No game until February, so let’s remember a forgotten Yankee: Lee Guetterman

One of the tallest players in Yankees history, lefty Lee Guetterman had some good years in pinstripes, but they were wasted during one of the franchise's lowest points. He was then traded to the Mets in the first trade between the two franchises only involving major leaguers!

Happy birthday to Arthur Lee Guetterman, born November 22, 1958, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His father was a chaplain in the Navy, and at age 7 the family moved to Camp Pendleton in Southern California. Guetterman was a four-year varsity player at Oceanside High School, pitching and hitting — during his senior year he hit .500, and a home run that went out of the ballpark and onto a freeway! He then attended Liberty University in Virginia as a two-way player, pitcher and first baseman, and was an All-American. He also pitched and played first base in the Valley Baseball League, a summer league for college players.

Guetterman was good enough to get the attention of the Seattle Mariners, who took him in the fourth round (#80 overall) of the 1981 draft. The Mariners put an end to Guetterman's career as a first baseman, making him exclusively a pitcher.

Guetterman pitched four years in the minors, all as a starter, before making his major league debut with the Mariners as a September call-up in 1984. At the time, he was the third-tallest pitcher in major league history. Working in relief, he appeared in three games, giving up two runs on nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

The Mariners put him in Triple A for all of 1985; he went 5-8 with a 5.79 ERA and 1.650 WHIP in 110 1/3 innings, but with the caveat he was pitching in the high-offense Pacific Coast League. (The league averaged 4.93 runs per team.)

In 1986, he made the Mariners' Opening Day roster, but was an ugly 0-4 with a 7.34 ERA and 1.816 WHIP in 76 innings. (It was the highest ERA of any American League pitcher with at least 75 innings that season.) The Mariners took him off the 40-man roster, and he went unclaimed.

He started the 1987 season in Triple A, but was called up after going 5-1 with a 2.86 ERA. He was called up to the bigs at the end of May and over the next two months he went 8-1 with a 3.36 ERA. But in his first six starts after the All-Star Break, he went 1-3 with a 6.29 ERA, and was moved to the bullpen aside from a couple spot starts at the end of the season. Overall, he had a 4.02 ERA and 1.371 WHIP as a starter compared to 2.13 and 1.105 as a reliever.

Meanwhile, the Yankees were doing what they normally did in the 1980s — they were trading prospects for veterans. On July 13, 1987, the Yankees sent Bob Tewksbury — a future All-Star with the Cardinals — and two minor leaguers to the Cubs for lefty starter Steve Trout. At the time, the trade was seen as highway robbery… by the Yankees. "I just won you the pennant," a triumphant George Steinbrenner told manager Lou Piniella.

But Trout went 0-4 with a 6.60 ERA and 1.899 WHIP, and the Yankees, with a three-game lead on July 13, finished the season nine games out.

A solid if not overly impressive starter with the White Sox and then the Cubs, the narrative was the 29-year-old Trout was still a good pitcher, he just couldn't handle the bright lights of the Big Apple. So the Yankees dealt him with 27-year-old fourth outfielder Henry Cotto and cash to the Mariners for three young pitchers: Clay Parker, Wade Taylor, and Guetterman.

(The narrative was wrong: Trout went 8-10 with a 7.40 ERA in 86 1/3 innings across two seasons with the Mariners and was out of the bigs by age 31.)

Guetterman made his Yankees debut at the Stadium on April 8, 1988 as a reliever against the Milwaukee Brewers; he pitched an inning, giving up a solo home run to Robin Yount, in a 6-4 Yankee win.

After allowing 17 hits and seven walks in 14 2/3 innings, Guetterman was sent to Triple-A for three months. Yankees manager Billy Martin said he wanted Guetterman to learn how to pitch more aggressively. Used exclusively as a starter for Clippers manager Bucky Dent, the 29-year-old Guetterman went 9-6 with a 2.76 ERA and 1.119 WHIP in 120 2/3 innings. More importantly, he cut his walk rate down from 4.3 BB/9 to 1.9.

The Yankees called him up August 5 to start against the Minnesota Twins, and he was bombed for five runs on six hits and two walks in three innings. He would make just one more start in a Yankee uniform, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks in 3 2/3 innings. Once again his numbers as a reliever (3.71 ERA, 1.353 WHIP) were far better than as a starter (9.45, 2.550). At last the Yankees were convinced to convert him permanently to a reliever.

There was speculation that spring that Guetterman would begin the year in Triple A, if not on another team. But he made the Opening Day roster after Ron Guidry went on the Disabled List following elbow surgery in March, and after closer Dave Righetti gave up seven runs on 10 hits in his first three appearances of the 1989 season, he took over as closer. In the first 40 games of the season, Guetterman had six saves and hadn't allowed an earned run in 30 2/3 innings until getting bombed for five runs on four hits and three walks in the ninth inning by the California Angels on May 24, 1989. (As so often happens, it wasn't even a save situation, with Guetterman entering the game in the eighth with the Yankees down 6-4.) Righetti returned to the closer role, but overall it was the best season of Guetterman's career: He pitched in 103 innings, all in relief, and allowed just a 2.45 ERA and 1.204 WHIP. He also kept his walks under control, just 2.3 per nine innings.

Heading into the 1990 season, the Yankees were desperate for starting pitching and there was speculation that Guetterman might return to the starting rotation, or Righetti would and Guetterman would become the closer. Both remained in the bullpen, however, with Guetterman serving as an effective setup man (3.39 ERA, 1.140 WHIP, 93 IP).

After the season, Righetti signed as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants, and the Yankees signed Steve Farr to replace him for the 1991 season. After a rough start to Farr's Yankee career (four runs, six hits, and five walks in his first 6 1/3 innings), Guetterman briefly took over as closer. By the end of May, he had a 1.40 ERA and 0.982 WHIP.

But the Yankees had signed Farr to be the closer, and put him back in the job in June. He pitched 26 consecutive scoreless innings, racking up 14 saves, between May 29 and August 2. Guetterman returned to a setup role, but posted a 4.33 ERA over the rest of the season. Meanwhile, 33-year-old lefty Steve Howe — the 1980 Rookie of the Year with the Los Angeles Dodgers who had been suspended multiple times for substance abuse — had an excellent season for the Yankees, with a 1.68 ERA and 0.952 WHIP.

Guetterman appeared to be expendable, and there were rumors all off season that he was going to be traded for a third baseman… maybe Kevin Seitzer or Dave Magadan. Instead, they held onto him. Guetterman's trade value plummeted after he was bombed to the tune of a 9.53 ERA, 2.118 WHIP in 22 2/3 innings.

Meanwhile, in Flushing, previously forgotten Yankee Tim Burke had a 5.74 ERA and 1.851 WHIP in 15 2/3 innings. And so, on June 9, 1992, the two were swapped. A modest trade, but a historic one:

"The trade of lefthander Lee Guetterman to the Mets for righthander Tim Burke marked the first exchange of major league players between the New York clubs in the 30 years they have been neighbors." — The Sporting News, June 22, 1992

It was the ninth trade between the two franchises, but the first one that was straight-up a major leaguer for a major leaguer. The other deals had involved minor leaguers or players to be named later or the sale of a contract.

Guetterman blamed his poor numbers in pinstripes on his inconsistent use. He got more work as a Met, but the results still weren't great: 5.82 ERA, 1.638 WHIP, 43 1/3 innings pitched.

A free agent after the season, Guetterman signed with the Dodgers, but was released at the end of spring training. He signed a minor-league contract with the Cardinals and was called up midseason; he posted a 2.93 ERA and 1.239 WHIP in 46 innings.

He spent the 1994 season bouncing between the Angels, Padres, and Mariners, but didn't pitch in the majors. He was in the Mariners system in 1995 and 1996, but only totaled 28 innings in the majors between the two seasons. In 1997, at age 38, he pitched for Sioux Falls in the independent Northern League, going 3-7 with a 4.50 ERA, and finally retired.

After his playing days were over, Guetterman became a baseball youth coach, and in 2000, he and his wife, Drew, founded the Crossroads Christian Academy in Lenoir City, Tennessee.

I Am Goot

• Guetterman is pronounced Goo-ter-min, and his nickname was Goot.

• When Guetterman joined the Yankees in 1988, he was at 6'8" tied for tallest player in team history; the only other 6'8" player to that point was Stefan Wever, a German-born pitcher who got hurt in his major league debut and never played again. Since then, there's been a lot of 6'8" players on the Yankees: Graeme Lloyd, Jeff Nelson, Tony Clark, Dellin Betances, Brandon McCarthy, Chris Martin, and Stephen Ridings. But the record for tallest Yankee ever is now held by 6'10" Randy Johnson.

• Despite his imposing height, Guetterman's fastball topped out at 90 mph… at best. The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers reported Guetterman was almost exclusively a sinkerball pitcher, though as a long-time minor league starter he had the full complement of pitches: fastball, curve, slider, and change-up.

• Guetterman's first major league win didn't come until May 27, 1987 — his third season and 45th game in the majors. It was against the Yankees at the Stadium. Guetterman entered the 4-4 tie in the bottom of the sixth, and retired the first six batters he faced. Meanwhile, the Mariners got RBI singles in the seventh and eighth to take a two-run lead. Guetterman walked Don Mattingly to lead off the bottom of the eighth, and was pulled for reliever Jerry Reed, who gave up a single to Gary Ward to bring up Dave Winfield as the go-ahead run. Winfield hit into a 6-4-3 double play to knock in Mattingly from third, but escaped further damage and the Mariners won, 6-5.

• Guetterman had this to say of Mattingly: "Donnie was a class act all the way. His intuitiveness for the game was amazing. I'd rather have him at first than anyone else. He knew what guys were thinking. He was aware of everything going on, and he was never braggadocious. He went about his business."

• Yankees teammate Rickey Henderson thought Guetterman's last name was "Guzman."

• On April 17, 1988, New York's John Candelaria was pitching against the Brewers in Milwaukee when he gave up a pair of home runs in the bottom of the fifth to give the Brewers a 4-1 lead. Yankees manager Billy Martin wanted to pull Candelaria out immediately, but didn't have a reliever warmed up. The next batter, Bill Schroeder, was hit by a pitch and home plate umpire Drew Coble immediately ejected Candelaria, saying it appeared to be deliberate. Because it was an ejection, Guetterman was allowed as much time as he needed to get ready. A letter writer to The Sporting News asked: "What is to prevent a manager from having a struggling pitcher throw at a batter to gain this obvious advantage?" The Sporting News replied: "You don't think Billy Martin would be so devious, do you?"

• Guetterman led the Yankees in bWAR as a pitcher in 1989, at 2.5. (The runner-up, at 1.6, was Clay Parker, one of the other two pitchers acquired with Guetterman in the Steve Trout trade.) "When Lee Guetterman is your best player," wrote Bruce Markusen, "that’s a pretty good sign that things have hit rock-bottom."

• According to baseball-reference.com, Guetterman's 30 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings streak to begin the 1989 season was the longest season-opening streak in the majors by a reliever ever, and the longest by anyone since Harry Brecheen of the Cardinals threw three consecutive shutouts to open the 1948 season and then in his fourth start didn't give up a run until there were two outs in the sixth inning. Brecheen's streak was ended by an RBI triple from Johnny Hopp, a future Yankee!

• Guetterman had Billy Connors as a pitching coach with the Mariners in 1987 and with the Yankees from 1989-1990. Connors stressed that Guetterman, as a sinkerballer, got into trouble when he tried to strike people out. He had to throw pitches that batters could hit, to the infielders for easy outs. Or to quote Crash Davis: "Throw some ground balls. It's more democratic."

• Despite all trades the Yankees made in the 1980s, the only players acquired via trade who were still on the roster in 1990 were Lee Guetterman and Randy Velarde, according to Chris Donnelly's How the Yankees Explain New York. "The Yankees had almost literally gotten nothing in return for all their top prospects," Donnelly noted after listing the many young players traded away in the 1980s: Willie McGee, Fred McGriff, Otis Nixon, Greg Gagne, Doug Drabek, Jose Rijo, Bob Tewksbury, Al Leiter, and of course, Jay Buhner.

• Guetterman was drafted by the Mariners with the third pick in the fourth round (#80 overall) of the 1981 draft. The Yankees, picking last in that round, took a high school pitcher named Eric Plunk. The Yankees traded Plunk in 1984 to the Oakland A's as part of a package for Rickey Henderson. Five years later, the Yankees traded Henderson back to the A's for a package that included Plunk!

• The Yankees could have taken Guetterman with the last pick of the third round, #77 overall, but instead took catcher Phil Lombardi, who had just 102 plate appearances in the bigs. A better pick would have been high school outfielder/pitcher Paul O'Neill, taken by the Reds at #93.

• In 2022, Guetterman was inducted into the Oceanside High School Hall of Fame.

• Other notable alumni are Grammy Award-winning singer Barbara Mandrell; Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau; author Victor Villaseñor; and TikTok personality Jordan Howlett, aka Jordan the Stallion.

• First baseman Chris Chambliss and outfielder Gary Thomasson also went to Oceanside, and were teammates on the 1978 World Champion Yankees!

• When Guetterman arrived at Liberty University in 1977, the baseball program was just three years old, having played its first game in 1974. The program was founded by former major league pitcher Al Worthington. Guetterman graduated in 1980; seven years later, Worthington became athletic director and was replaced as baseball coach by former Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson.

• Guetterman wore #35 with the Yankees, a number I always associate with Mike Mussina. It was worn last year by Cody Bellinger (and from 1999 to 2000 by his father, Clay Bellinger!). It also has been worn by Clay Holmes, Michael Pineda, John Wetteland, Phil Niekro, Don Gullet, and Joe Ostrowski. Yogi Berra wore it for a time before switching to #8 in 1948. But the longest-tenured #35 in Yankees history is Ralph Houk, who wore it as a coach from 1958 to 1960 and then as a manager from 1961 to 1963 and again from 1966 to 1973.

In four and a half years with the Yankees, Guetterman had a 3.73 ERA and 1.316 WHIP in 347 1/3 innings. More than half of his career appearances and innings came as a Yankee.

"When you're in a place enough, it does become like home, and I was there longer than any other one place."

Happy birthday, Goot!