April 28, 1977 - Torrez joins the Yankees
- Sal Maiorana
- Apr 28, 2017
- 2 min read
NEW YORK - Barely a week before, when George Steinbrenner held his pow-wow with the press, among the many topics he discussed was the immediate future of disgruntled Dock Ellis. Ellis and the owner had been embroiled in a lengthy squabble over Ellis’ contract, with George refusing to give in to the pitcher’s demand of a three-year deal worth about $450,000.
Rumors of a trade were running rampant, but Steinbrenner said, “If he is worried about being traded, he doesn’t have to. I like Dock Ellis. He’s a good pitcher. No one’s going to trade Dock for spite.”
That said, Steinbrenner also made it clear that no one was going to tell him where he could and couldn’t go at Yankee Stadium, and Ellis had said the owner didn’t belong inside the clubhouse, the players’ sanctuary. “No Dock Ellis is ever going to tell me to stay out of the locker room,” Steinbrenner said. “If I want to go into the locker room, I’ll go into that locker room.”
So of course, Ellis was traded to Oakland along with utility infielder Marty Perez for right-handed pitcher Mike Torrez who, like Ellis, wasn’t too enamored with his owner. Torrez was in the same predicament with the A’s – in the last year of his contract, the historically cheap Charley Finley was not going to pony up, so rather than let Torrez walk away in free agency, Finley swung a trade.
On the surface, it certainly looked like a win-win for both teams. Ellis had won 17 games for the Yankees in 1976, while Torrez was 16-12 and was fourth in the American League in ERA at 2.50 for Oakland. Both needed a change of scenery, and they got it. For the Yankees, though, if they hoped to re-sign the 31-year-old Torrez in the offseason, it was probably going to cost more than re-signing Ellis who would be 32.
“It’s not that I’m happy to be leaving the Yankees organization,” Ellis said. “I wasn’t being paid, so I have to leave. I have no animosity toward George Steinbrenner. It’s his money, he can give it to anyone he wants. He just didn’t give it to me.”
Torrez basically said the same thing on the other coast before flying East where the Yankees were planning on starting him as soon as possible with Catfish Hunter and Don Gullett still sidelined by injuries. “Charley wasn’t going to pay me, so it’s the only thing he could do,” said Torrez, who ultimately didn’t make it to New York until after the weekend because he was diverted to his home in Montreal because his wife, who had just delivered a baby, had fallen ill.
Finley, always good for a story, said there was another incentive for him to make the trade. “George promised me two tickets to the Kentucky Derby,” Finley said. “He said he’s entering his horse (Steve’s Friend) in the Derby and he told me I could lead the horse out of the winner’s circle if he wins. I don’t know what the horse’s colors are, but by race day they might be Kelly green and gold.”
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