Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Ramirez, Rodriguez now the focus of attention of teams at winter meetings

Marketplace \| Services \| Contact Us \| Community \| Arts & Entertainment \| Local Guides

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Sunday, December 10, 2000

Ramirez, Rodriguez now the focus of attention of teams at winter meetings
Slow action expected to speed up in wake of Rockies signing of Hampton
Associated Press
DALLAS - Now that Mike Hampton has signed with the Colorado Rockies, Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez have become the focus of baseball's winter meetings.
   Hampton's record $121 million, eight-year contract was formally announced Saturday, a deal that left other teams scrambling for second-tier pitchers such as Darren Dreifort and Kevin Appier.
   As the meetings neared the completion of their second day, there still hadn't been a single trade. And as of early evening, Hampton was the only free agent to sign Saturday.
   Rodriguez and Ramirez, the top two position players in this year's free-agent class, figure to get even more, possibly breaking the $200 million barrier.
   Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras, kept up his meetings with teams, but the winnowing down process had not yet begun. Ramirez's agent, Jeff Moorad, was in California meetings with the Red Sox. While Boston offered $100 million-plus, Ramirez wasn't ready to make a decision and Moorad was due to arrive in Dallas on Sunday.
   Hampton, a 28-year-old left-hander acquired by the New York Mets from Houston a year ago, had four offers of $100 million-plus, turning down St. Louis, the Chicago Cubs and the Mets.
   "What it boils down to is a family decision," Hampton said. "As a whole, this was the place I could move my family to without taking my kid out of school every three months or so."
   Hampton, who lived in a rented apartment at Trump Tower in Manhattan, had little interest in staying with the NL champions, who are now desperate for pitching. Mets general manager Steve Phillips, like Alderson, didn't think much of Hampton's claim that his decision was about family, not dollars.
   "It's always the money, especially when it's not about the money," he said.
   Added Alderson: "When it got to $120 million, no, I don't think money was an issue."
   Rodgers maintained all the final offers were equivalent.
   "The New York media wants to rake him over the coals," the agent said. "That's fine, but it's not justified."
   Hampton's deal breaks the record for total package set in February by Ken Griffey Jr.'s $116.5 million, nine-year contract with Cincinnati. It gives him baseball's third-highest average salary, trailing Toronto first baseman Carlos Delgado ($17 million) and New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens ($15.45 million).
   But it also means he will pitch about half his starts in Coors Field, a pitcher's graveyard.
   "There's no doubt it's the toughest place to pitch," he said. "It's a test I look forward to and something that I think will make me a better pitcher in the long run."
   The field for Rodriguez appears wide, with Seattle trying to keep him and as many as seven teams trying to lure him away, a group that includes Texas, Los Angeles and possibly the Chicago White Sox, among others.
   Boston has been the most aggressive team in its pursuit of Ramirez, who asked Cleveland for $200 million over 10 years and rejected a $119 million, seven-year contract offered by Cleveland. Phillips said the Mets had only slight interest.
   "We're not going to get crazy on the Manny Ramirez chase," he said. "We feel that mortgaging our future for an outfielder is not in the best interest of the club."
   Dreifort has attracted much interest at the meetings and it appears he will get a contract for five years or more averaging $10 million or higher.
   Also Saturday, baseball released a report on minority hiring. Twenty-two percent of team employees are minorities, up from 20 percent in 1997, when the last survey was taken. However, the percentage of black employees among the 30 clubs dropped from 11 percent to 10 percent.
   Among executives and department heads, the percentage of minorities - which includes blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans - rose from 15 percent to 16 percent. The percentage of blacks remained at 8 percent.
   Including the commissioner's office, the percentage of minorities rose from 22 percent to 26 percent and the percentage of blacks rose from 13 percent to 14 percent.

| Talk about this story | Next Story | Home |

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

[ Printer-friendly version ]
[ Subscribe to newspaper ]

SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND

[an error occurred while processing this directive]