 |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
Sign this, please Yankees to announce Giambi deal ThursdayPosted: Wednesday December 12, 2001 4:43 PMUpdated: Thursday December 13, 2001 10:17 AM
BOSTON (AP) -- Jason Giambi is finally ready to officially join the New York Yankees. After days of anticipation, New York planned a news conference Thursday at Yankee Stadium to announce a seven-year contract with Giambi worth about $120 million, a baseball official and a lawyer familiar with the talks said on the condition they not be identified. Giambi's agent, Arn Tellem, traveled to New York on Wednesday to be in town for the news conference, the sources said. One of the most feared hitters in the game, Giambi will fit perfectly for the Yankees as they try to add more power and patience into their lineup. Giambi, 30, is the perfect combination of the two, leading the American League in on-base percentage (.477) and slugging (.660) last season. He replaces first baseman Tino Martinez, who hit 34 homers, but only had a .329 on-base percentage. Giambi hit .342 with 38 homers and 120 RBIs overall last season, finishing second in voting for the AL MVP award after winning in 2000. His left-handed power stroke is ideal for Yankee Stadium with its short right field.
"He's just an outstanding hitter," said Seattle manager Lou Piniella, whose team lost the Yankees in the ALCS. "He had some monster years in Oakland. He would help any ballclub. Giambi is one of the dominating hitters in the game today." The Yankees made Giambi their top target almost immediately after their World Series loss to Arizona. Manager Joe Torre, pitcher Mike Mussina, Hall of Famer Yogi Berra and New York Mayor and Yankees fan Rudolph Giuliani all made recruiting calls. Money and the chance to win a World Series also played a factor in Giambi's decision. The Yankees knocked Giambi's Oakland Athletics out of the postseason the past two years. At $120 million, the contract would have an average annual value of $17.14 million. That would be the fifth-highest in baseball behind Texas shortstop Alex Rodriguez ($25.2 million), Boston outfielder Manny Ramirez ($20 million), Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter ($18.9 million) and Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa ($18 million). Last spring, Giambi turned down a $91 million, six-year extension offered by Oakland because the A's refused to include a no-trade clause. The Yankees have been busy since failing to hold a one-run lead in Game 7 of the World Series -- a loss that left owner George Steinbrenner steamed. "I'm not a good loser," Steinbrenner said moments after that game. "I believe in what Ernest Hemingway said: 'The way you get to be a good loser is practice and I don't want to practice.'" Instead, Steinbrenner opened up his wallet and the Yankees have undergone their biggest roster overhaul since after the 1995 season. New York also reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday on a $10 million, two-year contract with outfielder Rondell White and is close to agreeing to a two-year deal with lefty Sterling Hitchcock for about $12 million. Last Friday, the Yankees acquired third baseman Robin Ventura from the Mets for David Justice to replace the retired Scott Brosius, and also signed free agent reliever Steve Karsay. Outfielders Paul O'Neill and Chuck Knoblauch also won't be back in 2002 as the Yankees try to upgrade an offense that finished fifth in the AL in runs scored last season. The Yankees are also close to re-signing pitcher Sterling Hitchcock, and Steinbrenner met earlier this week with pitcher David Wells.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
