The Return of Mighty Mouse
Gotham gets a new superhero
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In 2014, he broke a minor league record shared by Kevin Millar and Kevin Youkilis, two members of the 2004 Red Sox World Championship team. That makes it all the more fitting that Andrew Velazquez, who reached base in a record 74 consecutive games with South Bend in 2014, is now helping the Yankees in their quest to win a title.
Last week, we took a look at the two base hits and sensational game-ending play Velazquez made vs. Boston. On Saturday, the Bronx native followed up with his first Major League home run in a 7-1 victory over the Twins.
Naturally, the New York media seized the chance to jump on a good story and celebrate a local. We should all enjoy it; usually if a Yankees shortstop is hitting .244 with one homer, one walk, and 15 strikeouts, he’s getting skewered on the back page.
So what is it about the kid from Fordham Prep that’s ingratiated him to the most ruthless sports media in the country?
Mark Haley managed Velazquez for two seasons with the Low-A affiliate of the Diamondbacks. “He’s so steady,” Haley said.
At the mention of the diminutive shortstop, who was affectionately dubbed “Squid” during the 2013 season in South Bend, the former manager starts with the streak. As the consecutive games mounted, Velazquez would pop into Haley’s office and want to talk. “Just play and have fun,” Haley would say, sending him away. “Just play your game — don’t worry about it.”
And he did. From April 22 to July 16 during the 2014 season, Velazquez reached base. “That’s when you knew he was going to make it,” Haley said, referring more to his mental approach than his on-field accomplishment.
The D-backs scout who identified Velazquez and got to know him better than any other scout in the game was Todd Donovan, a former colleague of mine — both with Arizona and later with Tampa Bay — and a friend (and a WTP subscriber, too). That said, it was essential not to allow my desire to see this underdog player succeed impact my evaluation of him.
I went back through my scouting notes to review my initial impressions of the 2012 seventh-round draft pick. The first time I saw him play was in rookie ball during the Pioneer League championship series — only a few months after he was drafted.
Velazquez had recently turned 18 and was very young for the league, but his excellent stint in the Arizona League earned him the promotion. Generously listed at 5’9, he was smaller than his Missoula manager, Andy Green — current Cubs bench coach — who was also generously listed at 5’9 during his playing days.
Velazquez only played in one of the two games I saw, and what I noted from the switch-hitter was that he was an easy runner with a high-energy motor. I reached out to Green to see what he remembered from the few weeks that he managed the player who many in the D-backs front office called “Mighty Mouse.”
“He made a big error late that cost us a game in the first series of the playoffs,” Green said. “I just remember how devastated he was after that game. I told him I was glad it happened because now he’ll get to show how tough he is by how he responds to adversity, and that the mark of a future big leaguer is how he plays after a mistake.”
The makeup that Haley saw in 2014 was tested then for the first time in his professional career.
“He played really well the rest of the way. He was crazy young… he was really eager, and he bounced around the field like a jackrabbit.”
The following season in South Bend — still very young for the level of competition — I got a better look at Velazquez. His defense was undeniable: he had a plus arm and showed the ability to hold down shortstop.
His offense was a work in progress, though that was to be expected. His approach was inconsistent — at times he’d play pepper with the ball, slapping it the other way; other times, generally as a right-handed hitter, he’d put the ball in the air without the power to drive it.
Haley attributes that to youth. For Velazquez, he had to figure out who he was and embrace it. Maybe it was all the muscle that confused the teenage player.
“He was built like a brick shithouse,” Haley said. “I used to have to tell him: ‘Dude, put your shirt back on!’”
As a steady defender, Velazquez has offered stability to what has been a shaky left side of the Yankees infield. In more recent developments, he’s now hitting enough to stay in the lineup.
On his fourth team in four years — he’s been in uniform with the Rays, Indians, and Orioles — his recent performance as a contributor in a pennant race has put the entire league on notice: Mighty Mouse is saving the day for the Yanks.
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