1912 Hal Chase; 1914-21 Roger Peckinpaugh; 1922 Babe Ruth;1922-25 Everett Scott; 1935-41 Lou Gehrig; 1976-79 Thurman Munson;1982-84 Graig Nettles; 1986 Willie Randolph; Ron Guidry. Call them captains contagious. No Yankees captain has ever had a happy ending to his career with the Yankees. Either by trade - or death - the captainship has without exception led to a parting of the ways. Enter Ron Guidry, who now has the opportunity of breaking the 76-year-old jinx by finishing his career as Yankees captain. The problem is, can Guidry and the Yankees agree on a new contract that will enable Guidry to remain a Yankee?

Guidry is 38 and wants to pitch one more year for the Yankees. He has spent 12 years with them, which in itself is an amazing achievement. He is a free agent, but the only team he wants to play for is the Yankees. There has been little dialogue between the Yankees and Guidry's agent, Reggie Ringuet, who said the Yankees have yet to make any offer at all.