Filing for Arbitration Starts Today

With free agency having again sent baseball salaries soaring, the process known as arbitration will next fuel the inflationary cycle.

A total of 180 players, including 11 Angels and 10 Dodgers, can begin filing today, with a deadline of Jan. 15.

The hearings will be held during the first three weeks of February, with an arbitrator choosing either a figure submitted by a player or by his club on Jan. 18. The player and club may negotiate until the hearing begins.

Last year, 162 players were eligible for arbitration but only 24 went to a hearing, with the players winning 14. The clubs have a 165-139 advantage since the process began in 1974, but it’s a no-win proposition for the clubs, since even a player losing in arbitration generally receives a substantial raise.

The 10 who lost last year had their salaries raised by an aggregate 110%. The winning players received a record aggregate raise of 135%. The overall increase for the 162 players who filed--and either went to a hearing or signed with their clubs--was 102%.

The record arbitration award of $1.975 million, won by the New York Yankees’ Don Mattingly in 1987, figures to be shattered this year, with the Dodgers’ Fernando Valenzuela among those with a shot at it if he goes to a hearing.

Valenzuela forfeited free agency by accepting the Dodgers’ offer of arbitration. He earned $2.2 million in salary and bonuses last year and should be in line for a raise--either through negotiation or arbitration--on the comparative basis of a 13-13 record.

Other Dodgers who are eligible: Tim Belcher, Tim Crews, Kal Daniels, Jose Gonzalez, Jim Gott, Jeff Hamilton, Mickey Hatcher, Stan Javier and Juan Samuel.

Wally Joyner, who was awarded $1.75 million in arbitration last year, and Chuck Finley, who made $725,000 while posting an 18-9 record, head an Angel list that includes Kirk McCaskill, Jack Howell, Bryan Harvey, Scott Bailes, Mark Eichhorn, Dave Gallagher, Luis Polonia, Rick Schu and Max Venable.

Among the top names also eligible are Bo Jackson of the Kansas City Royals; Ellis Burks and Mike Greenwell of the Boston Red Sox; Bobby Thigpen of the Chicago White Sox; Ruben Sierra of the Texas Rangers; Norm Charlton, Jose Rijo and Randy Myers of the Cincinnati Reds; Glenn Davis of the Houston Astros; Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla and Doug Drabek of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Benito Santiago of the San Diego Padres.

Three players who were eligible for arbitration signed Friday. They are catcher Bob Melvin, who agreed to a two-year, $1.55-million contract with the Baltimore Orioles; catcher Scott Bradley, who agreed to a two-year, $1.45-million contract with the Seattle Mariners, and pitcher Jose Guzman, who agreed to a one-year, $365,000 contract with the Texas Rangers.

From 1987 through ‘90, only players with three or more years of major league service were eligible, but the new bargaining agreement provides that the top 16% of players with between two and three years of service are also eligible.

There are 14 players in that category, including Mark Grace of the Chicago Cubs, Ron Gant of the Atlanta Braves, Gonzalez of the Dodgers and Gallagher of the Angels.

In addition, because of collusion in the period from 1987 through ’89 and the fact that much of the process is based on comparative salaries, arbitrators will be provided with adjusted salary scales for those years, increasing the prospect of even larger raises.