Ron Romanick Wins Arbitration

Angel pitcher Ron Romanick, who won only one of his last nine starts and did not get past the fifth inning in six of them, scored a significant victory Saturday.

Arbitrator Tom Roberts ruled in favor of Romanick’s request for a 1986 salary of $425,000. The Angels had filed a salary offer of $250,000.

Romanick earned $146,500 in his second major league season, finishing with a 14-9 record and a 4.11 earned-run average.

His second-half slump, he believes, stemmed from an injury to his right foot that he suffered Aug. 4 when he slipped on an All-Star insignia at the Minneapolis Metrodome. Romanick had a bone spur (technically a calcification) removed from the foot when the season ended.

However, pitching coach Marcel Lachemann, exasperated by Romanick’s failure to win during the late stages of the race, said in September that Romanick’s problems seemed to be all mental and that he lacked aggressiveness and concentration. There was also a belief among Angel coaches and management that Romanick may have had his continuity and rhythm disrupted by his activity as the club’s player representative before and after the August strike.