THE $18.5-MILLION TEAM : Baseball’s Highest-Paid Player in ’88 Will Be Ozzie Smith at $2.34 Million

The most expensive lineup in baseball would cost an owner $18,469,222 this year but would exclude Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly, Wade Boggs, George Bell and Andre Dawson.

The best team money can buy, using last season’s Associated Press all-stars, would cost an owner $6.3 million less and include Clemens, Mattingly, Boggs, Bell and Dawson.

Ozzie Smith, the St. Louis Cardinals’ shortstop, will get the highest salary in baseball this season at $2.34 million, according to a review of major league salaries conducted by the Associated Press.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Jim Rice is second at $2,229,822. Catcher Gary Carter of the New York Mets is third at $2,160,714, and Baltimore Orioles first baseman Eddie Murray is fourth at $2,160,035.

Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt is fifth at $2.15 million, and Chicago Cubs pitcher Rick Sutcliffe is sixth at $2.07 million.

Joining Rice in the outfield are Dale Murphy of the Atlanta Braves at $2 million and Dave Winfield of the New York Yankees at $1,958,651.

Completing the most expensive team in baseball is second baseman Paul Molitor of Milwaukee at $1.4 million.

Two of the 9 players with $2-million salaries this season are excluded because of higher-paid players at their positions--Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers at $2.05 million, and Mattingly at $2 million. Mattingly signed a $6.7 million, 3-year contract with the Yankees this winter, the most lucrative deal of the off-season.

Salaries were obtained from several player and management sources. They include pro-rated shares of signing bonuses and benefits but discount parts of salaries that are deferred without interest. Many of the players have incentive clauses that could increase their incomes through bonuses.

None of the highest-paid players made the 1987 AP all-star team. Clemens, the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner who will make $1.35 million, was the pitcher with the most votes.

Benito Santiago, the catcher, has the lowest salary of the AP all-stars at $167,500. He also is the only AP all-star not eligible for salary arbitration. Santiago was National League rookie of the year in 1987.

Mattingly, at $2 million, was the AP first baseman; Juan Samuel, at $1.06 million, was at second; Boggs, at $1.65 million, was at third, and Alan Trammell, at $1 million, was at shortstop.

Bell, at $1,933,333; Kirby Puckett, at $1.09 million, and Dawson, at $1.85 million, were the outfielders. Bell was the American League MVP in 1987, and Dawson won the award in the National League.

The lineup of the highest-paid team earns more money than the 1987 payrolls of 25 of the 26 major league clubs. The only exception is the Yankees, whose 1987 payroll totalled $18,569,714.

The average salary on the highest-paid team is $2,046,580, whereas the average for the AP all-stars is $1,344,648. The average for all players last season was $402,500, according to management figures.

The 1988 average cannot not be calculated until next week, when clubs make their final roster cuts.

THE $18.5-MILLION LINEUP

Pos. Player, Club Salary P Rick Sutcliffe, Cubs $2,070,000 C Gary Carter, Mets $2,160,714 1B Eddie Murray, Orioles $2,160,035 2B Paul Molitor, Brewers $1,400,000 3B Mike Schmidt, Phillies $2,150,000 SS Ozzie Smith, Cardinals $2,340,000 OF Jim Rice, Red Sox $2,229,822 OF Dale Murphy, Braves $2,000,000 OF Dave Winfield, Yankees $1,958,651 Total $18,469,222

NOTES: Figures were obtained from management and player sources and include salaries and pro-rated share of signing bonuses. In some cases, parts of salaries deferred without interest are discounted to reflect present-day values. Several players may earn additional money through incentive-bonus clauses and award-bonus clauses.