Yankees Defensive About Tradition : Pin Stripe Pride: It’s as Much About the Glove as the Bat

When you think of players in pin stripes, you think of intimidating hitters. Guys who spend more time trotting than running. Guys who take better care of their batting gloves than the ones they take out in the field. Guys who hit line drives, not catch them.

The New York Yankees slugged their way to 33 American League pennants and 22 world championships. At least that’s the way the average baseball fan sees it.

The Yankees, however, insist that defense is as much a Yankee tradition as the three-run homer. It’s just that the sound of a diving catch tends to be drowned out by the crack of the bat and rattle of a ball caroming off an empty bleacher seat.

“Over the years, we’ve thrown some names out there . . . guys who can hit the long ball,” said Lou Piniella, who played for the Yankees for 11 years and is in his second season as manager. “But the years I played here, defense was always a trademark.”

Trademarks are sometimes difficult to see, though.

This year, New York’s defense may be overshadowed by its surprisingly strong starting pitching, but the defense--best in the league with just 23 errors--is finally getting some notice.

“We’ve been playing well defensively all year,” Piniella said. “It’s one of the main reasons we’re where we are (first place in the AL East).”

That was abundantly evident Saturday night during New York’s 3-0 victory over the Angels at Anaheim Stadium. The Yankees, who had made only one error in the past nine games, did experience one lapse--third baseman Mike Pagliarulo dropped Brian Downing’s pop foul in the eighth--but they more than made up for it with a number of spectacular plays afield.

The first two came in the fourth inning after Wally Joyner broke up Joe Niekro’s perfect game with a fly-ball single to center. First baseman Don Mattingly, sprinting to his right, stabbed a ground ball hit by Devon White and made a perfect running throw to force Joyner.

After Doug DeCinces singled to left, Mattingly was going to his right again, but this time Jack Howell’s grounder eluded him. Veteran second baseman Willie Randolph came up the ball, though, and managed a good, off-balance throw to Niekro, who was running to cover first.

Randolph came up with another sparkling play in the fifth, the kind of leaping stab of a line drive that makes the highlight films. He speared Dick Schofield’s shot seemingly after it had gone over his head.

“People think those plays are reaction, but it’s more concentration,” said Randolph, who has played alongside 25 different shortstops in his 11 years with the Yankees. “I noticed Schofield was hitting the ball to the right side a lot last night, so I was really concentrating. Then when he hit it, I didn’t commit myself too early. I stayed down until the right time and got off a good leap.”

Randolph said the first play was actually harder than the second (“You always hold your breath when you have to lead a pitcher running to cover the bag.”). But it was Defensive Gem No. 3--the one that got away--that he wanted the most.

In the sixth, Joyner hit a ground ball into the hole that Randolph managed to knock down after a head-long dive. He rolled over the ball, but still had a chance to get Joyner before fumbling the ball trying to pick it up.

“I would have had him if I could’ve found the handle,” he said. “The ball was wet and I just dropped it in my haste to make the throw.”

But those damn defensive Yankees weren’t done yet. Left fielder Gary Ward made a fine running catch on the warning track of DeCinces’ drive in the sixth, and Pagliarulo snatched another Schofield line drive in the seventh.

“This defense makes you feel pretty good,” Niekro said. “They hit the ball hard a few times tonight and we took some hits away.”

Mattingly says it’s the pitching that has brought out the best in the Yankees’ defense . . . and brought it some recognition as well.

“Outstanding pitching makes the defense look so much better,” he said. “When you win 9-7 or 8-5, the defense kind of gets lost. But when you’re winning 2-1 and 3-2, the good defensive plays really stand out.”

True. But don’t expect people to start picturing the Yankees as a bunch of defensive specialists who are more likely to reach over the fence and steal a home run than hit one.