McGriff Asks for $3.3 Million; Santiago Wants $2.5 Million

First baseman Fred McGriff listens to the Padres calling him one of the finest power-hitters in the game of baseball. He watches as they predict he will make everyone forget about Jack Clark and Joe Carter. He senses the community’s expectations of him as the team’s savior.

So the way McGriff figures it, as long as everyone thinks so highly of him and are saying such nice things, why not ask to be the highest-paid player in franchise history?

McGriff let it be known Friday that he wants to be paid $3.3 million for the upcoming season, $1.3 million more than his next highest-paid teammate, and more than any National League first baseman except Will Clark of the San Francisco Giants.

“Money’s not the issue, I just want to be paid for what I’m worth,” McGriff said from his Tampa, Fla., home. “I know it sounds like a lot of money, but for what I’ve produced the last three years, it’s what I think I deserve.”

McGriff, who was offered $2.225 million by the Padres, was one of 138 major-league players, including five Padres, who exchanged salary arbitration figures Friday:

--Catcher Benito Santiago, who vows that he’ll file for free agency in two years if the Padres fail to offer him at least a four-year contract, filed for $2.5 million--a 100% raise from his $1.25 million salary. The Padres countered with $1.65 million.

--Infielder/outfielder Bip Roberts, voted the Padres’ most valuable player last season, filed for $950,000--a 400% raise from his $190,000 salary. The Padres offered $762,500.

--Reliever Calvin Schiraldi, used primarily as a middle reliever, requested $860,000--a 43% raise from his $600,000 salary. The Padres offered $625,000.

--Reliever Wes Gardner, who was traded to the Padres from the Boston Red Sox and is vying to make the team as a middle reliever, requested $675,000--a 35% raise from the $500,000 he earned in 1990. The Padres offered $500,000.

Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, said he is hopeful of reaching a settlement with each of the five players. Realistically, it might be a miraculous task to resolve the McGriff and Santiago cases.

McGriff’s salary request, equaling the fifth-highest of any player in the 18-year history of the arbitration process, represents the fourth-highest disparity this year between any player and its team. Yet, it perhaps is no coincidence that McGriff’s $3.3 million request closely resembles those of four of his peers who also have four years of major-league service: Oakland Athletic first baseman Mark McGwire ($3.3 million), Pittsburgh Pirate outfielder Barry Bonds ($3.25 million) and Texas Ranger outfielder Ruben Sierra ($3.1 million). Bonds, the National League MVP, was offered the most by his club, $2.3 million.

“We haven’t begun to negotiate with Fred or Benito,” McIlvaine said. “What we’ve done is establish bookends, and now we’ll try to narrow it.

“Now, if an agent says, ‘This is my number on the first day, and it’ll be my number on the last day,’ then maybe you’ll have problems.

“But we’re not opposed to this process. It’s not a war-like process. There’s no vindictiveness. These are just two parties trying to reach a settlement.”

McGriff, like Santiago, would like to receive a multi-year contract offer from the Padres. He’s not demanding an offer, or vowing that he’ll be heading for free agency in two years if he doesn’t receive one, but McGriff says it’s in the Padres’ best interest if they start talking.

“The ball’s in their court,” McGriff said. “I’ve always played on one-year contracts, and I’m willing to do it again. What I’m saying is if they give me a multi-year contract, they’ll be saving themselves money. If they wait a year, and I hit 35 to 40 homers, it’s going to cost them a lot more.

“It’s common sense, isn’t it.”

Santiago, a two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, isn’t giving the Padres the option of waiting a year. In fact, he doesn’t even want to be drawn into the arbitration process again. He wants a four-year contract now, or he’ll become a free agent after the 1992 season. It’s that simple.

“It’s not a mandate by any means; it’s all up to the Padres,” said Scott Boras, Santiago’s agent. “I’m looking for a resolution to a one-year contract, but if the club wants to pursue a multi-year contract, that’s up to them.

“The team is fully aware of what Benito’s intentions are, and if he is not signed to a multi-year contract, he will take it year by year and pursue the market. Benito told me he wants to be paid appropriately, and he wants it without the use of arbitration.”

And just what is appropriate in the eyes of Santiago?

Well, Lance Parrish of the Angels is the highest-paid catcher in baseball, earning $2.25 million.

Santiago believes he is better.

Boras plans to prove it.