How did it go wrong? How did Pasqua go from a “can’t miss” player to a Yankees organizational footnote? Pressure, expectations, and impatience from Pasqua himself, the fans, and the New York Yankees organization.
Dan Pasqua was no Mickey Mantle, but unfortunately for Pasqua, he LOOKED like Mantle with a similar body type, size, and weight. Both players had huge expectations unfairly placed upon them. When Mantle was trying to cut his big-league teeth in 1951, he was given the number 6 by the Yankees. This matters because it was the next number after the great Yankee center fielder Joe DiMaggio. “Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio” was given the number 5 as a direct link to Lou Gehrig, whose number 4 linked to Babe Ruth with number 3. The pressure of trying to be as good as DiMaggio was perhaps what caused Mantle to slump badly during the beginning of his rookie year; it took a trip back to the minor leagues before being promoted again to the big club later in the year with a new number of 7 to give Mantle some relief from the pressure.
Playing center field for the New York Yankees is one of the elite positions in sports, and Pasqua was positioned as a minor league center fielder envisioned to become the next Yankees legend.
“I was definitely being groomed by the Yankees, each step of the way, but I was not thinking about being the center fielder of the Yankees, I just wanted to play in their outfield. It wasn’t until after I made the Yankees did the media and fans start with the expectations of being the next great center fielder like DiMaggio, Mantle, or Bobby Murcer,” explained Pasqua. “I was just excited about the opportunity to one day play in the Yankees outfield.”
In defense of Yankees fans and the hyper-driven New York sports media, Pasqua showed greatness playing up the Yankees minor league ladder by hitting tape-measure home runs, driving in runs, making minor league All-Star teams, and showing the grace of a future Yankee. Then on May 30, 1985, Dan Pasqua became the 15,034th player in MLB history. Wearing number 21 on the back of his pinstriped home jersey, Pasqua made a long-awaited loud grand entrance to the New York Yankees and their highly anticipating fans.