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Henry Cotto played for the Cubs, Yankees, Mariners and Marlins over his 10-year major league career.\u00a0(Topps baseball card photographed by Milo Stewart Jr.\/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)
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The 1984 Cubs ended 39 years of franchise frustration by winning the National League East title, the first time the team qualified for the postseason since 1945.<\/p>\n
Future Hall of Famers Dennis Eckersley, Ryne Sandberg and Lee Smith powered Chicago all season, and Rick Sutcliffe\u2019s acquisition from Cleveland at the trade deadline put the Cubs over the top.<\/p>\n
But it might have been Henry Cotto, a reserve outfielder in his first season in the big leagues, who was the team\u2019s catalyst. In Cotto\u2019s 105 games, the Cubs went 70-35 \u2013 a .667 winning percentage that reflected Cotto\u2019s penchant for key plays in big moments.<\/p>\n
Henry Cotto played for the Cubs, Yankees, Mariners and Marlins over his 10-year major league career.\u00a0(Topps baseball card photographed by Milo Stewart Jr.\/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)
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Born Jan. 5, 1961, in New York City, Cotto\u2019s family moved to Puerto Rico when he was two months old, and he was raised in Caguas with his four brothers and sisters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI come from a small town that\u2019s just like the projects here,\u201d Cotto told the Kitsap (Wash.) Sun in 1991. \u201cI\u2019m the only guy from there that made it out.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a bunch of guys who if they had stayed out of drugs would have had a chance to be (in the major leagues).\u201d<\/p>\n
Cotto starred in track, basketball, volleyball and baseball while attending Bautista High School and credited his mother for keeping the family together.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome (of his friends) died from drugs, some stayed in drugs, some are in jail and a couple have nice jobs,\u201d Cotto told the Sun. \u201cThat\u2019s why I give a lot of credit to my mother (Cecelia). She got all the family to graduate from high school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cotto was scouted by the legendary Pedr\u00edn Zorrilla and signed with the Cubs on June 7, 1980, as an amateur free agent.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Zorrilla) wanted to sign me sooner, but my mother said no,\u201d Cotto told the Des Moines (Iowa) Register in 1983. \u201cShe wanted me to finish high school.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Henry Cotto, one of several Puerto Rican stars scouted by\u00a0Pedr\u00edn Zorrilla, signed an amateur free agent contract with the Chicago Cubs in 1980. (Topps baseball card photographed by Milo Stewart Jr.\/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)
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Cotto reported to the Cubs\u2019 outpost in the Gulf Coast League at Sarasota, Fla., where he hit .283 with 12 steals (without being caught) in 43 games before earning a promotion to the Quad Cities of the Midwest League. He finished the year batting a combined .283 with 20 steals and 33 runs scored in 62 games.<\/p>\n
He returned to Quad Cities in 1981 and hit .292 with 59 walks, 52 steals (in 68 attempts) and 80 runs scored in 128 games en route to a berth on the Midwest League All-Star team. Then in 1982 with Double-A Midland of the Texas League, Cotto virtually repeated his 1981 numbers \u2013 drawing 59 walks, stealing 52 bases in 68 attempts (leading the league in steals) and scoring 103 runs while hitting .307. Following the season, the Cubs added Cotto to their 40-man roster.<\/p>\n
Cotto was now on the fast track to the big leagues and played at Triple-A Iowa in 1983, where he hit .261 with 32 steals in 104 games.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got major league written all over him,\u201d Iowa Cubs manager Jim Napier told the Des Moines Register. \u201cThe Cubs organization is very high on Henry. They\u2019d like to see him cut down on his strikeouts and maybe bunt a little more, but he\u2019s a top prospect, has outstanding speed and everybody is pleased with his progress.<\/p>\n
\u201cBarring injuries, I can\u2019t see anything stopping him from making the big club (in 1984).\u201d<\/p>\n
Napier proved correct when Cubs manager Jim Frey kept Cotto as a backup outfielder to start the 1984 campaign. But when the Cubs acquired Bob Dernier and Gary Matthews from the Phillies on March 27, Cotto\u2019s prognosis for extended playing time was limited.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted a center fielder who could back up Dernier,\u201d Frey told United Press International. \u201cSomeone who could pinch-run, pinch-hit and play some defense for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry Cotto debuted for the Cubs in 1984 and helped the club advance to the postseason for the first time in 39 seasons. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\/Major League Baseball)
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Dernier got off to a hot start and was hitting .321 by mid-May while Matthews galvanized the clubhouse with his veteran leadership. Cotto, meanwhile, saw most of his action in May and June as a pinch-hitter or defensive replacement and was even sent back to Triple-A for a week.<\/p>\n
But on July 29, Dernier suffered a pulled muscle in a game against the Mets and was hobbled for about a week. Cotto took advantage of the opportunity, hitting safely in eight straight games as the Cubs went on to win nine of 11 contests.<\/p>\n
On Aug. 2, the Cubs \u2013 who had moved into first place in the NL East the day before \u2013 were tied at 2 with the Expos in the seventh inning at Wrigley Field when Montreal\u2019s Tim Raines hit a ball to center that looked destined for the ivy and could have been an inside-the-park home run. But Cotto robbed Raines and then followed that with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the seventh inning that gave Chicago the lead for good.<\/p>\n
Expos manager Bill Virdon \u2013 an outstanding center fielder in his own right during his playing days \u2013 called Cotto\u2019s play \u201cone of the greatest catches I have ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019ve got Henry Cotto,\u201d Sutcliffe, who earned the win thanks to Cotto\u2019s heroics, told UPI.<\/p>\n
Cotto reprised his role as pinch-hitter and defensive replacement when Dernier returned to health and finished the season batting .274 with five doubles, nine steals and 10 walks in 105 games. The Cubs won the NL East and then captured the first two games of the NLCS vs. the Padres at Wrigley Field, with Cotto appearing late in both games on defense.<\/p>\n
The Padres won Game 3 back in San Diego, and San Diego was leading 5-3 in the top of the eighth of Game 4 when the Cubs rallied for two runs off Goose Gossage \u2013 with Cotto scoring the tying run on a double by Jody Davis after pinch-running for Keith Moreland.<\/p>\n
But Steve Garvey\u2019s two-run home run in the ninth gave San Diego a 7-5 win, and the Padres won Game 5 \u2013 a contest in which Cotto did not appear. The NLCS would mark the only three postseason games of Cotto\u2019s career.<\/p>\n
A six-player trade between New York and Chicago following the 1984 season meant a change of scenery and new set of pinstripes for Henry Cotto.\u00a0(National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\/Major League Baseball)
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On Dec. 4, 1984, the Cubs traded Cotto, Porfi Altamirano, Rich Bordi and Ron Hassey to the Yankees in exchange for outfielder Brian Dayett and pitcher Ray Fontenot.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know (Cotto) is an outstanding defensive center fielder and has the potential to be a good hitter someday,\u201d Yankees general manager Clyde King told the Associated Press following the trade. \u201cHe\u2019ll have the same opportunity to make the team in spring as anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cotto made the Yankees\u2019 Opening Day roster in 1985 but saw action mostly in reserve roles as veterans Rickey Henderson, Dave Winfield, Ken Griffey Sr. and Omar Moreno got most of the playing time. Cotto was sent back to Triple-A Columbus in late May and remained there into September, hitting .257 with 10 steals in 75 games for the Clippers. He played a handful of games for the Yankees at the end of the season and finished the year with a .304 batting average in 34 games for New York.<\/p>\n
Cotto battled with prospect Dan Pasqua for the Yankees\u2019 fifth outfielder spot in the spring of 1986 and again won a spot on the Opening Day roster \u2013 with the team planning to have Cotto play regularly against left-handed starting pitchers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe man has done everything we\u2019ve asked of him here,\u201d Yankees manager Lou Piniella told the Fort Lauderdale News about Cotto toward the end of Spring Training. \u201cIt will be hard to leave him off the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cotto started in left field on Opening Day against the Royals as Kansas City had lefty Bud Black on the mound. Cotto had one hit in three at-bats and looked forward to showcasing his hitting abilities with increased playing time.<\/p>\n
\u201cLou helped me last year,\u201d Cotto told the Fort Lauderdale News about Piniella, who was the Yankees hitting coach in 1985 before taking over as manager in 1986. \u201cHe got me to wait on the ball. I\u2019m surprised at how hard I\u2019m hitting the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
But once again, Cotto was sent to Columbus in May \u2013 this time exchanging roster positions with Pasqua. Cotto was hitting .167 when he was demoted and spent the rest of the minor league season with Columbus, hitting .248 in 97 games before returning to New York in September. He played in 35 games with New York in 1986 and hit .213.<\/p>\n
Henry Cotto wore three different jersey numbers \u2013 Nos. 46, 17 and 28 \u2013 as he shuttled between New York and Triple-A Columbus in 1987. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\/Major League Baseball)
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Following the 1986 season, Cotto starred for the Caguas Criolles in the Caribbean World Series, helping Puerto Rico win the title while leading the tournament with six stolen bases. But he found himself back in Columbus to start the season before returning to the majors in May and then bouncing up and down five times, hitting .235 in 149 at-bats \u2013 his most in the big leagues since 1984 \u2013 with the Yankees.<\/p>\n
On Dec. 22, 1987, Cotto\u2019s odyssey with the Yankees ended when he was traded with Steve Trout to the Mariners in a deal for Lee Guetterman, Clay Parker and Wade Taylor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was mad because the Yankees never gave me the opportunity to play,\u201d Cotto told the Associated Press in 1988. \u201cIt was hard to get my swing down when I\u2019d play one or two games a week. They didn\u2019t have any room for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mariners president Chuck Armstrong told the AP following the deal that Cotto would be given every opportunity to win the team\u2019s starting center field job. He began the year in a platoon with Mike Kingery but soon held the job outright.<\/p>\n
Cotto was hitting .439 at the end of April and still had his average over .400 in early May.<\/p>\n
\u201cHenry is getting a chance to play now and that\u2019s a big part of it,\u201d Mariners manager Dick Williams told the Associated Press. \u201cIn Chicago, with the Cubs, and in New York, with the Yankees, he was always part of a shuttle. He was always the odd man out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cotto\u2019s bat cooled, and he endured a 1-for-39 slump at the end of June that dropped his batting average below .270. But he arrested the skid and finished the season hitting .259 with 27 steals and 50 runs scored in 133 games.<\/p>\n
Henry Cotto twice led American League baserunners in stolen base percentage, converting 84.2 percent of his attempts in 1991 and 92 percent in 1992. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\/Major League Baseball)
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However, Cotto \u2013 and everyone else in baseball \u2013 knew that he would not hold the starting center field job in Seattle for long. Ken Griffey Jr., the No. 1 overall pick in the 1987 MLB Draft, had made it all the way to Double-A in 1988 and wound up winning the starting center field position for the Mariners in 1989.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s ready to play,\u201d Cotto told the AP about Griffey in the spring of 1989. \u201cHe\u2019s showed his ability to everybody. I think he\u2019s going to be one of the best in two or three years, maybe the best in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old Griffey finished third in the American League Rookie of the Year balloting in 1989, and by the next season he was an All-Star and a Gold Glove Award winner. Cotto, meanwhile, hit .264 with nine home runs and 10 steals off the bench in 100 games in 1989.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlayers have a job to do,\u201d Cotto told the AP. \u201cI come to the park and do my job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now seen as one of the top reserve outfielders in baseball, Cotto hit .259 with 21 steals and 33 RBI (his third straight year with exactly 33 runs batted in) in 1990 while appearing in 127 games. Cotto was even better in 1991 while earning praise for his success rate on the bases, which measured out at 82.7 percent (91-for-110 in stolen bases) through the 1991 season.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou got to have speed to steal, but at the same time you have to have a good jump on the pitcher,\u201d Cotto told the Kitsap Sun. \u201cIf you don\u2019t get a good jump, no matter how well you run, you are going to be thrown out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose first two steps are important. You get those first two steps on the pitcher and there\u2019s a 90 percent chance you are going to make it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cotto was hitting .305 with 16 steals in 19 attempts in 66 games when he aggravated a right shoulder injury against the Angels on Aug. 2, sidelining him for the rest of the season. But the Mariners were 37-29 in games he played that season en route to a mark of 83-79 \u2013 the first winning season in franchise history.<\/p>\n
Henry Cotto shifted from center field to the corners to accommodate future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. in 1989. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\/Major League Baseball)
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Now an established veteran in the Mariners clubhouse \u2013 and close friend of fellow Puerto Rican and future Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez \u2013 Cotto continued his consistent play in 1992, batting .259 with 27 RBI, 23 steals (in 25 attempts) and 42 runs scored in 108 games. He signed a one-year deal worth a reported $900,000 to remain in Seattle in 1993 but started the season cold at the plate. He was hitting .190 through 54 games when the Mariners traded him with Jeff Darwin to the Marlins on June 27 in exchange for Dave Magadan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Seattle and will always have friends there, but this is a business,\u201d Cotto told McClatchy News Service. \u201cYou\u2019re here today, somewhere else tomorrow. This was my time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cotto filled his customary bench role with Florida but hit much better than he had in Seattle, batting .296 with 11 steals (in 12 attempts) in 54 games. A free agent following the season, Cotto signed with the Orioles on Feb. 3, 1994, but was only with the team for 13 days before Baltimore released him so he could sign a reported $1 million deal with the Yomiuri Giants of the Japan Central League.<\/p>\n
He hit .251 with 18 homers and 52 RBI (and curiously stole just two bases in six attempts) while helping the Giants advance to the Japan Series against the Seibu Lions. In Game 6 of the series, Cotto went 3-for-3 including an eighth-inning home run as Yomiuri won 3-1 to capture the title.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just so happy,\u201d Cotto told reporters of his celebration as he rounded the bases after his home run. \u201cThis is the first time I acted like that all year. I was in the playoffs (with the Cubs) in \u201984 but this is better than that. I might never forget this.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Following his playing career, Henry Cotto coached in the Seattle and San Francisco organizations from 1996 through 2017. (Ron Vesely\/MLB Photos)
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Immediately after the Japan Series, Cotto expressed a desire to return to Japan in 1995 but signed with the White Sox in February while the MLB work stoppage was still going on. Cotto agreed to be a replacement player and ranked as the replacement leader among active players in homers (44), RBI (210), hits (569) and steals (130) as the new season dawned. But when the labor dispute was settled, the White Sox sent Cotto to Triple-A Nashville, where he appeared in just 17 games before his career came to an end.<\/p>\n
Cotto coached in the minor leagues for more than two decades following his playing career, passing his baserunning expertise along to the next generation. He finished his big league career with 130 steals in 156 attempts for a stolen base success rate of 83.3 percent that ranks in the Top 15 all-time among retired players with at least 100 steals.<\/p>\n
Over 10 big league seasons, Cotto batted .261 in 884 games. And though he rarely got the chance to be a starter, Cotto annually contributed to his team by always being ready to answer the bell.<\/p>\n
\u201cHenry Cotto has done an outstanding job,\u201d Cubs manager Jim Frey told United Press International in August of 1984 as Chicago was gathering steam toward the postseason. \u201cFor a guy to sit around for as long as he has and then perform, that\u2019s quite a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 1984 Cubs ended 39 years of franchise frustration by winning the National League East title, the first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":503405,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2290],"tags":[5],"class_list":{"0":"post-503404","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baseball","8":"tag-baseball"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115828178677733215","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}