The business of baseball
Yankees shocked by Wells' departure
Posted: Friday February 19, 1999 12:04 PM
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Fare Wells: David Wells leaves the Yankees' spring training complex after learning his fate. AP |
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- David Wells was
in tears. Joe Torre said his clubhouse was in shock.
David Cone,
as always, managed to inject some humor into the situation following
Thursday's trade of Wells, Graeme Lloyd
and Homer Bush
to Toronto for Roger Clemens.
"There's going to be a lot of bars going out of business in New York,"
Cone said.
Wells relished his biker-and-six pack image, especially since his perfect
game against Minnesota last May made him the talk of the town and the talk
shows.
"The thing about Boomer, he almost became a cult hero overnight," Cone
said. "Last year with the perfect game, he made his mark in Yankees
history. He can be proud of that. He won't be forgotten. I'm sure there are
mixed emotions among the fans. As soon as Rocket throws his first
15-strikeout night at Yankee Stadium people will be oohing and wowing,
saying, 'What a catch!'"
The Yankees turned what normally is a quiet day -- the first day of
workouts for pitchers and catchers -- into a stunning event by obtaining
the five-time Cy Young Award winner. The deal was announced less than hour
before the Yankees opened spring drills.
"Being around here for the four years, you get used to things like this,"
pitcher Andy
Pettitte said. "Stuff like this happens."
For an organization known for the unexpected, the quickness of the
transition caught Wells' former teammates off guard.
"It's just another indication of how the business of baseball is these
days," pitcher Mike Stanton
said. "We won 125 games, but you're still always looking to make yourself
better. What can you say? It's one of those things that happens in
baseball."
As for Wells, he left the Yankees' first day of spring training in tears
after speaking with owner George Steinbrenner and manager Joe Torre.
"I'm a little emotional right now," Wells said. "Give me a couple
days. It's a little tough right now." New York and Toronto
actually completed the deal late Wednesday night, but delayed the
announcement to tell Wells in person. "He took it like a real
man. He took it better than I took it," Steinbrenner said. Cone
spent four hours at Wells' house in Palm Harbor Thursday and said Wells
left Thursday night for a golfing weekend in Miami. "I've never
seen him so down ... beyond depressed," Cone said Friday morning. "I've
never seen anybody so stunned by a trade. He was pacing around and couldn't
sit down. He just had to get away." While players were sad to
see Wells depart -- though they never took to his fondness for heavy metal
-- they were excited about the imminent arrival of Clemens, who is due to
report Saturday.
"It's really neat," Pettitte said. "Bringing him to a team like this,
it's not going to do anything but help us. There's no doubt about it. When
he's on the other team, you have to hate him ... when he's on your team,
I've heard nothing but great things about him."
One player losing a close friend is Japanese pitcher Hideki Irabu,
who was befriended by Wells during spring training last year. Irabu said he
would take Wells out to dinner when the Yankees visit Toronto.
"Since coming to the U.S., he was the first player to say 'Hi' to me when
I came in the clubhouse," Irabu said through an interpreter. "He really
helped me -- it was huge. I'm going to be a little more lonely and sad he
is not here."
In Dunedin, Blue Jays manager Tim Johnson was please to be getting three
players who will become keys for Toronto.
"You know that you're going to miss a guy like Roger, 'cause he's a Hall
of Famer," Johnson said. "Knowing him for quite a few years, he means a lot
to me not only as a pitcher but as a person, so that loss is tough. But we
got three players that are going to come in and help us. We gained a lot."
There weren't many players at Blue Jays' camp, which doesn't officially
start until Monday. One who was there was left-hander Steve Sinclair, who
might go to Class AAA Syracuse because of the acquisition of Lloyd.
"I'm a little disappointed," Sinclair said. "I'll just have to go into
spring training and show them what I can do."
In Kissimmee, Atlanta manager Bobby Cox was happy about the trade -- for
selfish reasons.
"I was glad he stayed in the American League," Cox said. "I didn't want
to see Houston get him, or St. Louis, or anybody else for that matter."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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