31 different shortstops.

“I don’t have any formula or secret,” he said. “People have asked me that. I just love to play the game. And I believe in doing the things needed to win.”

Randolph turned 22 the same year Billy Martin took the club to an AL East title and a playoff series victory over Kansas City. Randolph hit .267, drove in 40 runs, and stole 37 bases. Not many people then realized what awaited the franchise. Reggie would arrive a year later. Martin would be fired four times.

Some players left. Others, like Catfish Hunter, used humor to survive. Others learned they couldn’t cope. Randolph just played. You learned to appreciate him, the way he bunted, or took a pitch, or hit the other way.

“It’s helped me a lot that I’ve learned over the years from people like the (Thurman) Munsons, the (Reggie) Jacksons, the (Roy) Whites, Willie Stargell,” he said. “They told me if you can do something to win a game and it results in a championship, that’s what it’s all about.”

As Randolph spoke, the Yankees were pulling within one game of Detroit in the standings. The race could stay that close all season. Or a contender could emerge from Boston or Milwaukee. Either way, the Yankees can prosper by showing the consistency Randolph brings.

“This year is going to be tough on me because I’m playing hurt and I can’t expect to have a Willie Randolph year,” he said. “But I’m willing to go as hard as I can and if I can play without the excruciating pain I played with the first month, I’ll try the best I can.”