THE MELKMAN COMETH

Melky Cabrera stroked yet another game winning hit for the Yankees this afternoon, as they came from behind with three in the ninth to upend the World Champion Phillies.  Watching Melky celebrate, I recalled his checkered rise, and how much his career resembles that of another Yankee center fielder.

To review, Melky was force fed into the Yankee lineup in 2006 at age 21 when two thirds of the outfield suffered serious injury.  Melky had been considered a strong prospect, but his arrival was premature.  Notwithstanding that impediment, he batted .280 with 7 home runs, 50 rbis, and 12 stolen bases, and fielded his position.  He followed that performance by batting .273 with 8 home runs, 73 rbis, and 13 stolen bases in 2007.  By all appearances, he was nothing more than a light hitting, good fielding center fielder with limited upside.

Then in 2008 he tanked, hitting .249 with 8 home runs (most of them in April), and 37 rbis.  This Spring, he was decisively beaten out for the starting center field position by Brett Gardner.  His Yankee career appeared to be over.

But when Gardner struggled, Melky got another chance.  Now he is batting .317, he already has 5 home runs, and he has been incredibly clutch.  Once again, he looks like the center fielder of the future.  Is it possible Melky could become more than a role player?  Could we have underestimated his upside?

Perhaps.  Melky’s career pattern reminds me of another Yankee center fielder.  No, not Mickey Mantle.  And not Joe DiMaggio.

In 1991, the Yankees brought up another light hitting, smooth fielding twenty two year old center fielder.  In 85 games he batted .238 with 3 home runs.  The next year in 62 games he batted .280 with only 5 home runs.  Then in 1993 he slumped to .268 with 12 home runs and 68 rbis in 139 games.  In 1994 at age 25, he batted .289, but again had only 12 home runs with 57 rbis.  In short, he too looked like a light hitting, smooth fielding center fielder with limited upside.

It didn’t turn out that way.  That young center fielder’s name was Bernie Williams.  Bernie went on to become a .300 hitter, win a batting title, slug 20-30 home runs a year, and bat clean up on arguably the greatest team in baseball history, the 1998 Yankees.  Although he never became a “super star”, Bernie was one of the truly outstanding players of his era and a foundation piece for the last Yankee dynasty.

The point is, Melky’s career path bears an uncanny resemblance to Bernie’s.  Does that mean Melky will become an all time Yankee great?  Hard to say.  But before we dismiss Melky as a role player, we should remember that Bernie did not become a true star until he was 27.  Melky has shown substantial growth in 2009.  He just might have a higher ceiling than any of us thought.

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