Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 20, 1995 TAG: 9506210054
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Strawberry, who left the New York Mets after the 1990 season to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, agreed Monday to a one-year contract with the New York Yankees that will guarantee him at least $850,000.
``I'd like to hang out the welcome mat and say he's a part of our club and that he can help us in a positive way,'' Yankees captain Don Mattingly said in Baltimore before the Yankees played the Orioles.
Strawberry's agent negotiated the deal with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. According to the team, the 33-year-old outfielder will join the Yankees ``as soon as he becomes eligible under baseball rules.'' He is eligible to play Sunday.
``I personally want to thank Mr. Steinbrenner for the faith he has shown in me,'' Strawberry said in a statement issued by the club. ``The fans in New York are the best in baseball and I will do everything I can to justify Mr. Steinbrenner's confidence in me and the trust of the fans.''
In November 1990, when he agreed to a $20.25 million, five-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Strawberry's view of the Big Apple was different.
``I think a lot of the fun was taken away because of the pressure and the situation in New York,'' Strawberry said then.
Strawberry has 14 home runs and 54 RBI his past three seasons in the majors - a total of 104 games. And he's been bothered by nagging injuries, including a bad back.
``It's kind of an unknown where he is,'' Yankees manager Buck Showalter said. ``It's been a while since he's played competitively. From what I've heard, he's in pretty good physical shape. But to get into baseball shape, we'll see.''
Strawberry is completing a suspension imposed by acting commissioner Bud Selig following the outfielder's positive cocaine tests on Jan. 17 and 18. On April 24, U.S. District Judge Barrington Parker Jr. ordered Strawberry to repay $350,000 in back taxes and sentenced him to six months of home confinement. But Parker permitted him to leave home for practice and games, and allowed him to travel to road games with a baseball team.
``We feel confident Darryl will do his absolute best for us,'' said Steinbrenner, who signed reliever Steve Howe, another player with a history of cocaine use.
``We are supportive of Darryl, and we shall do everything possible to help him meet the challenge ahead,'' Steinbrenner said.
Strawberry is under house arrest in Palm Springs for tax evasion but the government has said it would allow him to return to baseball. He has been practicing with an independent team in Palm Springs, Calif.
``I just hope people judge him on the fruits of baseball and that the past will be the past,'' Howe said. ``I'm not judging him for anything because then I'd have to go back and judge myself.''
When he negotiated his release from the Dodgers last year, Strawberry was given $4,857,143 last July 1, including $2.5 million for half his scheduled 1995 salary.
Under the deal with the Yankees, Strawberry is guaranteed $675,000 this season. Because of the strike and the cocaine suspension, the outfielder's listed salary would be about $1,223,000 for him to gross that figure.
The Yankees have a $1.8 million option for 1996 with a $175,000 buyout. They have until Nov. 1 to exercise the option, and if they do his salary next season becomes guaranteed. The contract also contains a possible $100,000 bonus this season, apparently at the discretion of Steinbrenner.
A grievance, stemming from Strawberry's Feb.6 release by the San Francisco Giants following the drug test, was scheduled for Monday but was withdrawn by the outfielder.
In mid-January, the outfielder and Giants exchanged figures in salary arbitration, with Strawberry asking for $1.8 million and the club offering $750,000. The players' association claimed the Giants owed Strawberry money because under baseball rules, the offer of arbitration is equivalent to signing the contract.
It wasn't immediately clear if any money will change hands between the Yankees and Giants.
Strawberry, the career home run leader for the Mets, hit .239 with four home runs and 17 RBI in 29 games for the Giants last year, giving him a career total of 294 homers. In 1991, he had 28 homers and 99 RBI for Los Angeles, but back problems limited him to a total of 10 home runs in his next two years.
by CNB