Gwynn Asking If There’s Any Money Left for Him

Padre outfielder Tony Gwynn, frustrated and annoyed by a contract that has become nearly obsolete because of the escalating free-agent market, is hoping the team will renegotiate its final three years.

Gwynn, a five-time All-Star and four-time batting champion, is only the seventh-highest paid Padre with a $1 million contract for the 1990 season.

“I look at the contract Joe Carter just got,” said Gwynn. “Joe Carter can’t hit for average the way I can. He’s considered just an average outfielder. And he’s never made the All-Star team.

“I mean, Joe is one of my dear friends, but I don’t think anyone in this game is $2 million better than I am.”

Carter, who was acquired by the Padres on Wednesday in a trade with the Cleveland Indians, signed a three-year, $9.2 million contract that makes him the highest-paid position player in baseball.

Gwynn also is being paid less than five other teammates: first baseman Jack Clark ($2 million in 1990), pitcher Bruce Hurst ($1.6 million), pitcher Craig Lefferts (three years, $5.3 million), pitcher Eric Show ($1.2 million) and pitcher Ed Whitson (1.025 million).

Each of the players have been free agents in the past three years, with the exception of Carter, who was eligible for free agency at the end of the 1990 season before signing his three-year contract.

“This is tough, it’s been very tough,” Gwynn said. “When I signed my contract back in 1984, $1 million was big money. I mean, it still is, but when you see guys not doing twice as much as you, making three times as much, it’s tough to swallow.”

“Nowadays, utility players are making more than me, and that just doesn’t seem right. I mean, $2 million is not even the standard anymore; $3 million is.

“It’s not fair, but they got me signed on the dotted line, and there’s nothing I can do.

“I have three years left, and seeing these guys whizzing by me, I’m not even in the same neighborhood anymore.”

Gwynn admittedly made an error in negotiating strategy in 1984 when he signed a six-year, $4.6 million contract. He had just completed his first full season in the big leagues, winning his first batting championship with a .351 batting average.

“It would have been crazy for me not to sign then,” Gwynn said. “I could have been like Kevin McReynolds, but I didn’t want to go to arbitration every year. I wanted security. I was looking for a four-year contract, I thought they’d offer five, and Jack offered six. I had to take it.

“But the game and the philosophies have changed so much. You live and learn, I guess, and geez, have I learned.”

Gwynn’s biggest problem was self-induced. He had no idea he would turn into one of the most best hitters in National League history. After hitting .370 in 1987, Gwynn went into Padre President Chub Feeney’s office and asked for a two-year contract extension at $1.6 million a year.

Feeney’s reaction?

“He laughed so hard, he spit cigar ashes all over my face,” Gwynn said. “There are some things you never forget, and I’ll never forget that.”

Gwynn figured he would just have to wait until after the 1990 season to finally obtain the going rate, but a year ago, Padre President Dick Freeman telephoned Gwynn and offered a two-year extension.

They settled on a two-year extension for $2 million in 1991 and 1992, including a $200,000 buyout. But who would have thought that just one year later, the contract already would be outdated?

“We’re not asking for a lifetime contract,” said John Boggs, Gwynn’s agent, “but it’s a situation now where we’d like it to be fair. I’ve been seeing the word ‘fairness’ a lot lately, but when is it supposed to apply to Tony Gwynn?

“Why should only the guys who are eligible for free-agency get the big money? Where’s the money for the guys who are loyal and dedicated to the organization. My God, who’s a better organization man than Tony.

“I’m not making any threats, or even suggesting anything, I’m just saying treat him fairly now, or there’s a good chance you’re going to lose him when he does become a free agent (after the 1992 season).

“All we want is for Tony to get his just due. I know they have a policy for not renegotiating contracts, but they also had a policy for not giving out four-year contracts.”

Reliever Mark Davis, who filed for free-agency at the end of the season, was offered a four-year, $12 million contract by the Padres. He rejected it, however, and the Padres have pulled their offer.

Well, suggests Boggs, since $12 million is sitting around . . .