George Steinbrenner was determined to build a winner with the New York Yankees, signing every free agent possible that he felt would bring a title back to the Bronx. On this day in 1984, the Yankees made the ill fated decision to sign Ed Whitson.
Ed Whitson had been the surprising ace of the San Diego Padres in 1984. After years of bouncing between the bullpen and the starting rotation, he put together a career season, posting a 14-8 record with a 3.24 ERA and a 1.180 WHiP, only the second winning season in his ten years in the Majors. Whitson then shut down the Cubs in the NLCS, allowing one run in eight innings during his start.
Despite being shelled in the World Series that year, Whitson’s career season drew the attention of George Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees. Thinking that he could be the piece that they needed to get back to the postseason, the Yankees signed Whitson to a five year, $4.4 Million contract.
This contract was a disaster from the beginning. Whitson was a laid back fellow from Tennessee, and was ill equipped to handle the pressures of New York. In addition, he had Billy Martin as a manager, whose tolerance for everything was minimal at best. Unsurprisingly, Whitson struggled out of the gates, with a 1-6 record and a 6.23 ERA. The fans were quick to turn on the Yankees newest addition, routinely booing him mercilessly.
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Then came a start on June 11, 1985. After surrendering a run on five hits, Whitson then retired the next 19 batters in a row. Those boos turned to cheers, and Whitson left in the tenth inning to a standing ovation. He was moved to tears in the locker room, touched that the fans had come around. However, that appreciation of the fans rankled Martin, who pointed out that the Yankees still lost the game.
While Whitson pitched well, tensions between he and Whitson got worse. After giving up four runs in two innings in a key game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Martin skipped Whitson’s next turn in the rotation. Two days later, the two got into a fight. Martin suffered a broken arm and a severe bruise, while Whitson had a cracked rib and a split lip.
Things got worse the next year. The fans were after Whitson again, blaming him for Martin’s ouster. It got to the point where new manager Lou Pinella refused to use Whitson in New York, using him exclusively in road games. He would not even take off his warmup jacket in the bullpen, because just the sight of his jersey would send the fans into a furor.
Finally, his tenure in the Bronx came to a merciful end. On July 9, 1986, Whitson was shipped back to the Padres for Tim Stoddard. His experience in New York still gave him trouble, and it took until 1988 before he was back to being the pitcher he had been prior to signing with the Yankees.
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The New York Yankees were hoping that Ed Whitson was the missing piece. Instead, he was one of the biggest free agent mistakes in team history.