STILL ON FIRST : In the Final Season of His Contract With San Diego, Steve Garvey Looks Over a Wealth of Possibilities

Steve Garvey’s 19th and busiest spring training . . .

Every morning at 6:30, he’s out of bed. Every morning at 7:15, he’s running the stadium stairs. Every morning at 7:30, he’s sprinting in left field. Every morning at 7:45, he’s riding a stationary bike. Every morning at 8, he’s skipping rope.

Every morning at 9, the rest of his teammates show up.

“The single greatest fear I have is not being prepared,” Garvey says.

He is 38, and his million-dollar contract with the San Diego Padres runs out in October. The Padres say privately that this is his last hurrah.

What does Steve Garvey say?

“Two more years . . . maybe three.”

He will not retire after this season, but he did give it some thought. There was a day in Chicago last summer, when he was slumping so badly he couldn’t have hit a slow-pitched watermelon, and he hinted about retiring. But then he got hot. He hit some home runs and tipped his cap a bunch of times, and he realized what a heck of a good time he was having.

He mulled it over this winter, and then he decided: “Two more years . . . maybe three.”

Here was General Manager Jack McKeon’s response: “Good . . . that’s nice. . . . He needs to stay in the limelight until election year, right?”

McKeon giggled.

It may not be so funny later, depending on what happens. If Garvey has a great year, the Padres might re-sign him. But if he has a poor year, they can just let him go. They might even trade him. Two sources who have had negotiations with the Padre front office and one who is inside the organization said the Padres have discussed trading him. Where? He has a no-trade clause in his contract, and although he won’t say it, his friends say there’s only one place he would agree to go.

Home. Back to the Dodgers.

When rumors of a Padre-Dodger trade started this winter, Garvey was asked to comment.

“It’s not out of the realm,” he said, though he said he knew nothing of a deal. “Let’s just say it would be a symmetrical move.”

Ballard Smith, the Padre president, said he has not discussed trading Garvey. The rumors started after Bob Horner, a free agent, began negotiating with San Diego. Horner asked the Padres where they were going to put him, and--according to a source--Smith said he might trade Garvey, which would make room at first base.

However, the Padres didn’t sign Horner.

Al Campanis, the Dodger general manager, also said he had not discussed a trade for Garvey. But he did say it could happen only if the Padres ate a large chunk of his contract.

A Padre front office source said: “Well, that’s no problem.”

Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ executive vice president, offered yet another denial, saying the Dodgers have more than their share of first basemen. But Claire also said, “I wouldn’t place anything out of the realm of possibility, because who knows what the future might bring or what circumstances might occur?”

Still, Garvey will be a free agent next fall, and he plans to play somewhere in 1988. Just so you know, he thought it was great when Pete Rose got to finish his career where he started--in Cincinnati.

“Let’s say at the end of this season, for instance, the Padres said, ‘Garv, you’ve had a pretty good year, but we’re just going to go with younger players,’ ” Garvey said earlier this spring. “So that means I’m a free agent. And what do you think would be the ultimate thing that could happen, that would be great for baseball?”

Going back to the Dodgers?

Garvey would not comment further.

It’s never a boring off-season . . .

He put out another book, taped his own hitting video and got to play tennis with Martina Navratilova. Every morning, he got up at 6, lifted weights, ran on the beach and did aerobics. He received the “Good Guy Award” from New York sportswriters, began producing a syndicated TV series, taped three specials on ESPN, delivered motivational speeches, tried to interest investors in buying the Padres--angering the team owner, Joan Kroc--and played dad to his two daughters.

Recently, he went to Lindsay, Calif., so he could help celebrate the 10th anniversary of Steve Garvey Junior High School. There was a pep rally in his honor, and then the students settled down to a quiet question-and-answer session with him, their Grand Poo-bah.

He has planned thoroughly for retirement. Back in 1974--just after his MVP season--he went to work for Pepsi-Cola with the single purpose of learning how to run a company. He learned everything you would ever want to know about Pepsi--how to make it, bottle it, sell it and deliver it. That’s right, for about a week, he went out in a truck and lugged boxes of soda in and out of grocery stores.

Now, 13 years later, he has his own company, Garvey Marketing Group.

And there is the continuing lure of politics.

Recently, he was asked, “What’s the state of Steve Garvey, 1987?”

And he answered, “You mean you want me to give my State of the Diamond Address? Sure. This is a very interesting period in my life. It’s the late summer of one career, and the spring of others. It’s very challenging to try to get the most out of all these opportunities.”

And opportunities are knocking.

HE COULD BE A PRODUCER

That was him you saw on ESPN. This winter, he hosted a celebrity tennis tournament, a fishing derby and a ski race.

Now, he is producing and acting as host of a syndicated series that depicts the turning points in successful people’s lives. He uses himself as an example in the first episode--part of which was filmed at Dodger Stadium this winter.

“For me, it (the turning point) was the second game of a doubleheader in 1973,” he said. “July 23. I’d gone from sitting on the bench and being the last pinch-hitter to being the best pinch-hitter in the league. In the first game of the doubleheader, I pinch-hit against Fred Norman of Cincinnati.

“But then Walt Alston came up to me between games and said, ‘You’d like to start at first?’ I said, ‘I’d love to.’ And I started that game, and for the next week I was very successful. And I started all but two games the rest of the year. That was my turning point.”

HE COULD BE A POLITICIAN

To win an election, you must win friends.

That’s him.

In New York, the sportswriters organization gave him that “Good Guy Award,” which honors the most gracious ballplayer in the country.

He won the same award from sportswriters in Los Angeles and Kansas City, and the San Diego group has just voted him the winner.

Now, what’s a “good guy”?

An example: In 1984, the entire Padre team revolted against a sportswriter covering the team--Barry Bloom of the San Diego Tribune. Bloom had criticized the team for a beanball war in Atlanta, and the players took a vote on whether to keep talking to him.

Bloom lost, 24-1.

Garvey was the only guy who voted in Bloom’s favor. Later, he took Bloom out to dinner so he could explain what the team was doing.

That’s a “good guy.”

Garvey has never lost a potential future vote in a restaurant, to be sure.

He is always interrupted by fans when he’s eating, but he just lays down his fork and talks.

“When nobody’s with me, it’s easy,” Garvey says. “But when somebody’s with me, it’s much more difficult because I really respect the other person’s privacy and feel they should have that--at least through the meal.

“So, I’ll say something to the effect of, ‘If you excuse us, we’ll finish, and when we’re done, I’d love to talk to you.’ And 99% of the time, people understand. They just don’t want to lose the opportunity to say something or talk to you.

“See, it’s just like autographs. I’ve tried to monitor this through the years, and I’ve found it (an autograph) doesn’t last very long. It may last 48 hours. It’s lost; it’s torn. But it’s the personal interaction that’s important.”

Here, he’s the Good Yuma Man. One elderly woman wanted his autograph but didn’t have a piece of paper. He said to her: “I think I have something better for you.”

He kissed her.

As a politician, Garvey wouldn’t be able to kiss off the issues. So, recently, he has taken a strong stance against drugs. He agreed with Commissioner Peter Ueberroth’s decision to ban LaMarr Hoyt, a Padre pitcher, for a year. Hoyt had been caught attempting to cross the border with illegal pills. Garvey said all players involved with drugs should have to sit out a year.

Garvey also believes that Hoyt ought to undergo drug rehabilitation--paid for by baseball. He thinks baseball ought to force Hoyt and any other player banned for a year to do some type of work-study program while he’s out of baseball in which he can earn money in a “low-anxiety” situation.

“To have a guy go 23 days for rehabilitation and come out and have the doctors say, ‘Hey, he’s ready to go back into his profession’--I’ve never seen it work. Those doctors know their field very well, but they don’t know the pressures of day-in and day-out professional sports.

“It takes a stable person to do it. Now LaMarr Hoyt will be forced to take a year off. So he may be an example. We’ll see.”

HE COULD BE AN EXECUTIVE

He wanted to buy the Padres. He spent all winter looking for investors, and he formed a group worth approximately $1 billion.

But he couldn’t get in to see the books.

Apparently, Kroc and Smith were bitter about Garvey speaking openly to the media concerning his intention of buying the club. But there’s more to it than that. Kroc, a Democrat, thinks Garvey will be a Republican, and she dislikes his political views. So, there’s always been tension there.

Smith was supposed to be Garvey’s buddy in the front office, but all that changed when Garvey talked about buying the Padres. Smith had Bill Beck, the Padre public relations director, call Garvey’s office during the winter to say Garvey better shut up or he wouldn’t have a chance.

He shut up.

But it did no good, and Kroc sold the team to someone else--Seattle Mariners’ owner George Argyros. At the time, Garvey wouldn’t comment.

“He wanted to make a viable bid, and he fell short with time,” said one of Garvey’s close friends. “It’s like someone else buying the car or the house you wanted. You get the money to put an offer down on a house and then you see the ‘sold’ sign.”

Garvey really liked the idea of being a team executive. And is the dream dead? No.

Argyros can’t own two baseball teams at once, and if his purchase of the Padres is not approved, Garvey says he still has his group together to buy the Padres.

Argyros’ deal will probably be approved, in which case Garvey said he would like to be player-president of a team, although he has never brought this up to Argyros.

“I’ve spent five years (with the Padres) now,” he said. “I have a good understanding of the organization and how it’s been run. Having come from the best-run organization (the Dodgers), having had experience in dealing in the Fortune 500 corporation, having experience in public relations . . . “

He has so many ideas already. How about forming a baseball academy for young prospects and basing it in Yuma? That’s what he thinks the Padres should do.

“I think one of my strengths is creativity,” Garvey said. “I’m an idea person. At this point in the organization’s history, it really is a pivotal point. If done properly, this organization could really be in the top three or four in baseball.”

He knows Argyros. He met him at a fund-raising event.

“We spent two hours together that night,” Garvey said.

Player-president?

HE COULD BE AN AUTHOR

Another Garvey goal: Write a book a year. He has already published an autobiography, and he just finished an instructional hitting book, to go with the video. Now he’s thinking about writing a book on how to discipline yourself.

He’s also planning another book called, “Steve Garvey’s Fan Mail.” It would show the strange kind of letters a famous ballplayer gets.

For instance, he recently received this letter from a fourth-grade boy:

“Dear Steve,

“I’m a big fan of yours and the Padres. I really admire you. I think you’d make a great owner. I thought I’d send this dollar along to help you buy the club.

“Sincerely, . . .

HE COULD BE A COACH

This was his first ambition.

But then he made the big leagues.

He prides himself on working with kids. Someday, Steve Garvey would like to be a spring training hitting instructor.

When he was with the Dodgers, he says he helped second baseman Steve Sax. He says Sax rarely had throwing problems when Garvey was the Dodger first baseman. He says he would talk to Sax, keep him sane.

Garvey then left for San Diego and watched with dismay as Sax kept throwing wildly to first base.

“I couldn’t be there next to him on a daily basis to keep reinforcing,” Garvey said. “That’s what you had to do in that situation, because it was so psychological.

“It was very hurtful for me, because--liking Stevie and thinking of him as a younger brother, so to speak--and then not being able to help him.

“In the 1983 All-Star game, he threw one away, and NBC had a film clip of him doing it during the season, all ready to go. That was cruel, heartless. I turned the TV off. I just left. I knew I could have helped him.”

Garvey also bleeds for Greg Brock, his supposed heir apparent who never panned out. Brock finally was traded to Milwaukee this winter.

“Nobody really understood except me what he was going through,” Garvey said. “I knew the pressures that were on him and the demands. It wasn’t fair. No human being should have to go through that. It’s tough enough winning the job and playing the position without having to fill the shoes of somebody who had the career that I had there.”

HE COULD BE A DODGER

It could happen. But, first, we need a certain scenario.

The Dodgers would have to struggle. Their first basemen--Franklin Stubbs, Len Matuszek, Mike Marshall and Pedro Guerrero, etc.--would have to struggle. If Garvey wants to return as a free agent, he would have to accept less money, not the $1.25 million he earns now.

The Dodgers harbor no hard feelings toward Garvey, although his departure in 1983 was emotional. Remember the Girl Scouts picketing the Dodger offices and saying, “Please Sign Steve”? Remember the subsequent “Dodgers Blue It” bumper stickers?

Since then, Garvey has become even closer to Peter O’Malley, the team president. Every Christmas, they run into each other at a ski resort where they both regularly take vacations.

“This year, we had a couple of friendly discussions; I enjoyed seeing him,” Garvey said. “It was probably the first time we had spent more than a brief encounter. I’ve probably spent more time recently with him than I did when I was playing there. Because that was his style of ownership. Rarely seen, but his door always open. You never saw him in the clubhouse, except for a victory celebration.”

Claire said of Garvey: “Steve’s relationship with the Dodgers has always been a good, solid relationship. He has a lot of friends in this organization because of all the good work he’s done for the Dodgers and for baseball. In terms of hard feelings, there aren’t any whatsoever, as far as I know.”

Garvey’s situation in San Diego was clouded by the sale. With Kroc and Smith, his return was almost impossible. Now, with Argyros, it’s anyone’s guess.

“I’m very happy here,” Garvey said. “We’re talking about (leaving) if they don’t want me. And it wouldn’t necessarily be, ‘I’ve got to make $1.3 million to stay here,’ either. I’m realistic, and I know the situation.

“I feel quite sure I’m Larry’s (Bowa, the Padre manager) first baseman. I’m the one who controls how much I play--with my bat. After that, it depends on the progress of youth, and the team itself. If the team has a good year, it enhances (returning) more. If the team doesn’t, and I have a good year, well, where am I, really?

“But you need a balance. We have only three guys with over 10 years of experience (himself, shortstop Garry Templeton, reliever Goose Gossage).”

Assume for a moment, though, that the Padres don’t bring him back for 1988, and he’s a free agent. He could have three possibilities: (1) Go back to the Dodgers, (2) Become Padre president or (3) Sign with another team.

He won’t do what Graig Nettles did with the Atlanta Braves--try out for a team without a contract.

“No, there are some things you can count on that I will not do, and that’s one of them,” Garvey said. “I won’t go somewhere to try out. And that’s no offense to Graig. He just wants to play baseball any way he can. I’ve just played for so long, and it’s been for only two teams. Even though I love the game, if that (trying out) was the next step, it would have to be somebody who really wants me.”

So, just to make sure he’s wanted, he’s out of bed every morning at 6:30.

“I’ve got to get up and work,” he says. “I’ve got to.”