Age: 25 (Aug. 24)
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’3” Weight: 200
Prior to 1993:
Born in Long
Beach, California, Salmon grew up in a broken home and attended Greenway High
School in Phoenix, Arizona where he starred on the baseball team, batting .381
as a senior in 1986. Drafted that year by the Atlanta Braves, he chose to
attend Grand Canyon University, where he had three outstanding seasons. Chosen
by the Angels in the third round of the 1989 amateur draft, Salmon signed for
$60,000 and was first assigned to the Bend Bucks of the short-season Class A
Northwest League where he batted .245 in 55 games and hit 6 home runs with 31
RBIs. Moving on to Palm Springs of the advanced Class A California League in
1990, his career almost ended when he was hit in the face by a pitch, necessitating
plastic surgery to repair the damage. Three months later, he resumed his career
with Midland of the Class AA Texas League, where he batted .268 in 27 games.
Salmon continued on with Midland in 1991 where his hitting was streaky and he
was prone to striking out (166 times in 131 games). He hit .245 with 23 home
runs and 94 RBIs. Working with minor league batting instructor Gene Richards,
he improved significantly in 1992 with Edmonton of the Class AAA Pacific Coast
League, hitting .347 with 29 home runs and 105 RBIs, thus earning a late-season
call-up to the Angels, where in 23 games he batted .177. He stuck with the
Angels in 1993, impressing with his defensive skills in right field as well as
his bat.
1993 Season Summary
Appeared in 142
games
RF – 140, CF –
1, DH – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate Appearances
– 610
At Bats – 515
Runs – 93 [17,
tied with Albert Belle]
Hits – 146
Doubles – 35 [15,
tied with Roberto Alomar]
Triples – 1
Home Runs – 31 [9,
tied with Danny Tartabull]
RBI – 95 [20]
Bases on Balls
– 82 [12, tied with Brady Anderson]
Int. BB – 5
Strikeouts – 135
[6, tied with Chili Davis]
Stolen Bases – 5
Caught Stealing
– 6
Average - .283
OBP - .382 [11]
Slugging Pct. -
.536 [8]
Total Bases – 276
[14]
GDP – 6
Hit by Pitches
– 5
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 8
[10, tied with seven others]
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 17, RBI – 58, AVG - .282, SLG PCT - .519
---
Most hits, game
– 3 on eight occasions
Longest hitting
streak – 10 games
Most HR, game –
2 (in 4 AB) vs. Oakland 7/27, (in 5 AB) vs. Detroit 8/18
HR at home – 23
HR on road – 8
Multi-HR games
– 2
Most RBIs, game
– 4 at Texas 5/23, vs. Oakland 7/27, vs. Seattle 9/15
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 354
Put Outs – 335
Assists – 12
Errors – 7
DP - 2
Pct. - .980
Awards & Honors:
AL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
AL ROY Voting (Top
5):
Tim Salmon, Cal.:
140 pts. – 28 of 28 first place votes, 100% share
Jason Bere,
ChiWS.: 59 pts. – 42% share
Aaron Sele, Bos.:
19 pts. – 14% share
Wayne Kirby,
Clev.: 12 pts. – 9% share
Rich Amaral,
Sea.: 8 pts. – 6% share
Angels went 71-91
to finish tied for fifth in the AL Western Division with the Minnesota Twins,
23 games behind the division-winning Chicago White Sox while leading the league
in fewest hits (1399). The Angels got off to a 13-5 start and were at .500 at
the All-Star break before fading in the season’s second half.
Aftermath of ‘93:
“Kingfish”
followed up with another solid performance during the strike-shortened 1994
season, in which he batted .287 with 23 home runs and 70 RBIs. In 1995 Salmon
improved to .330 with 34 home runs and 105 RBIs and he received a Silver
Slugger Award and finished seventh in AL MVP voting while the Angels placed
second in the AL West. Salmon hit .286 with 30 home runs and 98 RBIs in 1996
and .296 with 33 home runs and 129 RBIs in ’97. A severe wrist sprain sidelined
him during the 1999 season. Limited to 98 games, he batted .266 with 17 home
runs and 69 RBIs. Salmon bounced back to .290 with 34 home runs and 97 RBIs in
2000. Receiving a four-year, $40 million contract extension from the Angels in
2001, he struggled through a major slump and batted just .227 with 17 home runs
and 49 RBIs. Salmon bounced back in 2002 with a .286 average, 22 home runs, and
88 RBIs despite missing nearly a month with a hand injury. The Angels reached
the postseason and won the World Series. Salmon played a major role in the
team’s success, batting .288 in the 16 games with 4 home runs and 12 RBIs. In
2003 the 34-year-old (at the start of the season) began to show signs of age
and wear, although he was still effective with a .275 average and 19 home runs
with 72 RBIs. He spent significant time as a Designated Hitter rather than in
the field. Various injuries limited Salmon to only 60 games in 2004, with the
arrival of free agent right fielder Vladimir Guerrero shifting him to largely a
DH and pinch-hitting role. Recovery from multiple surgeries cost him the entire
2005 season and he was considered a longshot to make the team in 2006. He
succeeded in playing one last season for the Angels, batting .265 in 76 games. Overall,
in a career spent entirely with the Angels, Salmon batted .282 with 1674 hits
that included 339 doubles, 24 triples, and 299 home runs. He drove in 1016 RBIs
and, while never an All-Star, he finished in the top 10 in AL MVP voting twice.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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