Rookie of the Year: Walt Weiss, 1988

Shortstop, Oakland Athletics

Age:  24

Bats – Both, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 175 

Prior to 1988:

A native of New York state, Weiss was physically and mentally tough with a strong work ethic, although he was a scrawny 5’3” and 105 pounds when he entered Suffern High School. Filling out in the ensuing years, he ran track and played football in addition to baseball. Named Rockland County baseball player of the year in 1982, he was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the ’82 amateur draft. Deciding instead to attend the Univ. of North Carolina, he was all-conference for three years and was drafted by the Athletics eleventh overall in 1985. After signing, Weiss split time in the Rookie-level Pioneer League and the Class A California League in ’85 and in a combined 70 games he batted .261. Moving on to Madison of the Class A Midwest League in 1986, Weiss hit .301 with a .362 on-base percentage while appearing in 84 games and was promoted to Huntsville of the Class AA Southern League where he hit .250 in 46 games. Starting the 1987 season with Huntsville, Weiss batted .285 in 91 games and moved on to Tacoma of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League for 46 games. He saw his first action with Oakland where he appeared in 16 games and hit .462, also showing enough in the field that veteran shortstop Alfredo Griffin was traded in the offseason to create an opening for Weiss in 1988.  

1988 Season Summary

Appeared in 147 games

SS – 147, PH – 1, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 511

At Bats – 452

Runs – 44

Hits – 113

Doubles – 17

Triples – 3

Home Runs – 3

RBI – 39

Bases on Balls – 35

Int. BB – 1

Strikeouts – 56

Stolen Bases – 4

Caught Stealing – 4

Average - .250

OBP - .312

Slugging Pct. - .321

Total Bases – 145

GDP – 9

Hit by Pitches – 9 [6, tied with four others]

Sac Hits – 8 [19, tied with six others]

Sac Flies – 7 [11, tied with ten others]

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 6, HR – 3, RBI – 26, AVG - .232, OBP - .291

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Most hits, game – 3 on six occasions

Longest hitting streak – 6 games

Most HR, game – 1 (in 3 AB) at Baltimore 5/15, (in 4 AB) at Minnesota 6/3, (in 4 AB) at Detroit 7/10

HR at home – 0

HR on road – 3

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 at Detroit 7/10

Pinch-hitting – 0 for 1 (.000)

Fielding

Chances – 700

Put Outs – 254

Assists – 431

Errors – 15

DP – 83

Pct. - .979

Postseason Batting: 9 G (ALCS vs. Boston 4 G; World Series vs. LA Dodgers 5 G)

PA – 32, AB – 31, R – 3, H – 6, 2B – 2,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 2, BB – 0, IBB – 0, SO – 6, SB – 1, CS – 0, AVG - .194, OBP - .194, SLG -.258, TB – 8, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 1, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA 

AL ROY Voting (Top 5):

Walt Weiss, Oak.: 103 points – 17 of 28 first place votes, 74% share

Bryan Harvey, Cal.: 49 points –3 first place votes, 35% share

Jody Reed, Bos.: 48 points – 6 first place votes, 34% share

Don August, Mil.: 22 points. – 16% share

Dave Gallagher, ChiWS.: 18 points – 2 first place votes, 13% share

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Athletics went 104-58 to finish first in the AL Western Division by 13 games over the Minnesota Twins. A youthful team supplemented by veteran acquisitions the A’s took command of the AL West thanks to a 14-game winning streak from April into May.  The lead held up the rest of the way despite a brief June slump . Won ALCS over the Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 0. Lost World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 1.

Aftermath of ‘88:

In 1989, a knee injury hindered Weiss, who was limited to 84 games and batted .233. He overcame further injuries in 1990 to hit .265 with a .337 OBP. Oakland won a third straight pennant, but Weiss was injured during the ALCS triumph over the Red Sox and missed the World Series, in which Cincinnati swept the A’s. In 1991 he suffered a serious leg injury and appeared in only 40 games while hitting a paltry .226. Playing in just 103 games in 1992, Weiss batted only .212 and was dealt to the expansion Florida Marlins in the offseason. Healthy enough to appear in 158 games in 1993, he hit .266 with a .367 OBP, thanks to drawing 79 walks. His defense was solid as well. A free agent in the offseason, Weiss signed with the other ’93 expansion club, the Colorado Rockies. Helping the Rockies solidify their middle infield with his good defense that included an accurate throwing arm, Weiss also batted .251 with a .336 OBP and 12 stolen bases during the strike-shortened 1994 season. The Rockies reached the postseason in 1995 and Weiss contributed steady play at shortstop and furthermore drew 98 walks although typically batting eighth in the lineup. He hit .260 with a .403 OBP and stole 15 bases in 18 attempts. In 1996 he batted a career-high .282 with 8 home runs and 48 RBIs while drawing 80 walks. Weiss spent one more season in Colorado in 1997 and hit .270 with a .377 OBP before departing as a free agent in the offseason and signing with the Atlanta Braves. He was an All-Star for the only time in his career, but injuries and the distraction of his young son’s illness limited him to 96 games, and while he hit .280, his second-half production was only .227 after being .312 at the All-Star break. Weiss played two more seasons with the Braves before retiring after the 2000 season. For his major league career, Weiss batted .258 with 1207 hits that included 182 doubles, 31 triples, and 25 home runs. He scored 623 runs and compiled 386 RBIs, 96 stolen bases, and a .351 OBP. Weiss drew 658 walks, which matched his strikeout total over the course of 1495 games. Defensively he was more impressive, if not a spectacular performer with a fielding percentage of .970. With the Athletics he batted .246 with 395 hits, 60 doubles, 8 home runs, 178 runs scored, 130 RBIs, 32 stolen bases, and a .316 OBP. Weiss appeared in 46 postseason games and hit .190 with a home run and 7 RBIs. Following his playing career, he returned to the Colorado Rockies where he held several roles in the organization, including manager from 2013-16. His teams produced a 283-365 overall record.  

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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.