Lynn’s Spring Impresses Padres

It wasn’t supposed to work this way. Really, it wasn’t.

The Padres’ intent in signing Fred Lynn last December as a free-agent outfielder was simple, remember? He’d be kept on the bench for depth in the outfield, used in late-inning, pinch-hitting situations, and cut loose in the clubhouse to spread his veteran leadership.

But employ him as an everyday starter? Uh-uh. Come on, this is a 38-year-old, injury-plagued man you’re talking about here.

“Well, it looks like I’m ruining their plans, doesn’t it,” said Lynn, allowing his face to break into an expansive grin. “I figured they thought I’d come off the bench, do some heroic things, and help out some of the younger guys.

“I’m sure this isn’t what they had in mind.”

The Padres broke camp Sunday with a 6-2 record, defeating the Seattle Mariners, 5-3, and the biggest surprise of their two-week stay in Yuma was none other than Frederick Michael Lynn.

Lynn, who went two for two Sunday, leads the Padres with a .615 batting average. He’s eight for 13 this spring with two home runs, three RBIs, a .722 on-base percentage and a 1.076 slugging percentage.

“Can you believe that guy?” Padre outfielder Joe Carter said. “If he keeps hitting the ball like that, it’s going to be hard to get him out of the lineup. I think he’s rejuvenated, if you ask me.”

Lynn, who signed as a free agent for a $500,000 base salary, said: “I think most of all, I’ve proven something to myself this spring. You have to have confidence, and right now, I feel very good about the way I’m playing.”

Although Padre Manager Jack McKeon has a week to change his mind, Lynn currently is scheduled to be the Padres’ starting left fielder on opening day. If he continues anywhere near this pace, it might be awhile before he ever comes out.

“I’ve had some good springs before,” Lynn said, “but this is as good as I’ve had in a while. Of course, this spring is different. Some springs, I’ll be trying some crazy things, but this spring, I’m already in my game-day mode.”

“The big thing now is not to get hurt. I’ve got to get out of spring training clean. That’s why you won’t see me taking any chances. I don’t want to do anything crazy.”

It was, after all, in 1977 when Lynn had the finest spring-training of his career. It was like he could do no wrong. He was convinced this would a banner season, maybe another MVP year.

“Everything was going so great for the first 20 games, I was killing the ball,” Lynn said. “Then I tore all of the ligaments in my ankle. What a crusher. That ruined everything.

“I’m not going to let it happen to me this time.”

The Padres will open the 1990 season one week from today at Dodger Stadium, but the most important date on many of their minds is April 13.

That is the day their former teammate, Dave Leiper, will undergo open heart surgery.

“That’s the most important thing right now,” Padre catcher Mark Parent said. “There’s a lot of us worried about him in here. You realize there’s more important things in life than baseball.”

Leiper, who spent 2 1/2 seasons with the Padres before being released in December, suffered heart palpitations again three weeks ago while working out in the Oakland Athletics’ mini-camp. He was taken to a Phoenix hospital when it was discovered, he said, what was described to him as an extra pathway to his heart.

“They have to take that out,” Leiper said. “They could zap it electrically, but the surest thing is to open me up and get it. I’ll be out of the hospital in five or six days, but it’ll take a while for the sternum to heal.

“I could probably get by if I keep taking medication, but later in life, they said, something could happen.

“I’d just as soon get it over with now. They said the first available date was Friday the 13th, and asked if I minded. I said, ‘Nah, I’m not superstitious. Just get me in there.’ ”

The Padres plan a visit to Leiper in the hospital the following day in Redwood City, Calif. As fate would have it, they’ll be in San Francisco that weekend for a three-game series against the Giants.

“I told Leip we’ll all be there,” Parent said. “Nothing’s going to keep us away from seeing him.”

Although TV producer Tom Werner of Los Angeles and his nine limited partners are in the process of purchasing the Padres for $75 million, Dodger owner Peter O’Malley said Sunday that the Padres have submitted numerous prospective buyers to baseball’s ownership committee over the past four months.

“They’ve talked to a number of people, and we’ve gone over a lot of names,” said O’Malley, a member of the eight-man ownership committee. “A lot of people have been considered. I really can’t say much more than that, but the (screening) process already has begun.

“We first tried to convince her to stay in the game, but we couldn’t do it. She said it was time to get on with the rest of her life.

“When they’re ready, we’ll complete our process, and make a recommendation to the other owners. It’s not likely the league would go against the recommendation.”

The sale of a franchise must be approved by three-fourths vote of the National League owners, and a simple majority vote by the American League owners.

Although Jack Clark is slated to be the Padres’ cleanup hitter this season, and will be protected by Joe Carter in the lineup, Clark said Sunday that he plans to meet with Padre Manager Jack McKeon to discuss the lineup order.

“I just want to sit down with Jack and make sure he’s not just putting me fourth because of respect, or that he doesn’t want to hurt my pride, or something,” Clark said. “Joe’s got a lot of speed, and can steal about 15, 20 bases, so I don’t want to slow him down.

“I’m going to tell Jack I’ll do whatever’s best for the team. I’ll bat anywhere he wants, and I really don’t care. I just want to win.”

Padre Notes

The Mariners were the only undefeated team, 4-0, in the Cactus League when they came to Yuma for their four-day visit. They returned home with a 4-4 record. Andy Benes was the winning pitcher Sunday, yielding six hits and one earned run in five innings. Jack Clark drove in two runs with a two-run double in the fifth inning. . . . “It’s a pretty nice feeling having a lineup like this behind me,” Benes said. “I don’t have to go out there and throw a shutout. But at the same time, you can’t just relax and say, ‘We’re going to score five or six runs.’ ” . . . The Padres are batting .301 this spring, averaging 7.3 runs a game. “Who’s going to want to pitch to anyone in this lineup,” said Padre second baseman Roberto Alomar, who’s batting .476. Still, Padre Manager Jack McKeon is remaining cautious, reminding everyone, “Hey, we played pretty good (18-8) last spring too, and you remember what happened. This doesn’t mean a thing.” . . . The Padres drew their largest crowd of the spring Sunday, 2,573. They averaged just 1,881 in their eight home games, nearly 4,000 less than their 1989 average of 5,814.