Garvey Says He May Quit After Next Year

Steve Garvey said Tuesday that he might retire when his Padre contract expires after the 1987 season.

Garvey, who will turn 38 in December, said he would think about it after this season and might decide as early as this winter.

“Well, every off-season, I re-evaluate my game plan and projections for two years, five years, 10 years down the road,” said Garvey, who was benched Tuesday but pinch-hit in the eighth inning to keep his consecutive-game streak alive at 264. “Next year is my last year of this contract, so this off-season, I’ll sit down and try to get a pretty good idea how I feel. . . . Nothing concrete has been decided, though.”

Garvey missed the All-Star team for only the third time in 13 years this season and is batting .236 with 14 homers (a team high) and 43 RBIs (second highest on the club). But his limited range at first base has drawn criticism from some teammates, though none would comment on the record.

Still, Garvey is the first to admit he isn’t the same as he used to be.

“Oh, sure,” he said. “Probably no one’s played more baseball than I have over the last 10 years. . . . But that’s only one secondary consideration (for retirement). My primary focus is my overall contribution to the team. Like I said, some years the statistics might fluctuate or vary, but as long as they’re relative to the standards that I set for myself, fine. . . . When I feel those (standards) can’t be matched, then next year will be my last year.

“Physically, I think I could play three, four more years--the way I keep myself in shape. But it’s the projection of my contribution, what standards I feel can contribute to the team, the direction the team’s moving in. There are a lot of factors. And I’ll get a lot of opinions, too. I do that every year anyway. . . . I go to the people who are close to me--professionally and advisers I work with. My close friends.”

Garvey, who said he would like to finish his career in San Diego, could decide he wants to play beyond 1987, but what if the Padres don’t want him? Then what? The American League as a designated hitter?

“I would never (be a DH),” he said. “I’m not that type of player who’s strictly a DH.

“At this time, my projection is to finish my career here. I just feel I’ve been fortunate to play in two great cities (L.A. and San Diego). I never anticipated playing more than one place to begin with, but San Diego’s been great. I get a lot of opinions from people I respect, people who are objective, and everybody feels this was the best move. The other choice would’ve been here in Chicago, and I’m quite sure it would’ve worked well, but the San Diego-Southern California area. . . . You measure a move or transition by the amount of variables you have to go through, and from L.A. to San Diego, there were very few. Same division, same league.”

And what about this scenario: Garvey retiring and entering politics?

“Like I’ve said before, it’s something we’re exploring, but nothing’s definite,” he said.