Initially, the lefty\u2019s success came only against right-handers \u2014 manager Billy Martin went so far as to order him to bat from the right side of the plate<\/a> against a tough lefty in 1985. But, as the years went on, he developed from a platoon player to a true starter, appearing in 149 games in 1986 and 150 in \u201887. His 60 homers across those two seasons ranked third among all third basemen in the game, behind only inner-circle Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt and two-time Twins All-Star Gary Gaetti.<\/p>\n Throughout this period, the player who had worked his way up the ladder rung by rung became known for his hard-nosed approach to the game. \u201cHe comes out for extra hitting and he\u2019s done with that and he wants extra hitting on top of the extra hitting,\u201d said coach Roy White<\/a>. \u201cHe says, \u2018This feels good; I want to keep working on it,\u2019 and he goes down to the cage. After a while, I try to stop him. There\u2019s such a thing as overdoing it.\u201d<\/p>\n Pagliarulo seemed to disagree<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSome day, when I can\u2019t play anymore, I can say I played as hard as I could play. I have no excuses. I\u2019ve done the best I can do. I\u2019ve worked as hard as I could work. In the past, I wasn\u2019t polished. I figured the more I worked, the better I\u2019d get. I figure now the guy who works the hardest is the guy who\u2019s going to be the best. I want to work harder than anybody and I want to be better than everybody. That\u2019s carried me so far, and it\u2019s going to carry me the rest of my career. I can\u2019t see being satisfied with what you\u2019re doing because I figure once you\u2019re satisfied, that\u2019s it. You\u2019re not going to get any better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite his hard work, by 1988 Pagliarulo\u2019s bat began to trail off. The following season, the Yankees once again shipped their starting third baseman out to San Diego, this time for right-handed pitchers Walt Terrell and Freddie Toliver, neither of whom panned out in pinstripes. Pagliarulo\u2019s time out west was a failure as well. In addition to posting just a .668 OPS in parts of two seasons, he drew the ire of teammates and fans for attacking Mr. Padre himself, Tony Gwynn, as a selfish player. \u201cDonnie (Mattingly) would\u2019ve kicked that guy\u2019s ass the first day,\u201d he told the Daily News<\/a> in an interview of appallingly poor judgment, which won him no friends in San Diego.<\/p>\n Pags had a resurgence after leaving the Padres, carving out a starting role with the Twins on their 1991 championship team. The veteran showed out in what would be the only playoff action of his career, hitting .308 in 11 games with a pair of homers, one of which was the decisive blow in Game 3 of the ALCS in Toronto, off Mike Timlin.<\/p>\n Pagliarulo stuck around with Minnesota for parts of two more seasons before a brief stint with the Orioles. For the 1994 season, the 34-year-old joined the NPB, helping lead the Seibu Lions to the Japan Series, where they would be defeated by a Yomiuri Giants squad featuring a 20-year-old Hideki Matsui. He returned to the States the following year, appearing in 86 games with the Rangers before hanging up his cleats for good.<\/p>\n Pagliarulo has coached intermittently in the years since his retirement, most notably under his old pal Mattingly as the Marlins\u2019 hitting coach from 2016-18.<\/p>\n
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