NEW YORK - Just one day after his worldwide debut, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, the reporter that threw both of his shoes at President Bush will be signed by the New York Yankees, the NY Daily News reports.
The Yankees and al-Zaida agreed on Monday morning to the framework of a $142 million dollar, six-year contract, after Brian Cashman, the Yankees general manager, saw the clip of al-Zaida's tosses while watching television on Sunday afternoon. Cashman immediately flew to Baghdad that night to work out the terms of the deal.
"We really liked the accuracy on both of his throws," Cashman told reporters, "and frankly we're pretty desperate for starting pitchers. I mean, did you see how much we gave Sabathia? Nobody even bid on C.C. but us. Which is why I flew immediately to Baghdad to get this Iraqi kid."
The news came as a surprise to many, not least of all al-Zaidi, who at 28 has no prior experience throwing a baseball.
"In Baghdad, I'm known as a superior shoe thrower," al-Zaidi said through an interpreter, "I have thrown shoes all my life very accurately. In Iraq we have no remote controls, so I use my shoes to change the channels on the televison. Mr. Cashman has assured me that the transition to baseballs will be easy."
The contract given to al-Zaidi is the 5th highest awarded to a starting pitcher in baseball history.
"He'll be under some pressure when he gets here. Believe me I know," Yankees third-baseman Alex Rodriguez said from Madonna's apartment. "It'll be nice to have this Iraqi guy take some of the attention away from my exploits off the field and should give me some quiet time to study the Kaballah."
The right-handed al-Zaidi is likely to compete with Joba Chamberlain for the fifth spot in the rotation. Calls to Chamberlain for comment were not immediately returned, but loud screaming was heard coming from his apartment.
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