Stars Change Teams at Frantic Pace

When players take the field at Fenway Park for the All-Star game on July 13, Roger Clemens and Mo Vaughn could be playing soft toss: Clemens in Yankee pinstripes and Vaughn wearing the halo of the Anaheim Angels.

More than ever, baseball’s stars seem to be switching cities at a record pace.

“A lot of fans talk about loyalty and the good old days, but those days are long gone in the days of free agency,” Yankees pitcher David Cone says. “I don’t necessarily see that as a bad thing for the game. Albert Belle goes to Baltimore, you can change the complexion of your team in a hurry.”

After starting the fourth and final game of the World Series, Kevin Brown left San Diego to sign a record $105 million, seven-year contract with Los Angeles, the biggest deal during an offseason that saw Vaughn bolt Boston to sign an $80 million, six-year deal with Anaheim, Albert Belle leave the Chicago White Sox for a $65 million, five-year contract with Baltimore, and Randy Johnson head out of Houston for a $52.4 million, four-year deal with Arizona.

In addition, Clemens--after months of pushing--got Toronto to trade him to the Yankees, who sent Mr. Perfect, David Wells, back to his original team. The Blue Jays also brought back Cecil Fielder, and Rafael Palmeiro returned to the Texas Rangers, his team from 1989-93.

Greg Vaughn was dealt from San Diego to Cincinnati, which also got Denny Neagle from Atlanta. Roberto Alomar left Baltimore for Cleveland, Todd Stottlemyre went from Texas to Arizona, Jose Canseco from Toronto to Tampa Bay, Brian Jordan from St. Louis to Atlanta and Jose Offerman from Cleveland to Boston. Robin Ventura left the White Sox for the New York Mets, who signed Rickey Henderson after Oakland decided not to keep him.

In many cases, getting to a winner was the motivation.

“You look at the situation the last two years, October rolls around and you’re out there working on your golf game,” Belle says. “That just didn’t sit well with me. It was a situation where I weighed all my options and I felt Baltimore was my best option.”

But sometimes, the choice was to go home. In Palmeiro’s case, that meant Texas, which offered less money than Baltimore.

“This is where I want to be. This is where I want to finish my career. And this is where I want to win,” Palmeiro says. “It didn’t really come down to the money ... 45, 50, 55, when you’re talking about that kind of money, you have to weigh the other things that come into play.”

In Mo Vaughn’s case, his desire was to get away from home -- and the current management of the Red Sox.

“Roger Clemens told me if you get out of Boston, because of the regime that’s in control, it adds five years to your career,” Vaughn says. “I think about my friends, my teammates, but I won’t miss that organization. I don’t miss the garbage and I don’t miss the people running the team.”

Clemens left the Red Sox after the 1996 season and signed with Toronto. He won consecutive Cy Young Awards with the Blue Jays, raising his total to a record five, but didn’t think Toronto would contend this year.

Wanting a World Series ring, he went to the team with the best the chance to get one this year: the Yankees.

“I feel real fortunate that they had a championship team and still had an interest in me,” Clemens said. “I feel pretty fortunate to get a second chance.”

To get Clemens, the Yankees gave up Wells, who became wildly popular in New York following his perfect game against Minnesota last May 17.

“I know the business of baseball, it (stinks),” Wells said. “But we have no reason to be discouraged because we’re still playing the game.”

Alomar’s desire to sign with the Indians was in his blood -- he wanted to join his brother, Sandy, Cleveland’s catcher.

“When I was a little kid, Sandy took me by the hand to his practice,” Roberto says. “The coach asked who I was and Sandy told him. Then the coach asked, ‘Can he play?’ and Sandy said I could. I made the team as a 7-year-old and played on a team with kids that were 9-to-12. That’s how I started playing baseball. Sandy took me. Hopefully, I can end my career here in Cleveland, win a World Series and end that chapter, end that book.”

Brown came to Los Angeles after helping lead Florida to a World Series title in 1997 and San Diego to the NL pennant in 1998. Like the Angels with Vaughn, the Dodgers thought they needed to inject intensity into their clubhouse.

“I’d take nine in a row with three different teams,” Brown says. “That’s your focus. If that’s not what you’re looking to accomplish, you’re approaching it the wrong way. You want to do well individually. Your accomplishments mean so much more when you’re with a winning team.”

Boston hoped to keep itself a postseason contender by signing Offerman. Vaughn’s departure angered many Red Sox fans, leaving Nomar Garciaparra as the lone power threat in Boston’s batting order.