It even sounds like a perfect match:
Sax and the Sox.
Nice. Simple. Hard to forget. Just the way they both hope the 1992 season will be.
In a deal guaranteed to kindle dreams of dynasties, the White Sox acquired five-time all-star second baseman Steve Sax from the New York Yankees on Friday for pitcher Melido Perez and two promising young minor-leaguers.
The Yankees also threw in $1.6 million to ease the sticker shock of Sax`s $10.9 million, four-year salary, which the Sox inherited. With the rebate, the Sox will pay $9.3 million for Sax`s services through 1995.
Sax, who will be 32 on Jan. 29, recently signed a new $12.4 million contract. But the Yankees paid $1.5 million up front as a signing bonus.
”It`s not very often that you can pick up an All-Star, so we`re pleased with the acquisition of Steve Sax,” said Sox General Manager Ron Schueler.
”He`s one of the finest offensive second basemen in the game.”
Sax, a career .286 hitter in 10 full major-league seasons, batted .304 last year and .315 in 1989. His best season was with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1986, when he hit .332.
The deal that finally brought Sax to Chicago was almost identical to one that fell through last weekend, when the Yankees said they would take Perez and one minor-league pitcher. The Yankees changed their terms at the last minute to demand Perez and one of three players from the Sox`s major-league roster.
Schueler was miffed at the about-face and refused to reopen talks. The Yankees finally broke a tense standoff by calling Schueler late Thursday and offering the new deal.
That call came just hours after the Yankees announced that Sax had agreed to waive a clause in his contract that allowed him to block any trade to the White Sox.
”I had a 14-club veto in my contract, and the last time I had to put the team up to be vetoed, I put the White Sox in,” Sax said. ”It wasn`t because I didn`t want to play for the White Sox. It`s just that sometimes you use these vetoes as a tool for bargaining.”
Besides Perez, who was brilliant out of the bullpen last season, the Sox gave up right-handed minor-league pitchers Robert Wickman and Domingo Jean.
Wickman, 22, was a second-round pick in the June 1990 draft. He went 5-1 with a 2.05 ERA at Class A Sarasota last season before being promoted to Double-A Birmingham, where he was 6-10 with a 3.56 ERA.
Jean was 12-8 with a 3.30 ERA at Class A South Bend in 1991. He struck out 141 batters in 158 innings and celebrated his 23rd birthday the day before the trade.
”You`re never pleased giving up young kids, but you have to give up something to get something,” said Schueler. ”I thought Sax would be a really important offensive part for us. He will get things going up in the lineup.” Sax, a leadoff hitter most of his career, will bat second behind Tim Raines, the speedy left-fielder acquired from Montreal last year.
”I hit second with the Yankees a lot in the three years I was there,”
Sax said by telelphone Friday night from Hawaii, where he was vacationing and training with his friend, Dennis Alexio, the world kick-boxing champion.
”It doesn`t bother me. There`s some advantage to it. If Timmy gets on base, I think I`ll be seeing a lot of fastballs. I`m not worried about that.” Sax said he was in a similar situation in 1989, his first year with the Yankees, when he followed leadoff hitter Rickey Henderson. Sax batted .315 with a career-high 63 RBI that season.
Hitting third behind Sax next year will be third baseman Robin Ventura
(.284 last season), followed by Frank Thomas (32 homers) and designated hitter Bo Jackson.
Jackson is recovering from a hip injury that forced his retirement from professional football last year, but doctors in Birmingham examined him Friday and pronounced him fit to begin spring training.
”(It) looks like (we`re going to have) a pretty stout lineup,” Sax said. ”I think we`re going to score a lot of runs.”
The key to the deal for New York was Perez, who was 8-7 for the season last year but 7-3 after moving to the bullpen.
”We need pitching, and Melido will help us,” said Michael, who spent $30 million this week to bring free agents Danny Tartabull and Mike Gallego to the Yankees.
Despite his success in the bullpen, Perez, 26 next month, said he wants to be a starter in New York, like his 34-year-old brother, Pascual, who was 2-4 with a 3.18 ERA in 14 games with the Yankees last season.
”I`m happy because I know I can be a starting pitcher,” Perez said from the family home in the Dominican Republic. ”When I heard (the news), I felt very happy.”
He was especially happy, he said, to be able to play on the same team with his brother.
”He`s older than me,” Perez said. ”He can help me.”
