Yankees Acquire Rod Scurry; Pirates Say He Is Now ‘Clean’

The Pittsburgh Pirates have sold the contract of left-handed pitcher Rod Scurry to the New York Yankees for an undisclosed amount of cash, the team said Friday.

“I am proud of Rod and how he has turned his life around under very difficult conditions,” Pirate General Manager Joe L. Brown said. “Rod has been living a clean life and has done so for a considerable period of time.

“With the public and media attention Rod has received here, it would be difficult for him to have the kind of success he’s capable of having, if he were to stay with the Pirates,” Brown said. “He has an opportunity with the Yankees to excel under more favorable personal conditions, and we wish him much success.”

Scurry, 29, entered a drug rehabilitation program in April 1984, to combat a cocaine dependency and was reactivated a month later. He failed to show up for a game in Philadelphia this year and was suspended briefly for not following his aftercare program.

Scurry testified this year before a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh investigating drug use in major league baseball. However, he has not been called as a witness in a trial currently underway against Curtis Strong, 38, of Philadelphia, who is accused of selling cocaine to ballplayers.

Scurry, 29, was 0-1 with two saves and a 3.21 ERA in 30 relief appearances with the Pirates this season. He has a career record of 17-28, with 34 saves and a 3.15 ERA in 257 games with the Pirates.

In New York, Yankee General Manager Clyde King talked of Scurry’s agreement with the team.

“Scurry has agreed to be tested, as he has been in Pittsburgh, as often as three times a week if the Yankees so desire,” King said. “We have been assured by the Pirates that he has agreed to undergo testing, the results of which, by the way, have been constantly negative. He will continue to do so by the Yankees. We feel this is quite a step forward for Rod.