Baseball : The Commissioner Seems to Have Worked Himself Into a Pickle

What do Tom Roberts, the arbitrator; Shearson Lehman Brothers, the brokerage firm, and George Argyros, the Seattle Mariners owner, have in common?

All seem to represent trouble for Commissioner Peter Ueberroth.

Trouble to the extent that the owners seem to be grumbling more than usual--if still only in private.

Trouble to the extent that if Ueberroth were to say now that he couldn’t get the 14 votes needed for reelection, as he said in December, he would probably be accurate.

In December, however, it only seemed that he was trying to create a sympathetic atmosphere in which he could ultimately step down and begin his ascent of the political and/or Wall Street ladder.

It only seemed that he was trying to portray himself as the brave visionary who had tried to do it his way and was being churned on the windmill of the owners’ varied views.

Now he seems under legitimate fire from these new hot spots:

ROBERTS

The arbitrator’s decision to give free agency to seven collusion victims from the winter of 1985-86 will likely be followed by the awarding of financial damages to all 62 free agents and the 98 players who filed for arbitration that winter.

The same rewards are likely to result from the 1986-87 collusion case--maybe even the 1987-88 case, which is still a long way from starting.

The obvious conclusion when examining Roberts’ first step is that he seems determined to make the system work again. Sources say he grilled Ueberroth heatedly during the hearing. The clubs now fear that they will have to pay millions of dollars in damages.

Ueberroth may have only been trying to save the owners from themselves when he chastised their previous economic policies and orchestrated the conspiracy, but the owners now seem to believe they are going to get more than they bargained for. The problem is that they didn’t bargain at all.

ARGYROS

Having failed in an attempt to help Argyros in his bid to sell the Mariners and buy the San Diego Padres, Ueberroth is still at the side of one of the first owners to support his candidacy for commissioner.

Argyros’ fellow owners, however, now wonder if Ueberroth’s loyalty hasn’t led him up the path of despotism. They claim he acted on his own and threatened baseball’s relations with the city of Seattle--to the extent that there could be new legal problems--when he recently entered the long-standing lease debate there via a letter to King County officials.

The crux of a complex issue is that Argyros was required by the lease to get an appraisal of the club’s value so that he could accurately offer 20% of the club, as required, to prospective buyers in the Seattle area. Argyros was supposed to have the appraisal made in April 1987, but it is only now being done.

The Ueberroth letter reportedly enraged local politicians and others because it seemed designed to drive up the price for Argyros and even, perhaps, pave the way for the club’s departure.

Ueberroth, in his letter, said that the appraisal should be based on the recent sales of the New York Mets ($82 million), Detroit Tigers ($44 million) and Minnesota Twins ($36 million) rather than the limited Seattle market.

He criticized Seattle’s support of the Mariners and portrayed the area as even failing to meet his criteria for an expansion team.

Argyros’ rumored objective is to share a domed stadium with the National Football League Cardinals in Phoenix. The owners seem concerned as to how far Ueberroth will go to help him get there.

SHEARSON LEHMAN

On Dec. 3, Shearson Lehman agreed to purchase the troubled E.F. Hutton Group for $960 million.

Shearson chairman Peter A. Cohen credited a member of the Hutton Board of Directors, Peter Ueberroth, for his role in the negotiations.

“He was the guy running the show,” Cohen said. “He did a wonderful job.”

Some Hutton stockholders seem to think otherwise. There have been several suits filed and several more threatened in which stockholders charge Hutton and Shearson Lehman with having failed to disclose merger talks a year earlier, when Shearson was reportedly offering $1.7 billion or about $700 million more than the eventual purchase price.

It is now expected that Ueberroth’s role will come under court scrutiny. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Stock Exchange Commission are also reportedly investigating those 1986 negotiations.

Forget Roberts and Argyros. How embarrassing could this be to baseball? How damaging could it be to Ueberroth’s aspirations?

Only time will tell, because the owners won’t--not yet, anyway.

In the past, the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse has resembled the congested floor of a political convention.

This year, it will be different. No friends or relatives allowed. Not even owner Marge Schott’s St. Bernard. Not even Marge herself.

“We’re going to take a little bit of the honeymoon atmosphere away,” Manager Pete Rose said the other day. “I told the players when I first came here that we would try it their way. We tried it their way for three years and came in second all three years. Now we’re going to try it another way.

“I don’t mean that we’re going to have 15,000 rules, I don’t believe in that, but we’re going to have a more business-type atmosphere in the clubhouse.”

Has he been too easygoing? Rose rejected that view.

“I disagree with people who say you can’t be a nice guy,” he said. “I’m not a dictator. I’m a manager trying to communicate with players and trying to handle players. Some players you have to be firm with, some you have to be loosey-goosey with and some you have to leave alone. It’s up to me to know which players need what.”

A spokesman for the Yakult Swallows announced that they will pay Doug DeCinces $700,000 to play third base next year.

Kristi DeCinces, Doug’s wife, said on the phone the other day that the spokesman was wrong, that Doug will make as much as he did with the Angels last year, which was $1,050,000 in salary and incentives.

The Yakult contract also includes some perks, Kristi said.

A tutor for Tim and Amy, the DeCinces children. A townhouse with a satellite dish to pick up American television. A traveling budget that will allow Kristi and the children to accompany DeCinces when the team is on the road.

“We shouldn’t get too homesick,” she said, then added:

“We’re all really excited about the opportunity. Doug and I went to Japan with the Baltimore Orioles about 12 years ago and thought it was beautiful. We loved the people. The experience alone should make up for any schooling the kids miss.”

DeCinces joins the Swallows in spring training Feb. 15.

Where? Yuma, Arizona.

Refusing to be specific, Texas Rangers officials acknowledge there was more than alcohol involved in the violation that cost Steve Howe the second year of his two-year, $1-million contract.

Howe, General Manager Tom Grieve said, has been on the phone with him for 45 minutes every day since the Rangers made their decision.

“It’s not to beg for his job back,” Grieve said. “It’s like he wants to rehash the situation, like he has to talk to someone.

“I hear the hurt in his voice. I don’t wish that on anyone, to feel as badly as he does.”

Is Don Mattingly worth the $6.7-million contract he recently signed with the New York Yankees?

Consider inflation and the following statistics:

In Lou Gehrig’s first four years as the Yankee first baseman, he had a cumulative batting average of .337, hit 169 home runs and drove in 492 runs.

Mattingly, in his first four full seasons, has a .336 batting average, 119 home runs and 516 RBIs.