HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Free agent Ron Guidry and his agent, John Schneider, worked out a compromise agreement with the New York Yankees on a new contract Friday and will probably agree sometime this weekend to a three-year guaranteed pact, with options for two more years, in excess of $5 million.
Schneider said he was flying back to Guidry's home in Lafayette, La., Friday to go over the offer personally with his client. Schneider met for nearly three hours with club owner George Steinbrenner from late Thursday night to early Friday morning and came away satisfied with the Yankees' offer.
'I feel very good about it,' said Schneider before departing for the airport. 'On the surface, it looks great. After evaluating it, I will have a better perception of it. The Yankee offer is the best one we received, but I knew it would be all along. From day one Ron wanted to sign with the Yankees.
'After evaluating it with Ron, we will make a decision. That will probably come Saturday or Sunday. There is no pressure from George to give an answer today.'
Although he would not comment on the specifics of the Yankee offer, he indicated it was less than the five-year, $7.5 million package he was seeking for his client.
'I talked all along about a five-year, $7.5 million contract,' said Schneider. 'I talked about that for six months. I hoped all along to negotiate a five-year, $7.5 million contract but if I could have negotiated that I'd probably be heading for Las Vegas right now instead of talking to reporters.
'There was a compromise by George and I in both areas (length of contract and dollars) and the offer was pretty close to what I thought the ultimate contract would be.'
Steinbrenner agreed with Schneider that the meeting, which lasted almost three hours from Thursday night into Friday morning, went well.
'We had a good meeting,' Steinbrenner said. 'I'm very hopeful as far as that's concerned. I feel the way he (Schneider) felt. Whatever he said, I echo.'
The Yankees' owner was not surprised at the length of the meeting.
'It was a difference in philosophy in some areas,' Steinbrenner said. 'I wanted him to sound out the market. I will say this: John Schneider was up front with me the whole time. He told me he wanted me to know that Guidry wanted to remain a Yankee right from the start. That's how Cajun honest they were.'
Schneider said he wanted to sit down and talk to Guidry in person because there were some details in the offer that had to be gone over carefully.
'Because of the complexities of the contract and because of the importance of it to Ron, it'll probably be the last contract he signs, I need to sit down with Ron and evaluate it,' said Schneider.
'Number one, we have to decide is it the best contract that can be negotiated with the Yankees. Number two, we have to decide what can be the best contract we could get with another club. And, number three, I want to be sure that all the I's are dotted and all the T's are crossed.
'I don't want to go into any specifics of the contract until both signatures are on it. I don't want to jeopardize it in any way.'
Although he was seeking a five-year guaranteed pact, Schneider indicated that in his talks with the teams that selected Guidry in the re-entry draft no one would offer more than three years.
'I would say there was no conspiracy among the owners and no concerted effort, but I think there were some discussions to return economic sanity to the game,' said Schneider. 'The fact is, as a result of the baseball strike, the mood was not what it was a year ago.
'My feeling was there was an individual effort to keep guaranteed contracts to a minimum number of years, preferably three.'
Guidry, who played out his option with the Yankees after turning down a three-year, $2.4 million offer, was drafted by 17 clubs in November's re-entry draft and had entertained offers from eight clubs.
The 31-year-old Guidry, who posted an 11-5 record with a 2.76 ERA last season, has been the most consistent winner in baseball over the last five years, posting a record of 87-34 since 1977. He won the American League's Cy Young Award in 1978 when he recorded a 25-3 record with a league-leading 1.74 ERA. He also won the AL's ERA title in 1979 with 2.78.
One of the most popular players on the Yankees, Guidry has put together five straight seasons of 11 or more victories and has perennially been among the league leaders in strikeouts.
