the next locker. Books would be written, lives would be lost, contracts would be earned, investigations would be held, records would be tarnished and players would be blackballed from entering Cooperstown during this tender period in baseball’s history.
And, of course, at the time for Mussina, there were questions about whether the pending contract negotiations were a distraction. Moose didn’t bite. But it was almost like the franchise was rooting against him in 2000. The better he pitched, the more he’d command – in Baltimore or elsewhere – at the end of another lost season in Baltimore.
And Mussina truly still wanted to stay with the Orioles.
By July 27, the Orioles were 43-57 and 13 games back in the AL East. Angelos, at the request of Syd Thrift, whom he trusted more than his predecessors and had grown comfortable with since 1994, finally ordered a mid-summer cleansing of the franchise and veteran players and their salaries were dumped in a flurry of activity around the MLB summer trading deadline.
The Thrift selloff was fast and furious.
On July 28, Mike Bordick was sent New York Mets for Lesli Brea, Mike Kinkade, Melvin Mora and Pat Gorman. Veteran Rich Amaral was released. On July 29, catcher Charles Johnson and veteran DH Harold Baines were dealt to the Chicago White Sox for Brook Fordyce, Jason Lakman, Juan Figueroa and Miguel Felix. On July 31, Will Clark was sent to the St. Louis Cardinals for José León. Later that afternoon, Thrift sent B. J. Surhoff to the Atlanta Braves for Trenidad Hubbard, Fernando Lunar and Luis Rivera.
In 1996, Angelos had overruled GM Pat Gillick on dealing David Wells and Bobby Bonilla for legitimate prospects. Similarly in 1998, Gillick was rebuffed during a bad summer and Wren again in 1999. But after a third straight year of disappointment, Thrift gutted the team and bragged of all of the talent he’d received in compensation over the previous week. In the end, only Mora became a productive big league player and All Star.
8
Mussina, who along with Ripken and Anderson, seemed to be the men left standing on a roster full of young prospects, was incensed and dumbfounded as to the direction of the franchise. On the record, Mussina said he was “disappointed.”
“There’s a big question mark on what I want to do now,” said Mussina, after a tearful, impromptu Surhoff farewell press conference. “I don’t think it takes a genius to figure out they’ve put the club in a position where they aren’t looking to be competitive for a couple years. So where does that leave me?”
The next day, Mussina pitched a one-hitter in 10-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins, giving up only a two-out single to Ron Coomer in seventh inning. It was vintage Moose. He was now pitching for money on a team full of washed up legends and minor-league stiffs.
By now, Angelos and the Orioles were under pressure to sign Mussina from the fan base, especially in light of the July fire sale (and the money it saved the club over the next two months) and continuing random acts of stupidity by the owner of the franchise. The offer was sweetened by Angelos to six years and $72 million – with $2 million per year deferred – and Mussina immediately turned the deal down once again. Later in August, Angelos called Tellum and then the media to inform them that he was rescinding the six-year, $72 million deal, believing that it somehow would make Mussina shutter.
For Mussina, it was simply his turn to be demeaned and insulted by Angelos – same as Davey Johnson or Cal Ripken or any other uniformed worker who didn’t play by his rules.
Pedro Martinez had just signed a six-year, $75 million deal with no deferred money. Tellem believed Mussina would get six years and $84 million if he hit the open market, especially given the number of teams who valued his ace pitcher and the limited market for a pitcher of his caliber.
Mussina ended the 2000 season with fury, striking out 15 Red Sox in a 1-0 win on Sept. 24 and capping his campaign with a seven-inning effort in a 9-1 win over the Yankees at Camden Yards. Removed from the game with one out in seventh inning, Mussina left the mound still holding the ball, then waved his glove and tipped his cap to fans. A moment later, he returned to acknowledge a curtain call. He walked off the field knowing it could be the last time he’d be an Oriole but still believing that Angelos and the club could move on the offer and he could return. For Mussina, a smart guy, it was part of the dance. In the end, he believed he’d get more money and really thought it might come from Angelos to save face amidst the madness he’d witnessed in the previous years.
8Mussina stats weren’t gaudy by any means – he finished 11-15 on another awful team with the fourth-best ERA in the American League at 3.79 in the height of the steroid and “juiced ball” era. He also threw 237 2/3 healthy innings and made 34 starts for the 2000 Orioles.
But the free agency period proved that Angelos didn’t deem Mussina worth the effort. The owner was also out-of-touch with the realities of the new revenue marketplace and attracting and retaining the top talent in the industry. His natural greed didn’t want to give an inch in any negotiation. His pride wouldn’t allow him to negotiate any “win-win” deal. And, clearly, the worst part of any relationship with anyone who worked for him was that Angelos’ word was no good. And, if he could find a reason to fire you and/or sue you and then fire off a missive about what an awful person you were…well, he would.
Angelos had mismanaged relationships with men of all colors, backgrounds and generations. He chased off Roland Hemond, Frank Robinson, Doug Melvin, Pat Gillick, Kevin Malone and Frank Wren as well as Johnny Oates, Phil Regan, Davey Johnson and Ray Miller. He chased off Rafael Palmeiro and Roberto Alomar as well as Jon Miller, John Lowenstein and Mel Proctor. He openly campaigned for the firing of some in the media while calling others names and discrediting them for simply reporting the truth about
