McDonald Demands Bo Jackson-Level Contract From Orioles

In the 25-year history of baseball’s summer free-agent draft, only 19 players picked in the first round did not sign with the teams that originally selected them.

Of those, only two were chosen No. 1 overall.

In both cases, Danny Goodwin (Chicago White Sox in 1971) and Tim Belcher (Minnesota Twins in 1983), the two sides could not agree on compensation, and the players eventually were redrafted by different teams and agreed to terms.

Now, with the franchise’s first No. 1 choice, the Baltimore Orioles are facing the possibility that a third player, pitcher Ben McDonald, will join that list.

Contract negotiations are bogged down and the parties have discontinued discussions.

Larry McDonald, Ben’s father who is serving as his son’s representative, is asking for an agreement that, in the words of Al Rosen, the San Francisco Giants general manager, will “set a new horizon.

“I’ve never heard of a contract of that magnitude,” Rosen said. “I would think any time you set new standards like that, you always open a Pandora’s box.”

Baseball, being steeped in tradition as it is, is watching closely the outcome of the talks in which the McDonalds are seeking “something very similar to what Bo Jackson got,” according to Larry McDonald.

That was a three-year, $1.063 million package from the Kansas City Royals, an unprecedented contract for a first-year player.

The McDonalds also want a guaranteed, three-year major-league contract, which is clearly the sticking point in the negotiations with the Orioles.

But, if there is similarity in the two situations, it escapes him, said John Schuerholz, general manager of the Royals.

“I will only say there is no similarity,” Schuerholz said. “Only one of those two guys was a No. 1 NFL (National Football League) draft choice, a Heisman Trophy winner. Therefore, only one of the two had that kind of negotiating power. It was one of those rare times in baseball that may happen every 15 or 20 years.”

The Orioles have offered McDonald a $255,000 signing bonus and a guarantee that he would be in the big leagues by September.

Scott Boras, the Los Angeles-area agent who is advising the McDonalds, is known for being a hard-liner, especially in negotiations involving college players.

Some baseball observers, including agents and management, say the McDonalds have gotten so much advice - from so many quarters - that a deep hole has been dug from which extrication is becoming impossible.

Larry McDonald said he is sure “the Orioles are sitting back evaluating and so are we. We appreciate the rest. I was really optimistic when all this started. Now I’d have to say I’m cautiously optimistic. There is still room for movement.”

The McDonalds realize that if Ben passes on the signing and returns to LSU, “we may end up regretting it,” said Larry. “We would hope the same thing would happen next year, but we’d be expecting not to come out as well.”

Any number of factors could make not signing now look like a bad decision: an injury; a less effective season for LSU; a less attractive team drafting Ben McDonald.

“But we believe this is a matter of principle,” said Larry. “We don’t want him playing for minimum wages like (Oriole reliever( Gregg Olson is -- in the traditional way of baseball.

“You’re under their thumb for three years. Until you get to arbitration, you have no leverage. But, in this case, there isn’t all the big expenses to develop Ben. All he is trying to do is be rewarded for that.

“We know Baltimore got rid of a big payroll last year and that the team has great fan support. We’re happy with being chosen by the Orioles, really. We just want what is fair.”

(Optional add end)

Larry McDonald quoted former Oriole pitcher Jim Palmer from ESPN as saying his son “may be selling himself short at that” regarding the contract demand.

“We think he deserves more than the average 18-year-old high school player. Tyler Houston is at least two years away from the majors. Ben isn’t.”

Houston, picked No. 2 overall by the Atlanta Braves, received a $240,000 signing bonus, most among the first-rounders signed so far.

Olson signed for $200,000 last year after bypassing the Olympics. He made the major-league minimum last season and is slightly above that now, at $70,000 annually.

“We were very impressed with the way Roland Hemond and Doug Melvin handled the negotiations,” said Jeff Morad, an attorney from the Leigh Steinberg group, which represented Olson.

“This was one of the more pleasurable negotiations we’ve had. The Orioles were strong in their opinions, but ultimately very fair in their approach. In three or four days, we hammered out an agreement.”

Morad said, based on the past market, a reasonable goal was set for Olson and attained.

But, he cautioned, McDonald’s case is not the same as Olson’s, No. 4 overall in last summer’s draft.

“With a No. 1 pick in any sport there are no parameters,” Morad said. “It’s a reflection of the team’s pay policy, the player they’re dealing with and an individual situation. What everyone else is getting is as close to irrelevant as you’re ever going to find in draft signing.”

Morad said Andy Benes, last year’s No. 1 baseball pick by the San Diego Padres, “fell into the established line ($235,000 bonus) because he was not nearly the highly developed pitcher Ben is.”

Benes is playing at class AAA Las Vegas. There was no problem whatsoever in the way Olson was handled, said Morad, who like the Orioles’ fans, is reveling in the player’s achievements.

“We got appropriate verbal assurances that they planned a reasonable scale of advancement,” said the agent. “After that, it’s up to the player to earn it. His career has gotten started in a tremendously advantageous way and he’s very content about it. “

Teams in the past decade have adapted to arbitration, said Morad, by developing the business practice of holding down salaries before a player is eligible, the very point the McDonalds are contesting.

“Mr. McDonald is right in that at the time of initial signing is the player’s last opportunity to exercise any leverage for three years,” Morad said. “But from everything I’ve heard, Ben is too good a prospect to pass on. I’m confident that ultimately he and the Orioles will find a way.”

Had the Orioles still been struggling along instead of becoming the surprise of baseball, the McDonalds certainly would have had a stronger argument.

Now that the Orioles are in first place in the American League East, the in-house inspection from their peers will be more intense in the McDonald case.

And, the Orioles will receive an extra draft choice at the end of the first round next year if they are unable to agree with McDonald, a rules change that occurred when they couldn’t sign pitcher Brad DuVall two years ago.