Oh, to be Young ...
Pirates sign first baseman to four-year, $24 million deal
Posted: Saturday March 06, 1999 12:11 PM
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Pirate pride: Kevin Young wants to stay in Pittsburgh for the long haul. Rick Stewart/Allsport |
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) -- First baseman Kevin Young
became the Pittsburgh
Pirates' first $20 million-plus player Saturday, signing a four-year
contract believed to be worth $24 million.
The deal was concluded late Friday night following hours of negotiations
between Pirates general manager Cam Bonifay and Young's agent, Sam
Levinson.
The two sides have been talking for more than two weeks, but until Friday
the Pirates had not budged from their offer of $16.5 million over three
years. Young had requested $30 million over five years.
The Pirates announced the signing this morning.
"I really wanted to get this done because I've wanted to stay with the
Pirates. I've made that clear all along," Young said. "I wanted to get this
done now so it's out of the way and I don't have to worry about it any
longer."
The deal was reached after the Pirates gave Young four years on the
contract. Young previously said he would not take a three-year contract or
even three years plus an option.
Young, who didn't resume working out until Thursday, didn't play Friday and
may not be ready for game action for several more days.
The previous richest contract in Pirates history was the $17.5 million,
four-year deal reached by shortstop Jay Bell in 1993, a
signing that followed an off-season migration of star players such as Barry Bonds and
Doug Drabek.
The Pirates were criticized at the time for overpaying Bell, an
above-average fielder who occasionally hit for power but was not a run
producer in the mold of Cal Ripken. The
Pirates subsequently traded Bell to Kansas City in 1997, the last year of
the contract, and he signed an even-richer $35 million deal with Arizona
before the 1998 season.
In 1993, the Pirates were trying to save face by signing at least one of
their veteran players after dismantling a three-time division championship
team.
This time, the Pirates are trying to lock up their most efficient run
producer as they hope to field a contending team by the time they move into
the new ballpark in 2001.
Young, 29, hit .300 with 18 homers and 74 RBIs in 1997 despite missing six
weeks with a broken thumb, then hit .270 with a career-high 27 homers and
108 RBIs last season. He also is one of the NL's best-fielding first
basemen.
The Pirates initially were counting on Young to help them rebuild in 1993,
but he hit only .236 that season and .205 in 1994 and subsequently was
released in March 1996.
He played for Kansas City in 1997, hitting .242 with eight homers and 23
RBIs, then finally developed into the power hitter the Pirates envisioned
after the Royals released him and he returned to Pittsburgh as a minor
league free agent.
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