A Moving Experience

On the morning of Dec. 20, David Cone, who had switched teams four times in the previous four years, prepared himself for yet another move: to Baltimore. Frustrated by a reduced offer from the New York Yankees, Cone (right) and his agent, Steve Fehr, called Oriole general manager Pat Gillick and gave him "an exclusive right to sign me," the pitcher says.

The two sides agreed on the average annual value of a three-year contract: $5.75 million. It would be a signing that would bring seismic change to the balance in the American League East, giving the Orioles two of the top three active pitchers in winning percentage (minimum 75 decisions)—leader Mike Mussina and Cone, who ranks behind Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox—backed up by Cooperstown-caliber middle infielders Cal Ripken Jr. and Roberto Alomar.

"I guess I was looking for reasons to stay [with the Yankees], but a lot of people were giving me reasons to go," says Cone, who lives in Manhattan. The Yankees, he says, had "backpedaled twice" from a three-year, $19 million offer with two option years—once by dropping one of the option years and once by cutting the buyout from $1 million to $550,000.

Given a chance to close the deal, the Orioles created a snafu when they asked Cone to defer some of his salary without interest. Cone told Gillick he would need to suspend talks to confer with his accountant.

During that brief lapse, Cone received a call from Yankee owner George Steinbrenner. The Boss reattached the second option year to his offer, improved the guaranteed value of the contract to $19.5 million and tossed in the clincher: a no-trade clause. It meant that Cone could be sure of his whereabouts for three years or even through 2000, if he attains the conservative innings-pitched thresholds that guarantee the option years.

The offer the Orioles had tendered included only a limited no-trade clause. The New York Mets, who made a late entry into the bidding 30 minutes after Steinbrenner's phone call, offered a three-year deal with a limited no-trade clause covering only the first two years. Cone opted to stay with the Yankees and the chance for stability.

"It was something I hadn't really thought about," Cone says of the no-trade protection. "But the more I thought about it, the more it appealed to me, especially after winning the Cy Young Award in '94 [with the Kansas City Royals] and then getting traded twice."

" David Cone has been shipped around all of his life in baseball," says Steinbrenner, who, nine days after signing Cone, lured free-agent lefthander Kenny Rogers with a four-year, $19.5 million contract. "I felt it was important that he and his wife settle in one place and not have to worry. It's what I wanted for him."

"It was almost like I had to trick myself into thriving in that hired-gun role. And I think I did thrive," says Cone. "But the fact is it takes a toll, too, especially with me being newly married. Now I'm 33, and, if I pitch the way I have, I've got a five-year deal. I control my own destiny. No more packing bags."