Mauch Pegs Hendrick as Right for the Angels

The Angels came to baseball’s winter meetings here with a quest: to re-sign free-agent relief pitcher Donnie Moore. But for the first two days, their focus has been on right field and the theme has been a little unusual: Make room for George Hendrick.

The Angels cleared out one right fielder on Sunday, severing a five-year relationship with their leading hitter, Juan Beniquez, who is a free agent.

Monday, they got rid of two more--not through trade or waivers, but by position change.

The moves:

--Reggie Jackson, who played 81 games in right field last season at 39, will be a permanent designated hitter in 1986.

“We don’t plan to play Reggie in right field and he knows that,” Manager Gene Mauch said. “I think he’s conditioned himself to the fact he can’t play right field. He told me his plan is to spend the winter getting mentally ready for the challenge of being DH.”

--Darrell Miller, the 26-year old who hit .375 while playing 45 games in the outfield, has become, at least for the time being, the team’s backup catcher for Bob Boone, who at 37 caught a personal-high 147 games last season.

“Darrell Miller at catcher will be our big project of the spring,” Mauch said. “I hate to put him through the rigors of mastering the position, but I’d rather make a project out of Darrell Miller than having to pick up some reject.”

The result?

Would you believe George Hendrick, 36, in right field for 140 games next season? The same George Hendrick who hit .122 in 16 games with the Angels after joining them in an August trade with Pittsburgh, where he had batted .230?

That’s the Angels’ plan, according to Mauch.

“George Hendrick is too good to be relegated to a part-time role or accused of being done,” Mauch said. “I rank George Hendrick with Don Baylor in his ability to get in a run from third base, his ability to squeeze in a run.”

Hendrick drove in just 31 runs in 85 games last year, finishing with four home runs. He was perceived as a major bust in Pittsburgh, which had acquired him last winter from St Louis in exchange for pitcher John Tudor. Tudor won 21 games, and the Cardinals won the National League pennant.

The Pirates finished last in the National League East, and Hendrick was gone by late summer. He was included as a throw-in in the six-player deal that brought pitcher John Candelaria to the Angels.

And it was the Pirates who insisted that Hendrick be thrown in. Wanting to trim its hefty payroll, Pittsburgh got rid of two weighty contracts by sending Hendrick, who was making $621,000 plus $116,000 in bonuses, and relief pitcher Al Holland, who was earning $600,000, to California along with Candelaria.

Hendrick’s contract is guaranteed through 1988, so maybe that accounts for the Angels’ stance. Perhaps they figure that as long as they’re paying him, they might as well play him.

Mauch said that Hendrick will play “at least 140 games next season.” He also said that 1985 wasn’t a true measurement of Hendrick’s remaining skills.

“George was in no physical condition to play when he came to us,” Mauch said. “He was hurt (injured thigh muscle) to the point where he had lost a lot of his tone. He had no rhythm, and the atmosphere in Pittsburgh hadn’t been conducive to regaining it.”

As recently as 1983, Hendrick, a five-time All-Star, batted .318 with 97 RBIs and 18 home runs. Mauch is hopeful that, with hard work, Hendrick can regain some of that form.

“I told George, ‘By the first of April, you’re going to think it’s the middle of July,’ ” Mauch said, indicating that Hendrick is headed for an intense spring training.

“I’ve had a lot of fun with guys like this. The Yankees said Reggie was done in 1980 and look at the kind of year he had in ’82. People said he was done again in ’83 and ‘84, but look at what he did for us last year.

“I know George doesn’t feel he’s done. He’s been at the stadium (working out) every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday since the season ended.”

Mauch began last season with Jackson as his right fielder, supported by Beniquez and Ruppert Jones. It was a gamble by Mauch, who claimed that Jackson is more productive at the plate when he’s involved defensively in the game.

The offensive statistics bear out Mauch’s view. Jackson hit .252 overall--.284 as a right fielder and just .196 as a designated hitter.

But the defensive statistics were more telling. Jackson committed seven errors in 81 games. Only seven American League outfielders, all playing at least 130 games, had more.

So, it will back to designated hitter for Jackson, who played that role almost exclusively in 1983 and ’84. And, for Miller, it will be back to catcher, the position he played when he was drafted from Cal Poly Pomona by the Angels in 1979.

Negotiations with Moore are expected to resume here with General Manager Mike Port tentatively scheduled to meet face-to-face with Moore’s agents, David Pinter and Peter Rose, today. The search for the left-handed reliever continues, although the Angels are expected to talk with the Tigers today about Chuck Cary, a 25-year-old who split last season between Nashville and Detroit, where he was 0-1 with two saves. As for the reserve catcher situation, at least a stopgap has been found in Miller.

“He’ll play some outfield, too,” Mauch said of Miller, “but at this point, he’ll spend most of his time catching. This spring, I plan to talk more baseball with Darrell Miller than with anybody else on this club.”

Miller will leave today for Venezuela, where he’ll be able to catch 25-30 games in winter ball.

Port: “We want to be prepared in case we’re not successful (in a trade for a catcher). Two years ago, Darrell caught for Moose Stubing at Edmonton. He hit .320 and caught well.