| Steve Yeager | |
|---|---|
 Yeager with theLos Angeles Dodgers in 1983 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: (1948-11-24)November 24, 1948 (age 77) Huntington, West Virginia, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 2, 1972, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 29, 1986, for the Seattle Mariners | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .228 |
| Home runs | 102 |
| Runs batted in | 410 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Stephen Wayne Yeager (born November 24, 1948) is an American former professionalbaseballcatcher. Yeager spent 14 of the 15 seasons of hisMajor League Baseball career, from 1972 through 1985, with theLos Angeles Dodgers. His last year, 1986, he played for theSeattle Mariners. From 2012 to 2018, Yeager was the catching coach for the Dodgers. He was co-MVP of the1981 World Series.
Yeager was born inHuntington, West Virginia.[1] He attendedMeadowdale High School inDayton, Ohio.[1] Yeager hit twogrand slams in a single game while playing for Meadowdale.
He is the cousin of the late test pilotChuck Yeager.[2] Los Angeles MayorTom Bradley was thebest man at his wedding to local rock musician Gloria Giaone.[1] Yeager is Jewish, having converted toJudaism when his career was over.[3] He later moved toGranada Hills, California.[4]
TheLos Angeles Dodgers selected Yeager in the fourth round of the1967 Major League Baseball draft.[5][6] After one game with therookie levelOgden Spikers of thePioneer League, Yeager was sent to the Dodgers'Single-A affiliate, theDubuque Packers of theMidwest League.[6] The following season, in 1968, Yeager played 59 games for the Single-ADaytona Beach Dodgers of theFlorida State League.[6] In 1969, he played 22 games for theBakersfield Dodgers, the Dodgers' Single-A affiliate in theCalifornia League, where he threw out 26 runners from behind the plate.[6] That season he suffered a fractured leg in a first-inning collision with a runner at home plate, but was not aware how bad his injury was, and finished the game.[5]
Yeager was promoted toDouble-A before the end of the 1969 season, playing in one game for theAlbuquerqueDodgers of theTexas League.[6] He spent the next two-and-2/3 seasons with the Double-A franchise.[6] In 162 games played over the 1970 and 1971 seasons, he hit .276, with 77RBIs in 490 at bats.[6] He threw out 84 runners, second in the league that year, and was named to the Texas LeagueAll-Star team as a catcher in 1971.[6]
Inspring training in 1972 he won the Dodgers writers' Dearie Mulvey Memorial Trophy as the best rookie.[5] With the Dukes becoming the newPacific Coast LeagueTriple-A affiliate for the Dodgers in 1972, Yeager was promoted while remaining inAlbuquerque for another season.[6] “You won't beat that arm of his,”Tommy Lasorda said that season.[5] With the Triple-A Dukes, he played 82 games, batting .280 with 45 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .502, in 257 at bats.[6][5]
Yeager made his Major League debut with the Dodgers on August 2, 1972, and went on to play 15 seasons in the major leagues.[6] He started 34 games that season and batted .274/.374/.406.[6] In the winter before the 1973 season he was named to the Dominican League All Star team.[5] He backed upJoe Ferguson in 1973, and split time with Ferguson for the pennant-winning 1974 club as he hit .266 with 12 home runs.[6] Thereafter, Yeager was the starting catcher for the Dodgers and became an integral part of the Dodgers' success in the 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1976, he led NL catchers in assists, with 77.[6] In 1977, he came in second in voting for theGold Glove Award.[5] He led NL catchers in baserunners caught stealing percentage in both 1978 (46.7%) and 1982 (43.1%).[6]
Yeager helped the Dodgers get to theWorld Series in1974,1977,1978, and1981.[6] In the '81 Series against theNew York Yankees, he shared theWorld Series Most Valuable Player award with teammatesPedro Guerrero andRon Cey. Yeager, who was backing upMike Scioscia by that time, did not have overwhelming stats for the Series, as he went 4-for-14 (.286), but one of his hits was a double and two were home runs.[6] One of the homers, offRon Guidry, turned out to be the game-winner in Game 5.[5]
While with the Dodgers, Yeager caughtJerry Reuss'no-hitter on June 27, 1980.[7]
Yeager injured his knee in 1982 and broke his wrist the next year, which severely limited his playing time.
He was traded from theDodgers to theSeattle Mariners forEd Vande Berg on December 11, 1985.[8] He retired after hitting .208 in 130 at bats in 1986.[6]
Lou Brock called Yeager "the best-throwing catcher in the game."[5] His specialty was defense and his command of the game on the field. In one nationally televised game, he made a putout to second base – and theradar gun in place to record pitches caught his throw to second (from a crouch) at 98 mph. He was very good at managing the game from his position and was even more highly regarded for his abilities with young pitchers. In 1974, he had 806 putouts, the most in the National League.[6] This compensated for his overall subpar offense, as illustrated by arguably his best offensive year occurring in 1974 when he batted .266 in fewer than 100 games.[6] Despite this reputation, Yeager was still somewhat of a clutch hitter as he had an average of .321 when hitting with the bases loaded during his career, as well as hitting 4 home runs in 21 World Series games.[6] He also had success hitting off pitcherKen Forsch. While never hitting more than twohome runs off any other pitcher, he managed to hit 5 against Forsch in his career.
With the Dodgers, wheneverknuckleballerCharlie Hough pitched, Yeager would use a special enlarged catcher's mitt and would hold it in a cupped style, palm facing upward, instead of the normal upright "target" position.
In 1976, Yeager was injured when teammateBill Russell's bat shattered as he hit a ground ball and a large, jagged piece from the heavy end of the bat slammed into the throat of Yeager, who was in theon-deck circle.[5] The wood hit him in the neck and pierced hisesophagus, necessitating surgery.[5] After the incident, at Yeager's urging Dodger trainer Bill Buhler invented and patented a device that hangs from the catcher's mask to protect the throat.[5] It was soon worn by most catchers throughout the Majors and other leagues.
Steve Yeager coached the Dodgers catchers from 2012–2018.[9]
In 1999, Yeager was thehitting coach for the Dodgers' Single-ASan Bernardino Stampede, which won theCalifornia League championship. He managed theLong Beach Breakers in the independent (now-defunct)Western Baseball League in 2001.[6] The team won the league championship in their inaugural season that year, beating theChico Heat 3 games to 2. He was theJacksonville Suns hitting coach in 2004, when the team won the championship, and in 2005-06 he was the hitting instructor/coach for the Dodgers AAA farm club, theLas Vegas 51s. He later joined the A Dodgers affiliate Inland Empire 66'ers and became the hitting coach in 2007.
Yeager was instrumental in the conversion ofRussell Martin from third base to behind the plate.
In 2007, he became the manager for theLong Beach Armada of the independentGolden Baseball League.[6]
In September 1979, he and his family appeared on an episode ofFamily Feud. They played for a total of 6 days.
In 1982, Yeager posed semi-nude in aPlaygirl magazine.[10][5]
In 1991, Yeager filed forChapter 7 bankruptcy.[11]
In July 1996, Yeager was sued by theNew York City Department of Consumer Affairs in theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York for allegedly misleading dozens of investors into donating between $2,900 and $3,500 into a fraudulent sports card brokering business.[12] He was sued for the same scheme in November of that year in Illinois and in 1997 in California.[11]
By 1997, Yeager had been divorced three times.[11]
Yeager served as a technical advisor and also played a small role as Coach Duke Temple, inMajor League,Major League II, andMajor League: Back to the Minors.
In 2008, Yeager sued two filmmaking companies for nonpayment of $50,000 allegedly promised to him to serve as a technical advisor on the filmPlaying with the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, a World at War and a Field of Broken Dreams. Yeager allegedly had been hired to teach the film's lead actor to play baseball like a convincing professional ballplayer.[13]
Yeager is a co-owner of aJersey Mike's Subs franchise.[14]