Take it or leave it … and hurry up
In a rather unconventional bit of negotiating, the New York Yankees 21 years ago today reportedly give the same contract offer – two years, $4.6 million – to free-agent relief pitchers Mike Stanton, Mark Guthrie and Chris Hammond.
The Yankees then give each of the three left-handers all of 15 minutes to decide.
Chris Hammond
First one who says yes gets the deal.
The 36-year-old Hammond is that guy to say yes first, cashing in on a 2002 season in which he posts a microscopic 0.95 earned-run average in 63 appearances for the Atlanta Braves.
The numbers are even more impressive considering Hammond returns in 2002 after not pitching in the majors since 1998 with the Florida Marlins.
So, yes, Hammond is going to take the Yankees’ deal at $2.3 million per season, especially after earning $450,000 in 2002 with Atlanta.
Hammond does just fine in 2003 for the Yankees, working in 62 games and finishing with a 2.86 ERA.
The Yankees, though, flip him to Oakland in December 2003 for a pair of minor leaguers – pitcher Eduardo Sierra and infielder J.T. Stotts – who never advance beyond Class AAA.
Mike Stanton
As for the 35-year-old Stanton, a mainstay in the Yankees’ bullpen from 1997-2002, he does not even respond to the amateurish take-it-or-leave-it offer.
Cannot blame him, given the Yankees are offering to pay him less than the $2.5 million he earns in 2002, when he goes 7-1 in 79 appearances for them with six saves and a 3.00 ERA.
Within two weeks, Stanton moves a couple of boroughs away and signs a two-year, $5 million deal with the New York Mets.
He essentially takes the spot in the Mets’ bullpen that Guthrie fills in 2002.
After missing out on the Yankees’ offer, the 37-year-old Guthrie signs a one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs for $1.6 million in what turns out to be his 15th and final season in the majors.
Hammond lasts in the majors through the 2006 season while Stanton finishes up his career in 2007.
Coincidentally, both end their time in the majors working out of Cincinnati’s bullpen.
