Tudor May Put Retirement on Hold

Dodger pitcher John Tudor said Saturday that missing most of this year because of shoulder problems might alter his plans to retire after the season.

Tudor said he will reevaluate his future this winter when, as a free agent, he might seek a one-year contract that would only pay him if he pitches.

“I was going to play one more year; this was going to be it,” said Tudor, 35, who pitched three games this season before being disabled July 8 because of a sore left shoulder. “But this year has been a wash. I’ve been paid this year for doing absolutely nothing, and that’s not my style.

“I’ve played 10 years, but it’s really only like I played nine years and watched one. I don’t like it. I’m going to wait until November or December and see how it feels. If it feels good, I’ll pursue a job for one more year. I won’t ask for any money, just incentive money that only pays me when I pitch. That’s only fair.”

Tudor wouldn’t say whether he preferred to return to the Dodgers. “I still don’t know whether I would come back, period,” he said.

Dodger Vice President Fred Claire was equally noncommittal. “I can’t comment at this time, there is still a lot that remains to be seen,” Claire said. “The season has to run its course.”

Although Tudor is not ready to pitch, he said the shoulder feels good enough for him to have stopped most of his rehabilitation program. He has been throwing in the bullpen every other day.

“I’d like to try to play before the end of the season, sure,” Tudor said. “But I’m not going to rush it just to see if I can play next year. I’ll be able to decide that this winter, even if I don’t pitch. It will be a touch-and-feel thing. And this time, it has to be right.”

Tudor still remembers his 10-pitch start in Chicago July 7 that ended a brief comeback from arthroscopic shoulder surgery last winter. He remembers arriving at Wrigley Field, “knowing that there was going to be big trouble.”

He was forced to leave the game before he had retired a batter in the second inning.

“We’ve done all we can do,” Dr. Frank Jobe, Dodger medical director, said of Tudor’s shoulder. “It is severely arthritic. There’s a lot of wear and tear in there.”

But Tudor said that with the variety of ways a body can throw a baseball, there’s always hope.

“I could come down to making an adjustment in my motion, and I can do that,” Tudor said. “I’ve made adjustments in the past. Heck, when I came into the big leagues, I was throwing 89-90 m.p.h. consistently. That alone tells you how I’ve been making adjustments.”