Baseball Players Rest in Limbo

Caught in lockout limbo, Bob Ojeda and other major leaguers today have a new set of concerns.

Like when to play, where and with what.

“We can’t even come here,” Ojeda said at the New York Mets’ spring training camp Wednesday, a day before the owners’ lockout went into effect. “The players’ union isn’t saying don’t work out. But I don’t think they think it’s best for the whole team to get together.”

That’s because, as teammate and union executive board member Ron Darling said, there’s more at stake than baseball practice.

“I think we learned something from the NFL strike,” Darling said. “If owners see 25 or 30 players together working hard to stay in shape, maybe there isn’t as much incentive for the owners to bargain. We’ll probably work in groups of two or three.

“I’ll try to find someone who will catch me, maybe Barry Lyons or Mackey Sasser or Chris Jelic. I’ll get whoever I can. We could just find a Little League field and back up to the fences and throw.”

The Mets’ practice field was deserted. On a distant field, Coach Bud Harrelson was working with fantasy campers. “We’re pretty much locked out, too,” he said. “We’re in limbo. Usually on the first day of spring training, you’d hear noises from around the fields, the sound of the bat and ball. That’s missing today.”

By noon, the Mets had sold a total of four tickets for the upcoming exhibition season.

Along with a place, the players need their own equipment. Kids always have bats and balls; for million-dollar major leaguers, it’s not always so convenient.

“I heard Tim Teufel is bringing down some baseballs from Connecticut,” Darling said. “At least I hope he is.”

The Mets were one of the few teams that had players voluntarily working out the day before security guards fastened the locks and turned the keys.

Up the road a few miles at Vero Beach, Manager Tom Lasorda was the only one at Dodgertown. He was there for the end of a fantasy camp but didn’t plan on staying in town.

“It’s going to be sad,” Lasorda said. “There isn’t going to be anyone around. But that’s the way it is. Camps are closed. I’m going home tomorrow.”

The Dodgers, however, planned a Friday workout for non-roster players and may be the only team doing so. Former major leaguers Glenn Hoffman, Edwin Correa and Butch Davis are among those expected to attend.

Most camps in Florida and Arizona were deserted. It was empty at the field in West Palm Beach, which is shared by the Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos.

A handful of players, including Mike Lavalliere and John Smiley, were at Pittsburgh’s camp at Bradenton, while Bobby Thigpen of the Chicago White Sox and Ray Searage of the Dodgers worked out at St. Louis’ site near their homes in St. Petersburg.

At Plant City, where the Cincinnati Reds train, there was no sign of player activity.

There is one pro team working out in Arizona. The Yakult Swallows of the Japanese Central League have been in town since Feb. 1, working out at the Padres’ Desert Sun Stadium.

At the Chicago Cubs’ complex in Mesa, four batting cages were in place, but none had netting.

At Phoenix Municipal Stadium, where the world champion Oakland Athletics train, flyers advertised a scheduled benefit game March 1 between the Athletics and San Francisco Giants to aid victims of the Oct. 17 earthquake in Northern California. Fans are being told they can get refunds if the game is canceled or postponed.