George Steinbrener turns 80 on July 4. We're looking back on his tenure with the Yankees.
In December, 1986, baseball owners were still trying to control salaries and Steinbrenner declined an opportunity to sign a great free agent pitcher in Detroit's Jack Morris. "I swear on my mother's head that no one has told me what to do, there was no collusion,'' ' was the operative quote from Steinbrenner.
I reported this story for Newsday:
When Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who used to turn his pockets
inside out to sign players, turned down Jack Morris yesterday, the
righthanded pitcher said he felt his free agency had become a chain he
couldn't escape from. He said he felt anything but free in his choice to
leave Detroit and seek a new employer. It was plain for Morris to see,
baseball had a Tiger by the tail and he saw no way to pull free.
Morris, left with what he saw as little choice, accepted the Tigers' offer of
arbitration as the midnight deadline approached last night.
"I'm definitely not a free agent," Morris said.
The Yankees not only lost an opportunity to add Morris to their
roster, they also moved a step closer to losing Ron Guidry and Willie
Randolph. Guidry and Randolph declined the Yankees' offers of salary
arbitration. Now the Yankees must re-sign them by midnight Jan. 8 or
forfeit their rights to each until May 1.
With Morris acquiescing to what he and his agent, Richard Moss,
referred to as collusion among baseball owners, this year's symbol of
independence among players has been defeated. Steinbrenner made that
definite early yesterday when he informed Moss that he would not accept
his proposal of signing Morris to a one-year contract at a salary
determined by arbitration.
Morris had spent the week peddling his wares
- an arm for the pitching poor - but there were no takers, despite
his lifetime record of 144-94, including his 21-8 record last year.
After Steinbrenner's rejection, Morris and Moss reached the same
collusion conclusion. "It's obvious that what happened is not right,"
Moss said in a news conference at a Manhattan restaurant. "It's
violative of the Basic Agreement. "
Morris had gone 0-for-4 on his free-agent walk. Where free agents
used to talk terms of endowments, Morris couldn't even get a free lunch
on his tour. He and Moss paid their own way to the clubs they visited.
It seemed evident to Morris that the four teams - the Twins, Yankees,
Phillies and Angels - had agreed not to sign him. "I can't envision
anybody not needing my statistics," Morris said. The Phillies and Angels
rejected Morris' proposal without even a face-to-face meeting. Moss let
it be known that his client would be willing to negotiate with any team
in baseball, but none responded.
The Yankees' pitching cost them the East Division last season and
without Morris it may well cost them again next year. "If I were a
Yankee fan this would be a sad day for me," Moss said.