Dodgers Send White to Brewers

By JASON REID

Feb. 26, 2001 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

VERO BEACH, Fla. —

Trading one of their disgruntled players, the Dodgers sent Devon White to the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday for outfielder Marquis Grissom and a minor leaguer to be determined.

White, 38, finally got his wish, leaving the Dodgers after having requested to be traded last season, then reiterating his desire Tuesday after the first full-squad workout at Dodgertown.

White departed before left fielder Gary Sheffield, who hopes to pack his bags soon.

The Dodgers wanted Grissom, and he said the feeling was mutual.

“I’m very excited. I’m very excited about putting on the blue and white,” Grissom said in a conference call with reporters. “I’m very excited about being part of history and the Dodger organization.”

White was excited to leave.

The seven-time Gold Glove award winner bolted from Dodgertown to join the Brewers, who train near his off-season home in Phoenix.

“I think it’s good for both players, for Marquis and for myself,” White said. “He was in a situation [where] he was unhappy, from what I was hearing, and I was in a situation in Los Angeles where I wasn’t happy with the way I was treated. It’s good that we both get fresh starts.

“There were a lot of things that caused me to not want to be there [with the Dodgers]. It was a situation about [how] we weren’t diving for balls, but throughout my career I never dived for balls. Then all of a sudden I got to L.A. and they wanted me to dive. If I wasn’t diving, I wasn’t hustling.”

The Dodgers were eager to cooperate, considering they seemingly have been dissatisfied with White from the moment he signed a three-year, $12.4-million contract in November of 1998--the first free-agent signing of General Manager Kevin Malone’s tenure.

White, who sat out most of last season because of a torn left rotator cuff, played in only 47 games and batted .266 with four home runs and 13 runs batted in.

Grissom, who turns 34 on April 17, played in 146 games despite hamstring injuries and back pain. He batted .244 with 14 homers, 62 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.

“Marquis Grissom wanted to be a Dodger and Devon White did not,” said Malone, who has been close to Grissom since their days in the Montreal Expo organization. “Marquis Grissom is exactly what this team needs in a lot of ways.

“I’ve known Marquis Grissom since 1988, and this is not only a championship player, he’s a championship person. He’s a gamer. He wants to win. He’s a competitor. What he will bring to this team is tremendous attitude and tremendous makeup.”

Malone would have moved White sooner, but unhappy 14-year veterans owed $5.9 million are not easy to trade.

The Brewers provided an assist, agreeing to take White, upset about being a fourth outfielder for an organization he distrusted, for Grissom, expected to be a backup in Milwaukee and owed $10 million in the final two years of a five-year, $25-million contract.

Grissom, who plans to join the Dodgers on Tuesday, agreed to defer a percentage of his remaining salary, with interest, to address the club’s payroll concerns.

The Dodgers, who do not have other deferred contracts, are expected to have the major leagues’ highest payroll at about $110 million.

Grissom, a three-time Gold Glove winner, was one of the majors’ top center fielders in the mid-1990s, but his batting average has decreased the last three seasons, and he has been slowed by injuries.

“This guy is going to play no matter what,” Malone said. “That’s the problem, you’re not going to know when he’s hurt because he’s going to play all the time.”

Moreover, Grissom is considered a positive clubhouse presence, something White had not been in two stormy seasons in Los Angeles.

Grissom is expected to be a Dodger reserve, and that’s fine with him.

“At first it was kind of rough,” Grissom said of being a fourth outfielder with the Brewers. “I’ve been an everyday starter my whole career. It took about a week for it to sink in. The more I thought about it, I sat back and looked at the awards I’ve won--a World Series ring [as a member of the Braves in 1995] and some Gold Gloves--and I thought, ‘I must be crazy. What am I mad about?’ I ain’t got no . . . reason to be mad.

“This game has been too good to me. When it first hit me, well, you can be bitter. I told myself I don’t want to leave this game bitter. You can pack it in and be bitter or be mad, or you can take it as a plus, which is what I did.

“I’m going to focus on staying healthy, playing hard and doing the things I can do. I don’t think you can gripe about being a fourth outfielder.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

EVEN EXCHANGE

New Dodger Marquis Grissom and Devon White have produced similar averages the past three seasons:

BATTING AVG.

Grissom: .267

White: .268

ON-BASE PCT.

Grissom: .314

White: .336

HOME RUNS

Grissom: 14