SPRING TRAINING ’87 : Roundup : Andujar Calls In Late Again to A’s Training Camp

Joaquin Andujar is involved in a controversy and he hasn’t even arrived at the Oakland A’s training camp at Scottsdale, Ariz.

He won’t be arrive for another week, and that’s the problem.

The A’s officially open camp on Wednesday, but Andujar, who reported late to camp last season, has notified the team he may not be there until sometime next week.

“It’s upsetting,” said Manager Tony LaRussa, who will be in charge of his first spring training camp with the A’s after taking over the squad midway through the 1986 campaign.

Andujar, whose contract runs out at the end of this season, was 12-7 with an earned-run-average of 3.82 in 1986.

One veteran who won’t be late is Reggie Jackson, signed as a free agent in the off-season, who reported to camp Monday and said he is ready to go. Jackson, who was not re-signed by the Angels, is returning to the team he broke in with and helped to World Series titles in 1972-73-74.

Catcher Scott Hemond, the A’s top draft choice last season, is recovering from injuries suffered in a weekend automobile accident. Hemond suffered a broken nose and facial bruises in the accident.

All-Star pitcher Teddy Higuera was not on hand at Chandler, Ariz., as the Milwaukee Brewers opened spring training, and his agent said he won’t be there until he signs a contract.

Higuera, who won 20 games last season, and agent Brian David is negotiating a new contract with management.

“It’s certainly a concern,” Manager Tom Trebelhorn said. “I don’t think it will hurt him. The only way it would hurt him is if he’s still not here two weeks from now. But even then that would give him four weeks, which is plenty of time.”

“Barring injuries he’ll still be our opening-day pitcher against Roger Clemens.”

The Brewers play host to Clemens and the defending American League champion Boston Red Sox in the season opener April 6.

Relief pitcher Dan Plesac agreed to a contract after Monday’s workout. Plesac was 10-7 with 14 saves and a 2.97 ERA as a rookie last season.

Minnesota Twins’ players took batting practice without incident Monday, one day after Kirby Puckett was nearly arrested for accidentally shattering a car’s windshield with a batted baseball.

Unlike Sunday, when a truck and tractor pull was taking place at Orlando Stadium next to the Twins’ Tinker Field practice site, there were no nearby events Monday.

Puckett and several Twins unknowingly hit baseballs into the pit area for the tractor pull Sunday. Besides shattering a windshield, other baseballs bounced off parked trucks.

Police Sgt. Robert Newsome approached Twins’ media relations director Tom Mee and told him the workout would have to end. Mee told the officer that Puckett and infielder Ron Gardenhire would be hitting for another few minutes and added that the people on the other side of the fence should have been warned.

Newsome said: “I’m going to go out to tell (Puckett) to stop batting, and if he doesn’t, I’m going to arrest him.”

At that point, Andy MacPhail, Twins’ executive vice president, showed up and Newsome told him: “We’ve got to stop this for public-safety reasons. I’m sure you don’t want to be involved in a lawsuit or anything.”

Batting practice was over.

Mario Soto, coming off shoulder surgery, plans to be ready as opening day starter for the Cincinnati Reds.

If he is healthy, Soto, 30, figures to be on the mound when Cincinnati opens the season April 6 against the Montreal Expos.

“I’ll be ready to be in the starting rotation when training season ends,” he said at the Reds’ training camp in Tampa, Fla.

He pitched only 105 innings last season, down from 256 the year before. On Aug. 23, orthopedic surgeon Frank Jobe conducted an arthroscopic operation in which he smoothed out some roughness around the rotator cuff of Soto’s right shoulder.

“It scared me, because I had never had an operation of any kind, and when you’re a baseball pitcher and you’re talking about a shoulder operation, it has to scare you,” Soto said.

Soto started his gradual recovery program when he resumed throwing after Jan. 1. He said his apprehension left him after he played catch with an 11-year-old nephew in his native Dominican Republic on Jan. 4.

The Reds are banking heavily on Soto, but Manager Pete Rose has listed him as a question mark. Soto feels he already has the answer.

“I really expected it to hurt, but it didn’t,” Soto said.

“I’m just telling myself now to do the same things I always did. I hope I won’t change my style in any way. I don’t throw a lot of breaking balls, so I’m not going to do that. I won’t suddenly say, ‘I’m going to start throwing hard today,’ but I will increase my speed every day. Really, I’m pretty sure everything is fine.”

San Francisco Giant pitcher Scott Garrelts ended speculation of a possible contract holdout when he checked into the National League club’s spring training camp at Phoenix.

Garrelts, 13-9 with a 3.11 ERA and a team-high 10 saves last season, is negotiating a new contract with the Giants. San Francisco has offered a $250,000 one-year pact, and Garrelts’ agent Tom Selakovich has asked for $700,000.

Al Rosen, the Giants’ president and general manager, was quick to respond when asked how far the two sides were apart.

“We’re about as far as my arms will reach,” he said.