Days of Yankees Past: The Columbus Clippers

Yanks Go Yard has been exploring greats of New York Yankees lore in our new series Days of Yankees Past. Today, instead of examining a single great Yankee, I thought it would be fun to revisit the factory that made so many great Yankees. The Columbus Clippers are the long-forgotten Triple-A affiliate that gave the kids of the 80s and 90s their heroes, their captains and The Core Four.

The Yankees acquired the Clippers in 1979. That year, Gene Michael led the team to the first of three consecutive International League titles. That ’79 squad was built on pitching and while the aces of the staff, Jim Beattie and Rick Anderson, would be shipped off to the Mariners at season’s end, the Clippers featured the debut of one Dave Righetti. Rags would have a spectacular debut, going 3-2 with a 2.92 ERA. Even more impressive were his 44 strikeouts over 40 innings, his two complete game shutouts and 1.02 WHIP. Rags’ greatness was imminent.

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After winning again in 1980, the ’81 squad became more of a power happy bunch. Stick Michael was now the skipper in the Bronx and Righetti was having another sensational season (5-0 with a 1.00 ERA and two complete game shut outs) but this team saw the debut of a future Yankees and Royals slugger. Steve Balboni, more affectionately known as Bye Bye Balboni, came on the scene in a big way. His Triple-A debut season saw him smash 33 home runs and drive in 98 RBI as the Clippers finished their first “threepeat”.

The ’82 season saw the Clippers fall just short of the championship, however, the bigger news was the debut of a young first baseman. The long awaited Triple-A debut of the 19th-round draft pick out of Indiana of the 1979 draft couldn’t have gone better. Don Mattingly impressed, hitting .315 with 10 home runs and 75 RBI. He wouldn’t last the entire ’83 season in the minors, and ten years later, he would be the Yankees captain.

Unlike their parent club in the Bronx, the Clippers never saw a fall off in the 80s. Although they would win only one more championship in the 80s (1987) they continued to pump out major league talent at a pretty quick pace. Dan Pasqua, Otis Nixon, Dennis Rasmussen, Stan Javier, Mike Pagliarulo, Jose Rijo, Jim Deshaies, Bob Tewksbury, Doug Drabek, Roberto Kelly, Al Leiter, Randy Velarde, Jay Buhner and Hal Morris all got their start in Columbus in the 80s. Even Deion Sanders and Buck Showalter made their name with the Clippers before major league stardom. Of course, the 80s Clippers run ended with a young center fielder named Bernie Williams poised for greatness.

As the decade switched over, the New York Yankees were hitting rock bottom. The aforementioned Bernie Williams was leading the Clippers to back-to-back championships in 1991 and 1992. The beginnings of a dynasty were brewing. 1993 saw Bernie and Bob Wickman make their big major league jump. While they finished third in ’93, no one cared. It was 1994 that was special.

The ’94 team has no trophies to brag about. They had no MVPs or award winners. What the 1994 Columbus Clippers did have was the debut season of Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte. Jeter hit .349 in his late season debut. Posada smashed 11 home runs and drove in 48. Pettitte was 7-2 with a 2.98 ERA. Rivera was realizing that his amazing cutter maybe wasn’t meant for a starting pitcher. By 1995, they were gone and a year later, the greatest dynasty of recent history was underway.

The Clippers, like the big boys in the Bronx, would win a title in 1996. That team was anchored by budding star Ricky Ledee who hit .282 with 21 home runs and 64 RBI. That was the end of the title run for the Clippers. Alfonso Soriano, Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera would make their way through Columbus and go onto illustrious major league careers, but the titles ran dry. At the conclusion of the 2006 season, the Yankees ended their partnership with Columbus and the Clippers became part of the Nationals organization (and are now part of the Inidans) and the Yankees moved to Scranton/Wilkes Barre. In the years since, the RailRiders have won four division titles, but only have one International League title to date.

The Yankees minor league system is now just arriving at a rebirth. Names like Aaron Judge, Rob Refsnyder, Luis Severino, Greg Bird and Ian Clarkin are quickly becoming household names. The Yankees and their New Steinbrenner Philosophy may never see the glory days that the Clippers provided. It was certainly a fun ride while it lasted.