23 Years Ago Today…Holland, Scurry, Berra & Washington

On February 28, 1986, Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth conditionally suspended 11 players – seven of them for a full season – for drug abuse. This all came about as a result of the Pittsburgh drug trials in 1985.

The players who were suspended for a full year were allowed to play under the condition that they donated 10 percent of their base salaries to drug-related community service, submitted to random drug testing, and contributed 100 hours of drug-related community service. Those were:

Joaquín Andújar, Oakland Athletics
Dale Berra, New York Yankees
Enos Cabell, Los Angeles Dodgers
Keith Hernandez, New York Mets
Jeffrey Leonard, San Francisco Giants
Dave Parker, Cincinnati Reds
Lonnie Smith, Kansas City Royals

The four players who were suspended for only 60 days were allowed to play if they donated 5 percent of base salaries and contributed 50 hours of drug-related community service. Those were:

Al Holland, New York Yankees
Lee Lacy, Baltimore Orioles
Lary Sorensen, Chicago Cubs
Claudell Washington, Atlanta Braves

Now, this is where it gets interesting. Rod Scurry was also a drug abuser and part of those trials in 1985. And, he played for the Yankees in 1985 and 1986. Further, on June 30, 1986, Claudell Washington was traded by the Braves (along with with Paul Zuvella) to the Yankees for Ken Griffey Sr. and Andre Robertson. Related, on July 27, 1986, the Yankees released Dale Berra.

So, for four weeks during the 1986 season, the Yankees had Al Holland, Rod Scurry, Dale Berra and Claudell Washington on their roster at the same time.

But, the Yankees had the third best overall record in the A.L. that season. Therefore, many Yankees fans were probably willing to look past the character of some of the members of the team…