Presley Gets Chance to Impress Padres

It was two weeks before the start of spring training. His buddies were packing their suitcases for Florida and Arizona and excitedly talking about the upcoming season.

Third baseman Jim Presley only sat back and listened. What could he say? He not only had no idea where he was playing, he didn’t know if would be playing.

“I really didn’t know what was going to happen,” Presley said Tuesday afternoon. “It was a strange feeling. It was like everything I had done, was out the window.”

The Atlanta Braves, who were talking about signing him in August, turned their backs on him and signed free-agent third baseman Terry Pendleton to a four-year, $10.2-million contract. The Oakland Athletics, who lost Carney Lansford’s services because of a snowmobiling accident, instead went with Vance Law. The Minnesota Twins, who watched Gary Gaetti bolt to the Angels, took their chances on Mike Pagliarulo.

“They were signing guys I couldn’t believe,” Presley said. “It made me sick. I knew I was better than most of them, but what could I do?”

There was little else to do but call. Jim Krivacs, his agent, telephoned every team he could. And after a few days, he’d call them all again. And kept calling. Nearly every morning when Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, picked up his messages, there was Krivacs, just reminding him of Presley.

“They were very persistent,” McIlvaine said. “They kept saying, ‘We can help you. We can help you.’ To tell you the truth, I wasn’t crazy about him. But the more we thought about it, we started thinking, ‘Well, maybe he’d be a good insurance policy.’ ”

Presley and Krivacs even took a flight to San Diego, just to convince McIlvaine that this would be the right move. They started talking about a contract.

“We’d like to have a three-year deal. . . . OK, how about a two-year? . . . What, just a one-year deal? . . . OK, only if it’s guaranteed. . . . You’ve got to be kidding. . . .

“We’ll take it.”

Presley signed a unusual one-year contract Feb. 11 that is guaranteed only if he makes the opening-day roster. He’ll be paid a prorated salary of $500,000. If he still is on the team July 7, his salary will be increased to $800,000.

“I’ve only done one of those-type contracts,” McIlvaine said, “and that was for Don Aase because of his arm injuries. We just can’t guarantee that he’ll be with us all season. Besides, I think this will give him incentive, too.”

Said Presley: “Being a free agent sure wasn’t what I thought. You look at it in black and white, and it just doesn’t make sense.”

Here’s a guy who made $740,000, hit 19 homers with 72 RBIs, became a free agent, and has to grovel for a job that amounts to a pay cut.

“Everyone knows he can hit, but I think it was just a case of his defense,” said John Schuerholz, who was hired Oct. 10, 1990 as the Braves’ general manager. “When I got here, everybody told me we needed to improve the defense at first base and third base. There was never any encouragement by anyone in the organization to keep him.

“Not a single person.”

When you lead the league with 25 errors, and finish with the lowest fielding percentage of any regular third baseman in the National League, teams notice.

There’s no doubt, however, that Presley, 29, can hit, proving it Tuesday in the Padres’ 9-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants. He had a solo homer and a double off Bud Black, and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly off John Burkett.

Perhaps he’ll never again have a season like 1986, when he hit 27 homers and drove in 107 runs with the Seattle Mariners, but he still has been able to average 20 homers and 75 RBIs during his six full major league seasons.

“It seems like every year I’m trying to prove something,” he said. “I saw it last year, and I’m seeing it again. I think just being out of Atlanta, with that infield, will make a big difference.”

Said McIlvaine: “We’ll see. I liked what I saw today, but it’s early, and I haven’t had much of a chance to see him in the field. That still remains very much a concern.”

Padre reliever Larry Andersen sat sheepishly on the Padre bench Tuesday morning, wondering where everyone was. He sat. And sat. And sat. Finally, 2 1/2 hours after his arrival, the team bus showed up.

“I started to panic a little bit there,” Andersen said. “I thought it was like one of those things in school, ‘Let’s ditch Larry.’ ”

Andersen specifically asked Tuesday morning what time the bus left for practice, and where they’d be heading. He was told the bus would leave for 9:45 a.m., and the game would be at Scottsdale Stadium. But Andersen had decided to drive his car to the game. And little did he realize the bus was heading for Scottsdale Community College where they had an informal workout before the game.

“We went from the most organized camp I’ve ever seen,” Andersen said, “into one of the most chaotic, confusing situations I’ve ever seen. No one knows where they’re going. Even the guys on the bus didn’t know what was going on.

“I’m going to have to get a name tag. That way if I get lost, people can call my mom. They can say, ‘The last time we saw him, he was in Scottsdale, looking for a ballgame, probably wearing a big-league uniform and looking a little disoriented.’ ”

Andersen wasn’t alone in the confusion. Ed Whitson--who started the game and allowed five hits, three walks and one run in four innings--showed up at the ballpark without any knowledge of practice. And Mike Dunne wanted to know if he was even pitching.

Oh, well, the day wasn’t a total disaster for Andersen. He entered the game in the fifth, and pitched a 1-2-3 inning, retiring Willie McGee, Will Clark and Matt Williams on fly-ball outs.

“You know, of my 20 springs, that might have been only my second 1-2-3 inning,” Andersen said. “It happened so fast, I didn’t know what to do. It felt so weird, I just stopped and started talking to the umpires.

“Hey, who were those three guys I faced, anyway?”

Padre Notes

Thomas Howard, one of six candidates for the vacancies in center field and left field, has emerged as one of the leading contenders. He went two for three with a two-run triple Tuesday, and now has four hits in his past five at-bats. “It was exciting just playing an “A” game again,” Howard said. “I know I’ve got a chance to make this team. It’s no longer a million-to-one shot, it’s a real opportunity.” . . . Howard originally was supposed to bat second in the lineup, but minutes before the game, he was dropped to eighth. The reason? “Tony Fernandez said he wanted some more at-bats,” Howard said. “Hey, so what can I say?”

Giant left fielder Kevin Mitchell was fitted for braces on his teeth Monday and missed Tuesday’s game. He’s not allowed to eat solid food until March 21, and is expected to wear the braces for two years. “It’s something I should have gotten done a long time ago,” he said, “but now I can afford to.” Said Manager Roger Craig: “With all that gold in his mouth, I told him he better not sleep with his mouth open.” . . . The Giants continue to have their injury woes: Outfielder Kevin Bass, who missed most of last season after undergoing surgery on his left knee, still has not played in the outfield. He’s scheduled to undergo an magnetic resonance imaging and bone scan. Shortstop Mike Benjamin has inflammation in his rotator cuff. And second baseman Robbie Thompson is undergoing tests on his ailing right knee.

Padre pitcher Jeremy Hernandez continues to impress, allowing only two hits and striking out five in three innings in the Padres’ 4-3 defeat to the Angels in a “B” game. Shortstop Paul Faries went three for four in the game, with a double and triple. . . . Outfielder Jerald Clark, who has been sidelined this spring with a hamstring pull, was able to play in the ‘B” game, and was hitless in three at-bats. Center fielder Shawn Abner (hamstring pull) likely will not play again before Friday. . . . The Padres will play against the Indians and four of their former teammates at 12:05 p.m. (PST) today in Tucson. The Padres will pitch four lefties: Bruce Hurst, Dennis Rasmussen, Rich Rodriguez and Craig Lefferts.