Puckett Is First to Score $3-Million Salary

Kirby Puckett became the first baseball player to break the $3-million average annual salary barrier, agreeing today to a three-year contract for $9 million with the Minnesota Twins.

Andy MacPhail, the Twins general manager, and Ron Shapiro, Puckett’s agent, reached an outline of the deal Tuesday night and were to sign a memorandum of agreement today.

“With the wild escalation in player salaries we’ve seen the last 12 months, and recognizing the importance of Kirby Puckett to the team, we felt it was important we got him signed,” MacPhail said.

Puckett gets a $1.5 million signing bonus, of which $500,000 will be paid immediately, $500,000 on Dec. 15, 1990, and $500,000 on Dec. 15, 1991. He gets a $2.2 million salary in 1990, $2.5 million in 1991 and $2.8 million in 1992.

For purposes of determining salaries, signing bonuses are prorated over the length of a contract. Puckett will be at $3 million in 1991, the same year Orel Hershiser of the Dodgers and Frank Viola of the Mets are scheduled to crack the $3 million single-year barrier (both will be at $3,166,667). Puckett’s $3.3 million in 1992 is the highest salary ever agreed upon.

In addition, Puckett would get a $200,000 bonus for winning a Gold Glove, $200,000 for winning American League MVP and $100,000 for finishing second or third.

The deal continued the rapid escalation of salaries that has taken place in the past two weeks. Outfielder Kevin Bass agreed to a three-year, $5.25-million deal with San Francisco, pitcher Pascual Perez agreed to a three-year, $5.7-million contract with the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals’ Bret Saberhagen got a three-year, $8.9-million extension from the Kansas City Royals.

Puckett, a 28-year-old center fielder who has been on the AL All-Star team for four consecutive seasons, would have been eligible for free agency after the 1990 season.

He hit .339 in 1989 with nine home runs and 85 RBIs, becoming the first right-handed hitter to win a full-season American League batting title since Alex Johnson of California in 1970.

He made $2.05 million in 1989, including $50,000 in bonuses.

With the way the market is moving, Puckett may have been able to get a more lucrative deal if he had waited until after free agent pitchers Mark Langston and Mark Davis had signed.

“He and we set a goal,” Shapiro said. “He’s not the kind of person who looks over his shoulder at what the next guy will make.”