Andujar Says He’ll Comply With Ueberroth’s Ruling

Oakland A’s pitcher Joaquin Andujar, saying he is extremely concerned about his public image, announced Friday in Phoenix that he will comply with Commissioner Peter Ueberroth’s recent ruling regarding penalties for past drug involvement.

Ueberroth declared last week that Andujar and six other major leaguers would be suspended for a year unless they agreed to certain provisions, including donating 10% of their 1986 salaries to a drug-abuse program.

The pitcher from the Dominican Republic, a 20-game winner the last two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, also issued an apology to baseball fans for his behavior during the 1985 World Series. And he shook hands with Don Denkinger, the umpire who tossed him out of the seventh game of the Series after being charged and bumped by the pitcher. Andujar stopped short of issuing any formal words of apology to Denkinger, however.

Ueberroth fined Andujar $500 and suspended him for the first 10 days of the 1986 season because of the altercation. Andujar went to the A’s in a December trade.