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| Wednesday, November 22 | |||||
| The best and worst of free agents ESPN.com | |||||
| Catfish Hunter was baseball's first free agent, declared free after Charlie Finley failed to meet the obligations of Hunter's contract. The future Hall of Famer signed a five-year contract with the Yankees for the 1975 season. While Hunter had a terrific first season with the Yankees (23-14, 2.58 ERA), he was fairly mediocre after that, even though the Yankees made it to three straight World Series. Hunter was just 40-39 his final four years in New York and called it quits at age 33.
Andy Messersmith was baseball's second free agent. Braves owner Ted Turner signed Messersmith to a three-year deal for $1 million. Messersmith wore number 17 (Turner's television station) and instead of "Messersmith" on the back of jersey, Turner made the pitcher wear the word "Channel." Messersmith was a bust, done in by injuries. He won just 16 games for the Braves.
While both were disappointments, there have been bigger disasters. Here are the 10 best and worst free-agent signings in history, presented in chronological order. We considered only players who switched teams.
The 10 best free agents Reggie Jackson, Yankees, 1977 Jackson was already one of the most famous names in baseball when he signed a five-year, $3 million contract. He then became Mr. October, leading the Yankees to back-to-back World Series titles. In the clinching Game 6 of 1977, he blasted three home runs on three swings to beat the Dodgers. Goose Gossage, Yankees, 1978 Sparky Lyle had won the AL Cy Young in 1977 as the Yankees' closer, but that didn't stop George Steinbrenner from signing Gossage. The Goose pitched six seasons for the Yankees, twice led the AL in saves and never had an ERA above 2.62. Pete Rose, Phillies, 1979 Rose wasn't really a great player during his stay in Philadelphia, but he was the final piece of the puzzle as the Phillies won their only World Series championship in 1980. The Phillies had lost the NLCS in 1976, 1977 and 1978 before signing Rose to a four-year contract for $800,000 per year. Kirk Gibson, Dodgers, 1988 Gibson became a "second-chance" free agent in 1988, after the owners had colluded to close down the free-agent market in 1986 and 1987. Gibson signed for $1.8 million with the Dodgers (a $500,000 raise from what he made with the Tigers in 1987) and went on to win the NL MVP and blast his famous home run off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the World Series. Nolan Ryan, Rangers, 1989 Sure, Ryan had thrown five no-hitters and was the career strikeout king, but he didn't really become Nolan Ryan until he signed with the Rangers. The Astros thought Ryan was too old, even though he had led the NL in strikeouts in 1988. Ryan cemented his legend with Texas, throwing two more no-hitters, winning his 300th game, fanning 301 hitters at age 42, helping a new ballpark get built and becoming fast friends with team owner George W. Bush. Jack Morris, Twins, 1991 Morris left the Tigers to sign a one-year deal for $2.67 million with his hometown team. He won 18 games and pitched one of the greatest games of all-time when he beat the Braves 1-0 in 10 innings in Game 7 of the World Series. Then he bolted for Toronto, where he won 21 games and another World Series title. Barry Bonds, Giants, 1993 Bonds had won two MVP awards with the Pirates, but with a limited budget, the Pirates instead elected to sign Andy Van Slyke instead of Bonds. Many have insinuated the club signed Van Slyke because he was white and more popular with the fans. He never had another good year while Bonds remains one of baseball's greatest players (and one of the greatest of all-time). The Giants signed him for six years, $43.75 million. Greg Maddux, Braves, 1993 This was one bidding war the Yankees didn't win, as Maddux took less money (about $5.5 million per year) to sign with Atlanta -- in part because of better golfing available than in New York. Maddux had won a Cy Young with the Cubs in '92 and won the next three years as well. Roger Clemens, Blue Jays, 1997 Clemens had gone 10-13 with the Red Sox in 1996, although with a solid 3.63 ERA. Dan Duquette decided to let him go anyway. The Rocket headed north and won back-to-back Cy Young Awards, winning the AL pitching triple crown (wins, ERA, strikeouts) both years. Randy Johnson, Diamondbacks, 1999 Arizona has no complaints about giving the Big Unit a four-year, $53 million contract. Some teams had concerns about Johnson's history of back problems, but all he's done in two seasons with Arizona is win two Cy Young Awards while striking out more than 700 batters. The 10 worst free agents Wayne Garland, Indians, 1977 Part of the first class of free agents following the 1976 season, Garland had won 20 games for the Orioles in his only season as a major-league starter. One of many of Jerry Kapstein's clients that offseason, Garland saw his salary jump from $23,000 to $230,000 after signing a 10-year, $2.3 million deal with Cleveland. He went 28-48 in five years with the Indians. Oscar Gamble, Padres, 1978 Ray Kroc knew hamburgers, but the Padres owner didn't know baseball. Gamble was a journeyman outfielder who had a career year with the White Sox in 1977, slamming 31 home runs. Kroc gave him $2.85 million for six years -- almost as much as the Yankees were paying Reggie. Gamble lasted one year in San Diego, hitting seven home runs, and never had 400 at-bats in a season again. Don Stanhouse, Dodgers, 1980 "Stan the Man Unusual" was one of baseball's early free agent flops. He'd gone 7-3, 2.85 with 21 saves for the Orioles in 1979 and signed an expensive deal with the Dodgers. But he pitched only two more years, with an ERA over 5.00 both years. The Dodgers should have read the stats a little more closely: Stanhouse had 51 walks and just 34 strikeouts in '79. Bruce Sutter, Braves, 1985 Ted Turner may have known cable television, but he didn't know baseball. He signed Sutter, baseball's elite closer, for six years, $10 million. Much of that money funded an annuity at 12 percent a year, a so-called "lifetime contract" that would earn Sutter around $40 million over 30+ years. He then hurt his arm. His mark with the Braves: three seasons, 106 games, 40 saves. Worse for baseball's owners, Sutter's contract was a main reason the owners agreed to collusion from 1986-1988, which eventually forced them to pay billions back to the players. Mark Davis, Royals, 1990 Davis had won the NL Cy Young in 1989 with the Padres and even though the Royals had a quality closer in Jeff Montgomery, they signed Davis for three years and $9.4 million. Davis was simply awful and didn't have an injury as an excuse. He saved only seven games with Kansas City in three years. Lou Gorman's trifecta, Red Sox, 1991 If Red Sox fans don't like Dan Duquette, they must have forgotten about the reign of Lou Gorman as the team's general manager. In one offseason, Gorman signed aging slugger Jack Clark and pitchers Matt Young and Danny Darwin to deals worth a combined $27 million. Clark lasted two years, Young won three games and Darwin had a 5.16 ERA his first year. Darryl Strawberry, Dodgers, 1991 Strawberry returned home to Los Angeles with a five-year deal worth $20.25 million. It was akin to losing your homecoming game to Prairie View A&M. Strawberry hit 28 home runs his first year in L.A. -- and just 10 more in a Dodgers uniform. Bobby Bonilla, Mets, 1992 Was Bonilla the best player in baseball when the Mets signed him to a five-year, $29 million contract? Not even close. But he became baseball's highest-paid player, courtesy of a paper pusher named Al Harazin. Bonilla's deal helped push salaries to another level. Danny Tartabull, Yankees, White Sox, Phillies, 1992, 1996, 1997 Tartabull gets special recognition for being a three-time free agent loser. He signed a $25.5 million deal with the Yankees in '92 that made him baseball's second-highest paid player (behind Bonilla). He signed again with the White Sox in 1996. They were so pleased with his performance they let him sign a one-year, $2.3 million deal with the Phillies. Tartabull never got a hit with Philadelphia (kind of like Mike Jackson never got a save). Jaime Navarro, White Sox, 1997 Navarro signed a four-year, $20 million deal. His career record with the White Sox: 25-43, 6.06 ERA. Dumped on the Brewers last season, he went 0-6 with a 10.53 ERA. That's well ... not much bang for your five million bucks. | ALSO SEE Stark: The decision that changed the game The Decision: Part II The Decision: Part III The early days of free agency From Mr. October to Bernie  | ||||