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How the Twins lost Shane Mack

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I have been thinking about this subject since I read Joe Lanek’s excellent post last year: The Twins made their best Rule 5 selection 27 years ago. I was a big Shane Mack fan at the time.

I remember thinking as events unfolded in 1994 that new GM Terry Ryan screwed up - and came off as a bit presumptuous while doing so. The situation foreshadowed Terry Ryan mistakes to come.

I dug up a dozen or so articles from the archives of the local papers to refresh my memory. What I forgot was that Ryan was in a pretty pickle due to the labor situation. My research did not, however, change my appraisal.

In June 1994, with no labor agreement in place since 1993, MLB owners formally proposed a revenue-sharing plan keyed to a salary cap. The players rejected the offer and went on strike in August. There would be no World Series in 1994.

On December 14, 1994, negotiations between the Players Association and the owners, led by acting Commissioner Bud Selig, broke down. Around the same time, Terry Ryan was just beginning his new job as Twins General Manager.

Ryan’s first priority: re-sign free agent star outfielder Shane Mack.

Friday, December 23, 1994. MLB owners unilaterally implement a salary cap system.

Ryan has offered Shane Mack, who made $3.25 million in 1994, a two-year, $6.7 million dollar contract, with a club option for a third year that included a $100,000 buyout. It appears to Star Tribune staff writer Jim Souhan that this is Mack's only offer. According to Souhan, the teams previously interested in Mack "indicated this week they have lost interest, either because of his his history of [arm and shoulder] injuries, his cost, or other recent acquisitions that have affected their payrolls." Ryan requires Mack to take a physical that day.

Souhan reports that the Twins "are concerned that the Mariners recent re-signing of free-agent outfielder Jay Buhner for three years at $15.5 million - the kind of extravagant deal long decried by smaller market teams such as Seattle and the Twins - will create an inflated market for Mack."

Saturday, December 24, 1994. The Players Association asks agents and players not to sign contracts under the owners' cap system until the union can study it.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Mack has a "multi-year offer on the table from Japan." Mack cannot be reached for comment, but Mack’s agent, Eric Goldschmidt, confirmed the news and says there is a third offer from another unidentified AL team (thought to be Baltimore). Goldschmidt said that Mack would spend Christmas weekend with his family coming to a decision between the offers.

The PiPress article estimates that the Twins salary cap will be approximately $29 million in 1995 under the new cap "although Ryan said their budget probably will not allow them to go that high on player salaries."

"‘We’ve always had a salary cap,’ Ryan said. ‘It’s called a budget."" Goldschmidt tells the newspaper that Ryan "has tried very hard in dealing with all of the issues to try to sign Shane."

Tuesday, December 27, 1994. Goldschmidt tells the Pioneer Press that Mack has not yet decided between the three offers. "Hopefully by the end of the week."

Saturday, December 31, 1994. The Star Tribune reports that Mack is very close to signing with the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants. Mack tells Souhan "I would love to stay here, but...I also have to look out for my own security."

The Strib reports that Ryan, citing the union’s directive not to sign contracts, pulled the Twins’ offer off the table. "Sources" tell Souhan that if Mack would not accept the Twins offer, "then the offer could only serve as a bargaining chip in Mack’s other negotiations." But Mack sounds upset. "We were getting close," he tells Souhan, "but we just needed more time and he snatched it off the table."

"We’ve talked to a few teams," said Mack, "but there was not going to be any offers right now because of the salary cap, and I don’t know if there was [negative talk] about me and my health."

The same day, Ryan admits to the Pioneer Press that he is concerned about the offer from Japan. "They’re very interested in him, and there isn’t anything to hold him back from going to Japan. I hope he doesn’t."

Wednesday, January 4, 1995. The Associated Press announces that Mack has signed a two-year, $8.1 million deal with the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants. Ryan tells the AP he has not been officially notified.

Thursday, January 5, 1995. Phil Miller reports on the deal in the Pioneer Press, and says Terry Ryan is bitterly disappointed. "I feel bad about it," said Ryan. "It is not one of my better days. [Ryan will have worse.] But I am not going to let it destroy this organization."

"We certainly made every effort to bring him back. We gave him a fair offer."

"That just means more at-bats for Cordova, (Rich) Becker, (David) McCarty, (Brian) Kowitz, (Alex) Cole and everybody else," said Ryan. "It bothers me that Shane is gone because we’re better with him. But if he isn’t here, I just have to move on."