Moore, Angels Fail in Contract Talks Despite Autry’s Presence at Session

After six months of on-again, off-again negotiations, relief pitcher Donnie Moore and his agents finally got their meeting with Angel owner Gene Autry Tuesday afternoon. The session was short--just two hours--but for Moore, it was anything but sweet.

It was short because nothing was accomplished. Moore’s agents, David Pinter and Peter Rose, offered their new proposal, the Angels made their counterproposal, and, after looking them over, both sides agreed not to agree.

“It was what we expected, and it’s disappointing,” Rose said. “We never got around to discussing the finer points of the contract, because some gaps remain on some basic issues. Like length of contract and money.”

Actually, the real obstacle is money. Moore says he’s willing to compromise on the contract length. He wants four years guaranteed, but the Angels are offering three.

“OK, give me a good three-year contract and I’ll play here,” Moore said. “We’ll sign a good three-year contract.”

And what, in Moore’s estimation, is a good three-year contract?

“More than what they’re offering,” he said.

What the Angels reportedly are offering is a three-year pact worth $2.68 million. It is basically the same offer they made in October, took off the table in November and re-issued again in December. And again Tuesday.

“It may have been a negotiating mistake,” General Manager Mike Port said, “but we presented them with our best offer too soon. What we offered them (Tuesday) was in the same ballpark of the offer that we made Oct. 29.”

That angered the Moore contingent, which came into the meeting with a scaled-down proposal. Even Port conceded: “To their credit, what they presented to us today was significantly less than the offer they gave us in San Diego at the winter meeting.”

Moore: “We bent a little bit. They should bend some, too.”

Rose: “We wanted more flexibility, to try to put a deal together. . . . (But) we’ve been looking at the contracts of Bob Stanley, Willie Hernandez and Bill Caudill and analyzing what they’re being paid. We feel Donnie should be at the same level, but the Angels aren’t offering it.”

Autry’s presence at the meeting had encouraged Pinter that a settlement was near, saying Monday that “I’ll be very, very shocked if we don’t have a signature.” When it didn’t happen, Pinter had little to say.

“He’s a nice man,” Pinter said of Autry. And, of Autry’s influence on the meeting: “It’s too early to tell.”

Actually, it’s getting late. According to baseball rules, if no agreement is reached by 9 tonight, Moore and the Angels will go their separate ways.

“If you’ve been around (contract) negotiations, you know that most often, they reach the crisis situation,” Rose said. “We have a deadline. If we’re intent to get together, we’ve got to get together by 9 o’clock.”