Perez, Forster, Camp, Hebner Are Among Spring Training Cuts

Major league baseball teams conducted a massive spring cleaning Thursday, with such familiar names as Pascual Perez, Len Barker, Rick Camp, Richie Hebner, Terry Francona and Jack Perconte being swept away in the roster cutdowns.

The Atlanta Braves had the biggest overhaul. Manager Chuck Tanner and General Manager Bobby Cox released four veteran pitchers and sent six other players to the minors. Teams had until noon Tuesday to release players without having to pay their full salaries.

In the biggest one-day roster change in their 20 years in Atlanta, the Braves asked waivers on pitchers Perez, Barker, Camp and Terry Forster, and shipped outfielders Albert Hall and Brad Komminsk, first baseman Gerald Perry, catcher Larry Owen, and infielders Paul Runge and Paul Zuvella to their Richmond, Va., farm club of the International League.

In addition, the Braves offered a major league contract to veteran outfielder Omar Moreno, who split time last season between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals and came to the Braves’ camp as a free agent. The Braves also asked that pitcher Pete Falcone be reinstated from the retirement list so they could ask for his outright release to enable him to play again.

Perez, 28, won 33 games for the Braves in 1983-84 but was only 1-13 last season after joining the team late because he had been jailed in his native Dominican Republic for drug possession. He pitched fairly well this spring but incurred Tanner’s wrath by his tardiness.

Barker, 30, pitched a perfect game for the Cleveland Indians in 1981 and won 15 games for the Indians in 1982 but had only a 10-20 record since joining the Braves late in the 1983 season. He was 2-9 with a 6.35 earned-run average last year when he was plagued with elbow problems.

Camp, 32, spent 10 seasons with the Braves, posting a 56-49 record. He averaged about 20 starts a season in 1982-83-84 but was used almost exclusively in middle relief last year and went 4-6.

Forster, 34, spent 12 seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Dodgers before being signed as a free agent after the 1982 season. He was 7-5 for Atlanta during the past three seasons and received greater recognition for a weight problem that became the brunt of jokes from late night television host David Letterman.

Hall, Komminsk and Perry have all been regulars at times for the Braves, but none has distinguished himself.

Hebner, an 18-year major league veteran, was given his outright release by the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs also optioned southpaw pitcher Ray Fontenot, bothered by injuries in the spring, to their Iowa farm team of the American Assn. (AAA).

A career .276 hitter, Hebner broke into major league baseball in 1968 with the Pirates. He also played with Philadelphia, New York Mets and Detroit Tigers. Last year with the Cubs, he batted .217 with 3 homers and 20 RBI.

Francona, whose promising career was ruined by two knee operations, was given his release by the Montreal Expos.

The 26-year-old Francona, son of former major leaguer Tito Francona, is a five-year major league veteran with a lifetime batting average of .290. However, he never really achieved the stardom predicted for him because of two major knee operations, each of which cost him a year.

Perconte, 31, was given his release by the Seattle Mariners. Traded to the Mariners in 1983, he tied the team record with 180 hits in 1984. He also led the club in stolen bases twice. Last year Perconte batted .254.

The decision to drop Perconte means that rookie Danny Tartabull will be the club’s starting second baseman. Tartabull hit 43 home runs and drove in 109 runs at Calgary last season.

Shortstop Onix Concepcion, who lost his starting job to the weak-hitting Buddy Biancalana late last season, became the fourth member of the World Series champion Royals to be cut.

The Royals said they have asked waivers on Concepcion for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release, while acquiring shortstop Argenis (Angel) Salazar from the Mets for left-handed pitcher Tony Ferreira.

Pitchers Mike Jones and Joe Beckwith and outfielder Pat Sheridan also have been released by the club.

Elsewhere, Jerry Willard, who had been tabbed as the Indians’ No. 1 catcher at the start of spring training, was waived, the Houston Astros asked waivers on relief pitcher Bill Dawley, the Expos dropped veteran infielder Ivan DeJesus and pitcher John Stuper, the Mets released reliever Tom Gorman and the Cincinnati Reds dropped relief pitcher Doug Bair.

The Milwaukee Brewers released veteran pitcher Ray Burris and outfielder David Green and optioned pitchers Bob Gibson and Chuck Porter and rookie outfielder-first baseman Jim Adduci to Vancouver of the Pacific Coast League.