Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 7, 1991 TAG: 9104070159
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BEN WALKER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Never before has baseball seen such a shift of major talent in one winter. Darryl Strawberry, George Bell, Willie McGee, Vince Coleman, Kirk Gibson and Bo Jackson are among the 30-something free agents who moved while Tim Raines, Glenn Davis, Joe Carter, Fred McGriff, Tony Fernandez, Roberto Alomar and Dave Parker are some of the dozen big names that traded places.
No off-season of moves has ever come close. Put it this way: Since Cincinnati finished its surprise sweep of Oakland, 27 players who ranked among the league's top third in runs, runs batted in, victories or saves have switched teams.
In the past 10 years, never had more than seven such players changed clubs in one winter. And in the past 75 years, only once had at least 10 such players been on the go - in 1963, when 16 guys moved, including trades involving Luis Aparicio, Hoyt Wilhelm and Moose Skowron.
Of course, the emergence of free agency is the biggest reason for so many transactions, particularly last winter's crop of "new-look" players set free by collusion rulings. Gary Gaetti, Jack Morris, Brett Butler, Jack Clark, Dave Smith and Danny Darwin were among them, and they all found new, high-priced homes.
Even as Opening Day approaches Monday, some big names still are out there. Pete Incaviglia, who hit 24 home runs with 85 RBI for Texas, and Fernando Valenzuela, who went 13-13 with a no-hitter for Los Angeles, are available.
With so much switching, there is one big question: Will baseball's balance of power shift, too?
Cincinnati, which will try to become the first World Series champion to repeat since the 1978 New York Yankees, was one of the few teams that did not add a significant player. Instead, the Reds lost Danny Jackson to the Chicago Cubs.
Oakland, trying to become the first team to win four straight pennants since the Yankees in 1964, chose to not re-sign McGee, who won the National League batting title with St. Louis, and Scott Sanderson, a 17-game winner. Rather, they signed Willie Wilson as insurance for Jose Canseco's bad back, got Eric Show to take Sanderson's spot in the rotation and added Ernest Riles and Vance Law to platoon at third base for Carney Lansford, who was injured in a snowmobile accident and could miss the entire year.
Pittsburgh and Boston, the other two division winners, went in opposite directions. The Pirates lost Sid Bream, Wally Backman, R.J. Reynolds and Ted Power without adding anyone, while the Red Sox spent millions to sign Darwin, the NL's ERA leader, Clark and pitcher Matt Young.
Most active of all, however, was Los Angeles. The Dodgers brought Strawberry back home for $20 million, signed Butler to lead off and play center field, pitcher Kevin Gross to start and Gary Carter to back up at catcher, traded Hubie Brooks to get pitcher Bob Ojeda and did not keep either Valenzuela or Gibson.
Strawberry, who hit 37 home runs with a team-record 108 RBI for the New York Mets, will be the focal point. His supporters say a change of scenery will do him good, although he's only a career .225 hitter at Dodger Stadium.
Strawberry's critics are certain he will drop and are convinced the Mets are better off with Coleman in a strength-for-speed exchange. They claim, as do many people, that free agents work hard in their final year to get a rich contract, then go downhill with their new team.
Truth is, free agents - hitters and pitchers alike - do not fall off in performance in their first year after signing. If anything, they improve slightly.
The numbers: In the past 14 years, free agents batted .261 in their last year with a club and .264 with their new team. Their home-run rates were identical and the RBI rates were almost the same.
For free-agent pitchers, they had a 3.72 ERA and a .513 winning percentage in their last year with one club, and had a 3.71 ERA with a .521 winning percentage in their first year after signing.
San Francisco and the Cubs, trying to regain championships they won in 1989, hope there is no falloff. The Cubs signed Jackson to start, Smith to relieve and Bell to hit balls onto Waveland Avenue. The Giants got McGee to play center field instead of Butler, and paid $10 million each to pitchers Bud Black and Dave Righetti.
Toronto and Baltimore, which dueled for the AL East title in 1989, were busy. The Orioles got Davis from cost-conscious Houston for three younger players, and also signed Dwight Evans. The Blue Jays made the biggest trade, sending Fernandez and McGriff to San Diego for Joe Carter and Alomar, and also sent Junior Felix to California for Devon White.
Detroit, which found Cecil Fielder and his potential for 51 home runs last year, brought back another player from Japan in Tony Bernazard. The Tigers also signed Rob Deer and traded for Mickey Tettleton. Atlanta added Terry Pendleton and Bream. Milwaukee signed Franklin Stubbs and Candy Maldonado and traded Parker to the Angels for Dante Bichette. The White Sox signed Charlie Hough and traded pitchers Eric King and Shawn Hillegas to Cleveland for Cory Snyder.
Kansas City, stung by free-agent flops Mark and Storm Davis last winter, went back in and signed Gibson and Mike Boddicker. However, what the Royals did not do that created more interest.
Faced with the possibility that Bo Jackson never would play baseball again, Kansas City released the two-sport star because of a bad hip. For three days, Jackson was available on waivers for $1, but no team took him.
Raines got out of Montreal in a deal for Ivan Calderon. Raines wanted to leave the Expos, and wanted a chance to play in the AL, where he could go head-to-head with Rickey Henderson. For years, Raines has lost out in matchups to MVP Henderson, who needs three stolen bases to pass Lou Brock as the all-time leader, as the best leadoff man ever.
Now, Raines gets his chance.
by CNB