Gooden Agrees to $6.7-Million Pact : His 3-Year Deal With Mets Could Pay Off for Hershiser

Orel Hershiser became a beneficiary Wednesday when Dwight Gooden averted arbitration and agreed to contract terms with the New York Mets.

Gooden, 24, became the highest-salaried Met and the highest-salaried pitcher in baseball history when he agreed to a three-year, $6.7-million contract that could net him more than $7.8 million through award bonuses.

The Dodgers, it was learned, responded to the Gooden contract by increasing their offer to Hershiser from $6.2 million for three years to $6.8 million.

The offer, however, included no incentive provisions--Dodger policy excludes incentives--and there was no change in the lockout language, which Hershiser and attorney Robert Fraley described as the major stumbling block when they held a news conference in Los Angeles last Friday.

Gooden, according to sources, accepted neutral language, meaning that an arbitrator will decide if he should be paid or not in the event the owners stage a 1990 lockout in response to the collective-bargaining negotiations.

The Dodgers are apparently willing to include the same language in Hershiser’s contract, but Hershiser has rejected it and is seeking assurance that all three years will be similarly guaranteed.

“We’re not going to play a shell game with Orel,” Fraley said Wednesday. “There is precedent (during the 1981 labor dispute) for an arbitrator to rule against a player on this, and we’re not going to risk a third of Orel’s contract. I can’t speak for Gooden, but I would argue that it’s not a prudent thing for a player to do.”

Fraley said that Mike Marshall, Jay Howell and Alejandro Pena, all of whom have signed new contracts with the Dodgers this winter, have been assured that they will be paid in the event of a 1990 lockout. He said he was mystified by the Dodgers’ position on Hershiser.

“We have obstacles on money and language, but I’d say that the language is a deal point for us and for the club,” Fraley said. “I’m not sure we’re creative enough to overcome it.”

Gooden made $1.4 million last year and had filed for arbitration at $1.675 million. His new contract, built around the possibility of a 1990 lockout, includes considerable money up front. He will receive a $500,000 signing bonus and $2.25- million salary in 1989. His 1990 salary is $1.7 million. It reverts to $2.25 million in 1991.

On a yearly basis, Gooden will also receive $100,000 if he is the most valuable player in the World Series, $50,000 if he is MVP of the league playoff, $25,000 if he is selected for the All-Star game, $15,000 if he wins a Gold Glove, $100,000 if he wins the Cy Young Award and $50,000 if he is second to fifth in the Cy Young voting. If he receives either of the Cy Young bonuses, that amount is also added to his base salary for the next year, meaning he has the potential to receive another $500,000 through that provision alone.

“It’s easily a $7-million deal,” Fraley said, adding that Hershiser would have qualified for one or the other of the Cy Young bonuses in almost each of his five major league seasons. “I have to think it will have an impact on our situation (with the Dodgers) if for no other reason that it tells us their previous offer wasn’t very generous. On a career basis, Gooden and Hershiser have comparable statistics, but Gooden hasn’t accomplished what Orel has recently and, at this point, doesn’t show the promise Orel does. At this point, Gooden doesn’t compare to Orel as a pitcher.”

The Gooden contract had an immediate impact on Hershiser’s situation in the form of the improved offer by the Dodgers. Fraley refused to discuss any aspect of it, but the language and dollar difference obviously remain. Fred Claire, the executive vice president of the Dodgers, confirmed that he had made the new offer, said he hoped it would be the basis for an agreement and added that he expects a reply today. He said Gooden’s signing had a bearing in the same way that any signing has on a comparable situation.

Gooden was 18-9 in 1988 and has a 91-35 record for his five major league seasons. Hershiser was 23-8 in 1988 and has an 83-49 record in five major league seasons. He has filed for $2.425 million in arbitration, with his hearing scheduled for Feb. 16. Boston Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens, 18-12 last year and 78-34 in five major league seasons, will seek $2.36 million in an arbitration hearing also scheduled for Feb. 16.