Oregon daily emerald., December 01, 2000, Page 12, Image 12

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Money talks. Mussina walks
By Ronald Blum
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — After beating the
rest of baseball on the field, the
New York Yankees beat everyone
to Mike Mussina.
“It just came down to who really
seemed to want me on their team
the most,” Mussina said Thursday
after agreeing to an $88.5 million,
six-year contract.
The deal gives the three-time de
fending World Series champions a
starting rotation that includes
Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Or
lando Hernandez and Mussina.
With just 16 players signed, New
York’s payroll is $80.4 million.
“It probably isn’t fair,” Yankees
manager Joe Torre said. “But,
again, George Steinbrenner has
had winners here in New York and
he probably thinks about how to
keep doing it.”
Mussina, who turns 32 on Dec.
8, compiled a 147-81 record with a
3.53 ERA in 10 seasons with the
Baltimore Orioles. He gets a $12
million signing bonus payable
over six years, $8 million in 2001,
$9 million in 2002, $10 million in
2003, $14 million in 2004 and $17
million in each of the final three
years.
New York has a $17 million op
tion for 2007 with a $1.5 million
buyout, and Mussina gets a com
plete no-trade clause.
And he’s not even the ace.
“It’s been a long time since I
wasn’t considered the No. 1 starter
from the first game of spring train
ing,” he said. “We might go to the
playoffs next year and I might not
even get a chance to pitch. That’s
how strong they are. ”
The rest of baseball took notice.
“It makes it very difficult,” Seat
tle general manager Pat Gillick
said. “They’ve got two or three No.
Is now.”
Last week, Mussina cut his final
ists to the Yankees, New York Mets
and Boston Red Sox. After Thanks
giving, he decided the Yankees
were his first choice.
On Monday, he drove to Rye
Brook, N.Y., for his physical, and
Torre and general manager Brian
Cashman took him to dinner in
Greenwich, Conn.
Mussina’s agent, Am Tellem, ne
gotiated by telephone Tuesday and
Wednesday, then traveled from
Los Angeles and concluded the
deal Thursday morning. Tellem
said he could have pushed the dol
lars higher by extending negotia
tions, but his client instructed him
to conclude a deal with the Yan
kees, wanting to reciprocate the in
terest they showed him.
“New York was the best fit for
me,” Mussina said. “It came down
to who I was most impressed with,
and I was most impressed with the
Yankees. Joe Torre called me not
even a week after the World Series,
before he went on vacation. To me,
that was a pretty big gesture.”
He walked past a life-size pic
ture of Babe Ruth when he went
into the news conference at Yan
kee Stadium. The Yankees brought
Torre to the news conference along
with Hall of Famer Yogi Berra.
They presented Mussina with uni
form No. 35 — Berra’s first number
before he switched to No. 8, which
has been retired in his honor.
The Yankees gave a box of roses
to Mussina’s wife, Jana, then gave
her presents to take home to the
children in Montoursville, Pa. —
including a Yankees Barbie doll
and teddy bear. Mussina said he
felt like a high-school athlete being
wooed by colleges.
“It seemed like every guy on the
team called,” Tellem said. “Every
day, he’d tell me who called.”
With a $14.75 million average
annual value, the deal makes
Mussina the second- or third-high
est-paid pitcher in baseball, de
pending on how Clemens’ new
contract is evaluated.
While Clemens and his agents
consider his $30.9 million exten
sion a two-year deal that averages
$15.45 million, the Yankees say it’s
a three-year contract that averages
$10.3 million.
Mussina also trails Kevin Brown
of Los Angeles, who averages $15
million under a $105 million, sev
en-year contract.
The only position players with
higher average salaries are Toronto
first baseman Carlos Delgado ($17
million) and Atlanta third base
man Chipper Jones ($15 million).
“With the signing of Mike, we
should have another chance to
make a run at the World Series
again next season,” Pettitte said.
Mussina, who has won 18 or
more games four times, is 3-4 with
a 3.45 ERA in 10 career starts at
Yankee Stadium. He went 11-15
with a 3.79 ERA for the Orioles last
season.
“Losing Moose, it’s like a lot of
fans have been stabbed, and that
wound is going to be hard to heal,”
Orioles pitcher Chuck McElrov
said.
“We’re all disappointed he’s not
coming back... but not surprised,”
manager Mike Hargrove said.
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