DODGERS : Hatcher Works, Laughs, Wonders About Future

The grounder skipped under the glove of the groaning, gray-haired first baseman.

“Ohhh, I can’t get to that ,” he said.

He scooped up the next grounder, spun, aimed for the pitcher who was running to cover first base and threw him the ball--while it was still inside the glove.

Spring training for position players was only an hour old, but Mickey Hatcher was in midseason form.

“This is my 13th spring, and I’m still having fun,” he said.

But he wasn’t smiling. At 35, Hatcher realizes that fun is one thing and winning a job is another.

He isn’t buying the talk that he is assured of being the 25th man on the roster in his fifth season with the Dodgers, saying he hasn’t been this worried about winning a job in five years.

“This is the same situation here as when I came to camp with the Minnesota Twins in 1987,” Hatcher said. “Back then, they had a lot of young guys that they couldn’t keep sending back to the minor leagues. Because I was older, they released me.”

The rest has become an interesting bit of Dodger history. Hatcher signed with them in April of 1987 and has since become a sort of Dodger Stadium cult hero.

He is famous for, among other things, his belly-flop slides, his hustle and his .368 batting average in the 1988 World Series against Oakland.

Last season, his 14 pinch-hits were second highest in the major leagues and only two shy of the Dodger record.

His valuable right-handed bat off the bench is the main reason the Dodgers did not discard him as they did Rick Dempsey, a fellow veteran “stunt man” from the 1988 World Series championship team.

But Hatcher, who will be 36 opening day, knows the past means nothing. Especially on the Dodgers’ roster.

“This is the most talented team that I have ever been involved with,” said Hatcher, a veteran of 12 seasons. “We could get a couple of good teams out of our roster. I look around and I realize I have to win a job.

“Who knows what will happen? I still feel I must prove I can play.”

Yet, what young Dodger outfielder also can play third or first base and even catch? And what young outfielder will not complain when he isn’t in the starting lineup for months at a time?

“This is why we like Mickey, because he can fill so many roles for us off the bench and because he can do them well,” Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said. “He’s not here just because he’s a nice guy. If I wanted nice guys, I know a bunch of priests I could play.

“Shoot, if I wanted nice guys, Archbishop (Roger) Mahony (of Los Angeles) would be on my team. I’d take him over Hatcher any day.”

Orel Hershiser remained on schedule to be available for the start of exhibition games by throwing 70 pitches for 12 minutes Friday in his best batting practice work so far.

According to Dr. Frank Jobe, Hershiser’s next step is probably a round of batting practice without a protective screen in front of the mound, moving on to simulated games of two or three innings.

“So I could still start the spring as a fifth starter,” said Hershiser, which means he could be available for the fifth spring game, March 11 in West Palm Beach against Montreal.

Everyone seemed pleased by Hershiser’s outing Friday, especially his catcher, minor leaguer Bert Heffernan.

“He let a few loose at the end and the ball really popped,” said Heffernan, who was in double A last year. “I think he would be surprised at how hard the ball popped. If you ask me, he is throwing just like any other pitcher at this time.”

Jobe, however, repeated his earlier warning.

“I would not be surprised if he did not pitch in a game until after the first month of the season,” Jobe said. “I think we still have to take it slow.”

Dodger Notes

The Dodgers increased their contract offer to holdout pitcher Ramon Martinez for a second time in an attempt to reach an agreement before Martinez’s contract is unilaterally renewed today. But Martinez’s agent, Jim Bronner, said the new offer may still fall short, and promised that Martinez would not report to camp today even if the contract is renewed. The increase moved the offer from $425,000 to about $450,000; Martinez is seeking $500,000.

Mike Morgan reported to camp as planned and threw for 12 minutes. He said that if he remains careful while rehabilitating his sprained right hip muscle, he can be ready for the start of the season. Morgan was hurt when he slipped on a curb three weeks ago while carrying a television set.

Manager Tom Lasorda gave special attention to Greg Hansell, the 6-foot-4 prospect from Kennedy High in La Palma who continues to impress. Hansell, 19, probably will start the season in Class A. . . . Stan Javier has been happy with his first two days of work at third base. “It feels awesome out there,” said Javier, who has been fielding dozens of ground balls hit by coaches.

Lasorda said that he offered Brett Butler his number, 2, but that Butler decided to change numbers and take 22. “Brett said he would never do that to me, but I said I didn’t care,” Lasorda said. “As long as I have a uniform, man, I’m happy. I’ve had so many numbers in my life, I couldn’t tell you what they are.”