Joel Skinner, son of former Pirate All-Star Bob Skinner from the 1960s, never hit a whole a lot in his nine years in the majors. Overall, he had a career .228 batting average with 17 homers. In 1987 though, his prowess with the bat was at a low.
For the Yankees, he hit .137 in 139 at-bats with seven extra base hits including three homers. He had eight walks, struck out 46 times and hit into nine double plays.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 Totals | 64 | 154 | 139 | 9 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 46 | .137 | .187 | .230 |
Give Skinner this, he could field. APBA rewarded him with a C-8 on his 1987 card. So many no-hit catchers stuck around like Skinner because they could contribute on the field.
Skinner had two zeroes for power numbers followed by hit numbers 8-8-9-9. That gives him an ugly 51-13 only because APBA catchers have two unusual numbers, in Skinner’s case, a 15-36 and a 25-38.
Skinner’s nine GIDPs don’t help him any either. He’s got a total of six 24s on his card including a 23-24 and a 63-24.
Ugly numbers: 51-13, 15-36, 44-9
Joel Skinner had one bright offensive spot in his career however fleeting. For Tony LaRussa’s 1985 White Sox, he hit .341 in 44 at-bats. Not too surprisingly, he followed it up with his highest playing time in one year in 1986. Unfortunately, he only hit .201 for the Sox before getting shipped to the Yankees.
