Sport: Basetball
Born: October 17, 1961
Town: Harrington Park, New Jersey
Daniel Anthony Pasqua was born October 17, 1961 in Yonkers, NY and grew up in the Bergen County town Harrington Park, NJ. His favorite player was Bobby Murcer of the Yankees. Dan began playing baseball at the age of seven and was a top pitcher in Little League. But it was as a hitter that he distinguished himself at Northern Valley Regional High School. Dan was the star of Ralph Cobb’s Golden Knights and was recruited by Jeff Albies to play college ball for William Paterson University in Wayne.
Dan set a school record with 76 RBIs as a sophomore and earned All-America recognition in the two seasons he played for the Pioneers. He and fellow stars Mark Cardaci and Chuck Stewart made up a powerful nucleus. All three were drafted in 1985; Dan went in the third round to his beloved Yankees. He progressed quickly in the minors, flashing the home run power he had displayed in high school and college. Dan earned a midseason call-up after tearing up Class-AAA ball with the Columbus Clippers. He would later be named International League MVP and Rookie of the Year. In New York, Dan homered in his second trip to the plate. He batted .209 with 9 homers in 60 games.
In 1986, Dan’s first full season with the Yankees, he played leftfield against right-handed pitchers and had a solid year, batting .293 with 16 homers, 47 walks and a .525 slugging average. After slipping back to .233 in 1987, Dan was dealt to the Chicago White Sox as part of a package for hurler Rich Dotson.
Dan played both left and rightfield for the White Sox, and DH’d as well. He slugged 20 homers in 1988 and reached double-figures again each year from 1989 to 1991. In 1991, manager Jeff Torborg asked him to play first base while Frank Thomas DH’d. He was shaky in the infield (he wasn’t a plus outfielder either), but knocked in a career-best 66 runs.
Once Dan hit 30, his skills started to decline. He was a part-time player for the rest of his career, and retired in May of 1994 with 117 career home runs.
After baseball, Dan started a homebuilding business in Illinois. Later he went to work at Bulls/Sox Academy as a baseball coach before taking a community relations job with the White Sox.