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Yankees sign Sanderson to end year

By JOE ILLUZZI UPI Sports Writer

NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees, desperate for any sound arm they can find, Monday ended one of the worst years in the franchise's history by signing Oakland pitcher Scott Sanderson.

Quite a contrast from the celebrated New Year's Eve signing in 1974 of Catfish Hunter.

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Sanderson signed a 2-year contract plus an option year. He earned $850,000 last season and probably will earn about $2 million in 1991. That's almost as much as Hunter, a Hall of Famer, made over the life of his five-year deal with the Yankees.

Sanderson, 17-11 with a 3.88 ERA with the American League-champion A's, now goes from the top to the bottom. The Yankees had the worst record in the league last season and the third-worst pitching staff.

The 34-year-old right-hander was not a free agent. Gene Michael, the Yankees vice president and general manager, said New York paid the A's an undisclosed sum for Sanderson.

Sanderson said he could have vetoed the deal. Had Oakland not traded Sanderson, the parties would have gone to salary arbitration.

And because of Sanderson's 17 victories, the A's likely would have had to pay more than they wanted, whether they won or lost an arbitration hearing. So Oakland, with an abundance of pitching, simply took what money it could get.

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Sanderson becomes the second addition to the Yankees' staff. New York signed free-agent reliever Steve Farr, who is represented by Sanderson's agent, Richard Moss.

Acquiring Sanderson provides the Yankees with insurance in case they can't re-sign Mike Witt and Dave LaPoint, two 'new-look' free agents as a result of the recent collusion settlement between major league owners and the players' union.

Sanderson did not miss a turn in the rotation last year. His 17 victories and 34 starts represent career highs. He pitched 200-plus innings for the first time since 1982 and for the third time in his career.

'In signing Scott, we have added a proven veteran to our rotation,' Michael said. 'Scotty knows how to pitch and should make our pitching staff more solid.'

The Yankees' signing of Hunter capped the most ferocious bidding war of any player in American sports history. His entire contract was worth roughly $3 million and made him the richest player in baseball.

George Steinbrenner, the Yankees' principal owner who has since been stripped of his power, announced the signing at a late-night news conference in one of the first of his many theatrical displays. The Yankees transmitted a fax to announce the acquisition of Sanderson and later held a telephone conference call.

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Sanderson has a career record of 115-100 with a 3.59 ERA in more than 12 years in the major leagues. He has pitched for Montreal (1978-83) and the Chicago Cubs (1984-89) in addition to Oakland.

Sanderson underwent back surgery in 1988 but says he has been healthy since.

'I'm not short on confidence,' he said. 'I think I can come in and do a good job.'

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