Vaughn gone
Slugger rejects $60 million offer to stay with Red Sox
Posted: Thursday November 12, 1998 01:51 AM
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Money on the field: Mo Vaughn hit 40 homers and batted in 115 RBIs last season AP |
NAPLES, Florida (AP) -- The Mo Vaughn era in
Boston appears to be over.
The former AL Most Valuable Player, who nearly won the batting title
this year, said Wednesday night he won't play with the Red Sox next season
after saying no to what general manager Dan Duquette said was the team's
final proposal.
"Mo rejected our offer, and it looks like he's going to play for someone
else," Duquette said after team officials met with Vaughn's agent, Tom
Reich. "He's going to put his efforts somewhere else, and we are, too.
We're going to look at some other options."
Boston, needing offense, said it may try to sign Albert Belle,
who would likely be a controversial presence at Fenway Park.
Vaughn said despite his decision to play elsewhere, he will continue to
live in Boston.
"I'm not moving," Vaughn said in an interview with WBZ-TV late Wednesday
night. "I'm just going somewhere else to work."
Vaughn, who spent his entire pro career in the Red Sox organization, was
paid $6.6 million last season, the last of a three-year contract. He became
a free agent and received a six-year, $72 million offer from the Anaheim Angels.
The Red Sox, who chose not to make an offer during the 15-day postseason
period in which they had the exclusive right to negotiate with Vaughn, came
back with a five-year, $60 million proposal.
"I never say never," Duquette told ESPN about the possibility Vaughn
might return. But he said that after negotiations that began 18 months ago,
"we don't really have a feel for what the kid wants to sign" with Boston.
Vaughn, reacting to Duquette's statement, told ESPN there was "a right
way to do things. ... Who knows if I would have accepted any contract? But
sometimes people don't see eye to eye.
"It's time to move on," he added. "Best of luck to the Boston Red Sox."
Vaughn had said he would play for Boston for less than the highest
proposal he received.
"We had offered him what he had indicated" he wanted, Duquette said of
the five-year proposal. "I think that Mo Vaughn was waiting to see what his
market value was."
"They made a last and final offer," Reich said. "It was submitted to Mo
earlier this evening. He did not accept it. Duquette declared the
negotiations over.
`I'm sure Boston will get some fine players, but it's time for everybody
to move on."
Duquette specifically mentioned Belle, a mercurial personality but a
proven slugger who hit 49 home runs for the Chicago White Sox
this season. Also on the free agent market is Bernie
Williams, the New
York Yankees center fielder who beat Vaughn by two points for the AL
batting title.
Duquette said he wasn't concerned with Belle's anti-media reputation,
saying fan reaction "would be fantastic" if Belle hit 50 homers and drove
in 130 runs for Boston. "He's very professional and he's a very tenacious
competitor."
The Red Sox already have announced a 15 percent increase in ticket
prices to pay for Vaughn or whoever they sign in his place. Vaughn won the
1995 AL MVP award and has at least 35 homers in each of the past four
seasons. He had 40 homers and 115 RBIs last season.
Vaughn and team management had a rocky relationship which became more
strained last January when he was in a car accident while returning from a
strip club at 2 a.m. He was charged with drunken driving and acquitted.
"I'll miss [Boston]," Vaughn told WBZ. "It'll always be within me. ...
I'll always remember the good times, and the bad times taught me some
things, too.
"I don't feel any negativity," he added. "It's been a great time here.
I've been here a long time and I put forth the effort to do the right
thing. I hold no grudges in this situation."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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