AFJF Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 God, I remember reading all the hype about Hensley as a young 3B in AAA. Never lived up to the hype but nice to see him and Righetti with a shot at winnng a ring in San Fran. SAN FRANCISCO - Hensley Meulens never made it big in pinstripes as many had predicted he would, but despite a less-than-memorable playing career, the one-time top prospect is smack in the middle of this year's World Series as the Giants' hitting coach. Meulens bashed his way through the Yankees' minor-league system in the late 1980s, hitting 28 home runs in A-ball in 1987 and 19 more in '88 between Double-A and Triple-A. Known as "Bam Bam," Meulens was expected to help George Steinbrenner's Yankees get back to the World Series, a place they hadn't been since 1981. The Yankees brought him up for eight games in 1989 and 23 games in 1990, though Meulens failed to impress either time despite hitting 26 homers at Triple-A in '90 and winning the International League's MVP award. His longest stint in the majors came in 1991, when he hit .222 with six home runs and 29 RBI in 96 games. Although Meulens never fulfilled his promise in pinstripes, he looks back and says that his days with the Yankees taught him to prioritize winning above all else. "There was no nonsense, no flashiness; you just came to the ballpark, played hard and put everything you had into the game that night to win that one game," Meulens said. "That was the mentality we were taught. We were very driven and we didn't like losing. That all came from George." The Yankees didn't win more than 76 games in any of the first four years Meulens played in the big leagues, and although they won 88 for a second-place finish in 1993, it would be the final year Meulens would wear their uniform. "We went through a bad spell there," Meulens said. "Unfortunately for me, my Yankees era wasn't so good. We weren't on top like they are now; we just didn't have the pitching." Following three years in Japan and two uninspiring seasons in the Expos and Diamondbacks organizations, Meulens turned to coaching, working in the low levels of the Orioles system for two seasons before joining the Pirates as their Triple-A hitting coach, a job he held from 2005-08. It was during this stretch that Meulens realized that the Yankees' passion for winning wasn't always shared by every club. "It was different there," Meulens said. "It was more about developing guys, not about winning. It shows. It's so awesome to have grown up in the Yankees organization, to learn that it's all about winning. Developing players is important, but you have to develop a winning attitude as well. Not every team does that." Last year, Giants general manager Brian Sabean – who was the Yankees' farm director while Meulens with with the Bombers – brought Meulens in as San Francisco's Triple-A hitting coach. Sabean promoted Meulens to the big leagues last November, putting the Giants' struggling offense in his hands. San Francisco rose from 13th in the National League in runs scored to ninth under Meulens' watch, scoring 40 more runs this season than they did a year ago. The Giants raised their on-base percentage from .309 to .321, rising from last in the league to ninth, as well. Although the Giants' strength is their impressive pitching staff, Meulens sat in the dugout and watched his lineup mash Texas pitchers for 20 runs in the first two games of the World Series. After a disappointing playing career, Meulens is finally enjoying the success so many people had projected for him. "You never think you're going to be a part of it," Meulens said. "This is my 25th year in baseball, I'm 43 years old and I've spent a lot of time in the big leagues without even being close. It's awesome. It's everything you can imagine to be in these games Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Righetti and Bam Bam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFJF Posted October 31, 2010 Author Share Posted October 31, 2010 Righetti and Bam Bam? Righetti as the pitching coach and "Bam Bam" as the hitting instructor. I feel happier for "Rags" because he's an all time great but I always like Muelens' demeanor. Even though he never got it done at the major league level he seemed like a good all around guy. Ya know, nothing at all like Darrelle Revis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 I saw Bam Bam at one of those Yankee fan festivals in the early 90's at the Javitz Center. I said to him, Bam Bam tell Buck to give you some playing time, 20 home runs for you this year. He said sounds good, tell that to Buck. Well Buck was sitting next to him, and I repeated it. Buck (Mr Personality) didn't find it entertaining. I still have the Bam Bam autographed ball though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFJF Posted October 31, 2010 Author Share Posted October 31, 2010 I saw Bam Bam at one of those Yankee fan festivals in the early 90's at the Javitz Center. I said to him, Bam Bam tell Buck to give you some playing time, 20 home runs for you this year. He said sounds good, tell that to Buck. Well Buck was sitting next to him, and I repeated it. Buck (Mr Personality) didn't find it entertaining. I still have the Bam Bam autographed ball though. That's hilarious. I have a pic (somewhere) of myself with "Bam Bam" and Randy Velarde at the first fan festival at the Javitz Ctr. I think i waited on line for about five hours for Mattingly's autograph and still have that pic today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 That's hilarious. I have a pic (somewhere) of myself with "Bam Bam" and Randy Velarde at the first fan festival at the Javitz Ctr. I think i waited on line for about five hours for Mattingly's autograph and still have that pic today. Mattingly's lines were crazy long. I used to go for the Rich Monteleone and John Montefusco's of the world. Once got Jim Leyritz to sign the same ball twice because he had no line. He remembered that he signed for me and pointed out his signature. I said Jim, I am a really big fan. He signed it again and laughed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFJF Posted October 31, 2010 Author Share Posted October 31, 2010 Mattingly's lines were crazy long. I used to go for the Rich Monteleone and John Montefusco's of the world. Once got Jim Leyritz to sign the same ball twice because he had no line. He remembered that he signed for me and pointed out his signature. I said Jim, I am a really big fan. He signed it again and laughed. Yeah, it was great to grab other autogrpah's when Mattingly was up. I was lucky the day I went because Guidry was up at the same time so I just walked up to him with no line at all and had a nice little chat with him. I never saw him in his hey day since I started watching in '87 but I knew about him from my uncle who always told me about his season in '78. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Yeah, it was great to grab other autogrpah's when Mattingly was up. I was lucky the day I went because Guidry was up at the same time so I just walked up to him with no line at all and had a nice little chat with him. I never saw him in his hey day since I started watching in '87 but I knew about him from my uncle who always told me about his season in '78. I was 9 and living in NY during the 78 season. He was pretty popular needless to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFJF Posted October 31, 2010 Author Share Posted October 31, 2010 I was 9 and living in NY during the 78 season. He was pretty popular needless to say. I was 2 in 78 Sadly, with the premature grey, you'd see me now and think I was 24 in 78. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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