Revolving Door Still Going for Yankees

Of the two attempted comebacks at Yankee Stadium Sunday, half succeeded. Alas, for the New York Yankees, it was not the one staged on the field in full view of a rain-diminished crowd. Under the circumstances, Claudell Washington had to rank as a consolation prize.

Yes, Claudell’s back. The man the Yankees declined to re-sign 16 months ago because he wanted a three-year deal was acquired from the Angels at the cost of a player, and perhaps, after negotiations between his agent and the club are concluded, even a fourth year. Such is the nature of the operation in the Bronx.

Washington joins Steve Balboni, on his second tour of duty, and Rick Cerone, in his third, as once-and-current Yankees. There’s a longer list if you count the manager and coaching staff, starting with Bucky Dent and including pitching coach Mark Connor and first base coach Mike Ferraro. Recycling has become the latest Yankee tradition.

Consider it George Steinbrenner’s contribution to the environment. This is the man who hired Billy Martin to manage the club on five separate occasions. Sooner or later, they all come back. Managers, coaches, players.

What was extraordinary about the development Sunday was the part Washington played in the Angels’ 4-3 victory. He drove in what proved to the winning run with a third-inning single. And he cleanly handled Mel Hall’s ninth-inning double into the right field corner, effectively stranding the potential tying run at third base.

Even he, a man who has modeled seven major-league uniforms, smiled at the latest wrinkle in an interesting career. He jogged off the diamond a winner, only to discover seconds later that he had contributed to his team’s defeat. “That hit (by Hall) could have rattled around in the corner a little more,” he deadpanned. “I could have stumbled.”

But how was he to know that, while he was swinging the bat for California, Yankee management was swinging a deal for him? Truth is, he decided later, there were signs. And he had heard rumors the Yankees again were seeking his services as the Angels settled in New York for the weekend series.

Still, it was so sudden. “I didn’t think it would happen until we got back to the West Coast,” Washington said. “I didn’t expect it today. I guess I should have known when I was in there against a left-hander (Dave LaPoint). That’s another sign I missed.” He smiled again.

To be sure, the reputation of the team and the town in the baseball community is such that the Yankees are attracted to their former employees. Dent, the one-time Yankee shortstop who resurfaced in the organization as a minor-league manager three years after he was traded, listed familiarity as Washington’s second major asset. After noting that the club needed “a left-handed hitter who could thump it,” he said “he’s been here before.”

In other words, the man wouldn’t be unnerved by performing in New York or by playing for the Yankees or by serving under Gen. Steinbrenner. Washington said he was happy playing here the last time, from 1986 through 1988. He knows what a job in the Bronx entails.

“Oh, yeah,” he said. “Just keep your mouth shut and go out and perform.” Of course, this isn’t the same Yankee team it was even two years ago. “A lot of guys have come and gone,” Washington said.

Then again, a few have come back. Don Mattingly, for one, plans to welcome him. “(The trade) gives us a guy with some pop who’s a pretty good outfielder,” he said after watching Washington go to the fence to grab his bid for a two-run homer in the seventh. “And he’s a good guy in the clubhouse.”

Unlike some others players, Washington seemed unaffected by the franchise’s curious operating procedure, typified by Sunday’s announcement. Bradley, the player personnel director whose office is in Tampa, Fla., flew to New York to finalize the deal and made the post-game announcement in the press room while Pete Peterson, the general manager in residence, stood by his side.

Bob Quinn, now of the Reds, was the Yankees’ general manager of record when he recommended against a third year for an outfielder listed as 34 at the start of the 1989 season. The Angels were only too happy to guarantee a third season.

“I don’t think Claudell wanted to leave, really,” Mattingly said. “But (the Yankees) were offering two years and the Angels gave him three.” Now Steinbrenner will assume that third year, at a salary of $875,000, and perhaps will have to tack on another season if he doesn’t want to risk losing the man to free agency at the end of this season.

Washington, who has slept here, there and everywhere in the course of 15 major-league seasons, still has long-range plans despite the fact he will turn 36 in August. “I feel I have another four, five quality years,” he said.

And maybe he does. As Dent noted, “Left-handed (hitters) who can thump a bit aren’t too available.” In this day and age, people are always on the lookout for left-handed power.

That power has yet to be on display this season. The man had 1 home run and 2 RBI in 11 games before yesterday’s 1-for-5 outburst. He made his final plate appearance as an Angel with two outs in the ninth and took a third strike.

Nevertheless, Washington has a future, starting tonight at Yankee Stadium against his first major-league team, the Oakland A’s. Not that the man is taking anything for granted after so many years as a professional nomad.

“Who knows?” he said. “In another two or three weeks, they might not like what they see and I’ll be gone again.” But only to return at some later date.