The Madness of King George

Never out of mind, now he is seldom out of sight. George Steinbrenner’s third-floor office at Legends Field provides a sweeping view of the main diamond at the New York Yankees’ new training facility. It enables the Boss to keep an eye on some of the changes of a winter in which his puppeteer’s strings have never been more active.

New manager? Of course. New general manager? That too. A massive overhaul of the scouting and developmental staff. By unofficial count, 54 changes in front office and field personnel, not including players, as Steinbrenner matched dollars with Peter Angelos, owner of the Baltimore Orioles, in a high-stakes showdown for supremacy in the American League East.

“When George got into that poker game with Peter Angelos, it was fun to watch,” Yankee third baseman Wade Boggs said.

“Every time Baltimore went one up, George came back with a Kenny Rogers or Tino Martinez or David Cone. I’m glad he jumped in, because Baltimore might have run the table and run away.”

Said Cone, who almost signed with Baltimore before re-signing with the Yankees for three years at $19.5 million, the highest average salary ever for a pitcher:

“You have two competitive owners who want to beat each other very badly, and that’s good from the standpoint that you know there will be no holds barred. If either needs a player down the stretch, they’ll do what it takes.”

Steinbrenner sits in the dugout early in the spring and says:

“Look, we’re the New York Yankees. We’re the No. 1 road draw in all of baseball. We can’t just say we’re going with kids. We can’t take three years and rebuild. We have a burden not a lot of teams carry.

“We get criticism in New York because we’re spending too much money and not rebuilding like the Mets are with young players, but the Mets aren’t competing with the Orioles and [Boston] Red Sox. I’m not being critical, but let’s remember the caliber of our division.”

The Yankees were running away with the division when the strike hit in 1994. The Red Sox won in ‘95, when the wild-card Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners in the opening round of the playoffs.

What ensued seemed to set a Steinbrenner-era record for confusion as he shuttled staff in and out of his Tampa headquarters, leaving the Bronx offices often rudderless and devoid of nameplates.

Amid the search for direction and leadership, pitcher Jack McDowell left for Cleveland as a free agent, captain and first baseman Don Mattingly retired rather than face a possible Steinbrenner contract snub, versatile infielder Randy Velarde signed with the Angels as a free agent, and catcher Mike Stanley, a run-producing free agent, signed with the Red Sox, creating a void only partially filled by the acquisition of Joe Girardi from the Colorado Rockies.

In time:

--General Manager Gene Michael was moved to a scouting role and replaced by Bob Watson of the Houston Astros.

--And Manager Buck Showalter, amid disjointed negotiations and an attempt by Steinbrenner to dictate who his coaches should be, resigned and eventually signed a seven-year contract to manage the Arizona Diamondbacks, who do not begin play until 1998.

Steinbrenner then approved Watson’s recommendation to hire Joe Torre, fired as the St. Louis Cardinals’ manager in 1995 after previous stints as manager of the Mets and Atlanta Braves.

That merely set the stage for the strangest scenario of all.

Within a few days of signing Torre to a two-year, $1.05-million contract, Steinbrenner responded to fan and media criticism for not retaining Showalter and met with his former manager in Pensacola, Fla., where he offered one of two propositions, depending on the source:

He either offered to rehire Showalter and his entire coaching staff--in which case Torre presumably would have become a high-priced and unhappy consultant--or asked Showalter not to sign elsewhere, remaining available if Torre was fired in midseason.

Neither Steinbrenner nor Showalter would directly discuss the affair, but Torre said he asked Steinbrenner about it and was satisfied with the answer.

Said Steinbrenner: “Nobody knows who the right or wrong man is for the job. I liked Buck and hated to see him make the decision he did. He wasn’t forced out. He wanted to develop a new team. Buck and I are still friends, but I’ve always been impressed with Joe Torre as a baseball person. He’s a native New Yorker and has the one quality all New Yorkers have--mental toughness.”

Steinbrenner, since 1973, has employed 21 managers--counting Billy Martin’s five appointments and two each for Lou Piniella, Bob Lemon and Gene Michael.

He has changed pitching coaches 34 times and is now on his 13th public relations director. Said Watson, his 16th general manager:

“I played with the Yankees and have a pretty good idea of what to expect. As the only minority general manager in baseball, I didn’t have to think too long or hard about the opportunity to become general manager of one of the most prestigious organizations in sports.

“You can say all you want about George, but he gives his people the resources to do the job. If something is broken, he’ll see it gets fixed. I come from a place where we didn’t have those resources.”

Torre takes a similar tack.

“I like to tell the story about being hired and asking George if I should buy or rent and he said, ‘rent,’ ” Torre said. “Good advice, I guess, but it won’t affect how I do my job. I’m not afraid to be fired because I’ve been there.

“This is the first time I’ve gone to spring training with a club that has a chance to win, and the potential of that high means more to me than any low that might develop working here.

“I have no excuses now. I can’t tell people we don’t have players.”

While the Orioles were trading for David Wells and Kent Mercker and signing Roberto Alomar, Randy Myers and B.J. Surhoff, the Yankees were trading for Tino Martinez to replace Mattingly, re-signing Cone and Boggs and signing Kenny Rogers, Tim Raines and Mariano Duncan as free agents.

The Rogers contract ($20 million for four years) and signing of Martinez for five years at $20.25 million left many in baseball shaking their heads, but Steinbrenner can sustain a $45-million payroll with one of baseball’s richest cable deals.

Said Boggs: “Last year’s team was the best I’ve ever played on, but this team has the potential to be better. We have some unfinished business to take care of.”

Added Cone: “The best thing is we’ve got a group of guys who actually want to play in New York. I don’t think that was always the case. I’ve seen a lot of high-profile players duck that market.”

The Yankees will start an infield of Martinez at first base, Tony Fernandez at second, touted rookie Derek Jeter at shortstop, Boggs at third and Girardi behind the plate. The outfield will have Paul O’Neill in right, Bernie Williams in center and Raines in left, although he has a broken thumb and will be replaced opening day by Gerald Williams. Ruben Sierra will be the designated hitter.

A rotation that Torre and Cone believe could be the best they have been associated with hinges on the comeback of Jimmy Key from shoulder surgery and Dwight Gooden from substance abuse problems.

There are other questions:

Will Rogers hold up in the Bronx? Can Andy Pettitte pick up where he left off as a 12-9 rookie? Is Jeter ready? Can Raines, 36, handle Yankee Stadium’s spacious left field? Can Martinez sustain his 1995 Seattle form (31 homers, 111 runs batted in) amid the pressure of replacing Mattingly in an environment often hostile to newcomers with big contracts?

Neither will it be easy for Torre succeeding Showalter. The owner has said his latest manager’s status is secure for 1996, but no one is going to the bank on that. In the meantime, amid a comfortable spring, the players have savored a more open, lower-key regimen than Showalter’s controlling and closed-door tactics.

“I’m pretty easygoing as long as everyone works hard,” Torre said. “I don’t mandate this or that to start. I’d describe myself as a players’ manager. I know what it takes to play.”

That relaxed style will be tolerated only as long as it produces wins. Steinbrenner is never far from the trigger or lineup card.

“We hope George stays involved,” new Baltimore General Manager Pat Gillick said, suggesting that turmoil generally accompanies that involvement.

Angelos took it a step further. In what suggested something about people in glass houses, Angelos told Sports Illustrated that much of what Steinbrenner does is irrational.

Irrational? Hands on? What’s new?

New scouting director Jack Hubbard, part of the winter overhaul, has already been demoted by Steinbrenner, who, on the day that the Yankees made their exhibition debut at the $30-million training facility, was in the parking lot directing traffic while Joe Malloy, his son-in-law, toweled off seats after a morning rain.

The Yankee owner had earlier suggested he has to answer only to himself, or “as Sinatra puts it, I did it my way. If it doesn’t work, I’ll take the heat. If we did it right, we won’t get much credit anyway. That’s fine, I accept it. The bottom line is I feel very good about this team. I feel very good about what we’ve done.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

MUSICAL CHAIRS

Managers under George Steinbrenner *--*

Year Date Manager Record 1973 Entire season Ralph Houk 80-82 1974 Entire season Bill Virdon 89-73 1975 Opening day-July 30 Bill Virdon 53-51 1975 Aug. 1-end of season Billy Martin 30-26 1976 Entire season Billy Martin 97-62 1977 Entire season Billy Martin 100-62 1978 Opening day-July 25 Billy Martin 52-42 1978 July 25-end Bob Lemon 48-20 1979 Opening day-June 18 Bob Lemon 34-31 1979 June 18-end Billy Martin 55-40 1980 Entire season Dick Howser 103-59 1981 Opening day-Sept. 6 Gene Michael 48-34 1981 Sept. 6-end Bob Lemon 11-14 1982 Opening day-April 26 Bob Lemon 6-8 1982 April 26-Aug. 3 Gene Michael 44-42 1982 Aug. 3-end Clyde King 29-33 1983 Entire season Billy Martin 91-71 1984 Entire season Yogi Berra 87-75 1985 Opening day-April 28 Yogi Berra 6-10 1985 April 28-end Billy Martin 91-54 1986 Entire season Lou Piniella 90-72 1987 Entire season Lou Piniella 89-73 1988 Opening day-June 28 Billy Martin 40-28 1988 June 28-end Lou Piniella 45-48 1989 Opening day-Aug. 18 Dallas Green 56-65 1989 Aug. 18-end Bucky Dent 18-22 1990 Opening day-June 6 Bucky Dent 18-31 1990 June 6-end Stump Merrill 49-64 1991 Entire season Stump Merrill 71-91 1992 Entire season Buck Showalter 76-86 1993 Entire season Buck Showalter 88-74 1994 Entire season Buck Showalter 70-43 1995 Entire season Buck Showalter 79-65 1996 Current Joe Torre

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* Researched by HOUSTON MITCHELL / Los Angeles Times