Will Clark, Eight Others Reach Agreements

Baseball’s prospective arbitration rolls were reduced when nine players reached contract agreements, topped by Will Clark’s $1.125-million, 1-year deal with the San Francisco Giants.

Clark more than tripled his salary from the $345,000 he earned in 1988, when he batted .282 with 29 home runs and had a National League-leading 109 runs batted in. He had asked for $1.2 million in arbitration, and the Giants had offered $900,000. Clark will also earn a $200,000 bonus if he is selected as the NL’s most valuable player.

If he had waited until the arbitration period, Feb. 1-20, Clark would have received either the high or the low figure. Of the 136 players who filed for arbitration, 51 have settled.

Eight other players who agreed to 1-year contracts were Angel reliever Stew Cliburn, $185,000, a $115,000 raise; Kansas City Royals pitcher Steve Farr, $605,000, a raise of $380,000; Oakland Athletics pitcher Curt Young, $572,500, a raise of $162,500; A’s infielder Mike Gallego, $207,500, a raise of $100,500; Seattle Mariners infielder Darnell Coles, $460,000, an $85,000 raise; Detroit Tigers outfielder Gary Pettis, $440,000, a $40,000 raise; Tigers outfielder Dwayne Murphy, $400,000, a $25,000 raise, and San Francisco Giants infielder Ernest Riles, $470,000, a raise of $185,000.