PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / ALAN DROOZ : Padres, Hamilton Strike Deal

The fat lady finally sang in the Padres’ negotiations with No. 1 draft choice, but it turned out to be a different tune than had been played throughout the talks, which were termed “a crazy scenario” by Padres General Manager Joe McIlvaine before Thursday’s game.

It was thought chances to sign pitcher Joey Hamilton would be lost once classes started at Georgia Southern, where he has another year of eligibility. However, while classes started Thursday, Hamilton did not attend. The two sides spoke, finally reaching an agreement late Thursday.

“It was an arduous period of time leading up to the signing, but both sides are happy with the settlement,” McIlvaine said. “There were lots of points (the signing looked doubtful. It’s a good day, a good day for the Padres.”

Hamilton, 20 and a two-time member of Team USA, will report to the Padres’ Instructional League team in Phoenix next week. The league runs through Oct. 26. Hamilton did not play this summer and has not pitched since playing for Georgia Southern last spring, when he was 12-6. He led all Division I pitchers with a 18-4 record as a sophomore.

Hamilton’s mother, Janet, had blamed the stalled negotiations on McIlvaine’s dislike for agent Scott Boras, who advised the Hamilton family, though Hamilton’s mother officially conducted the talks.

From the family’s home in Statesboro, Ga., Janet Hamilton said she thought things had fallen through, but decided to give it one more try. “Joey, Joe (McIlvaine) and I talked, re-evaluated things a little bit and said maybe we ought to give it one more try,” she said. “We just felt like, let’s do it, get on with our lives and our business and play ball.”

She declined to say how much her son is signing for, but it’s thought to be in the $350,000 to $400,000 range, a bit higher than the Padres had been offering.

She described her son as “very relieved, very excited and ready to play ball.” She added, “He’s been ready to play ball.”

Hamilton will come to San Diego to sign the contract this weekend and be examined at the Scripps Clinic before reporting.

McIlvaine said the lost summer hurt. Hamilton will probably be sent to a Class A team in 1992. “He’s missed a year of development, and that takes him a year farther from the major leagues,” McIlvaine said. “Hopefully he can make some of it up in instructional ball.”

McIlvaine said the drawn-out negotiations “went about as expected” with Boras involved. “The tactic of their adviser is they tell you they’re going back to school, then they wait,” he said. He added that he only talked to Hamilton twice the entire time, the second time Thursday. “I told his mother it’s like a marriage, I have to hear him say ‘I do.’ That was a point of negotiation for a while.”

This will be a big day for former Padres pitcher Dave Dravecky, who will make several appearances at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

Dravecky, recovering from a cancerous tumor that forced the amputation of his left arm and shoulder this year, will have a book-signing session from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Padres Gift Shop. Then he’ll conduct a news conference, followed by a short pregame ceremony during which he’ll receive a plaque and thank the fans for their support. Dravecky chose this date because it’s the seventh anniversary of the night the Padres clinched their only division title.

Earlier this week he told a business gathering in Ohio, “I’ve lost the interest of the athlete but I’ve gained the interest of the fan. I’m having fun being a second-guesser like a fan.

“I found the further away from it I get the easier it is. The only thing I miss from time to time as I watch ballplayers play and especially my close friends, is being able to throw a back-door slider.”

Dravecky, who is working on a second book detailing his on-going problems leading up to the amputation, also is working on a documentary of his story.

While with the Giants, Dravecky first had surgery to remove the malignant tumor in September, 1988. He returned to the mound the following August and defeated the Reds, but five days later he broke the arm while delivering a pitch in Montreal.

Dravecky said fan support has helped him throughout the ordeal, and is one of the reasons he quickly returned to the lecture circuit, and has been so public about the operation.

Tony Gwynn was not at the stadium or back in uniform Thursday. Manager Greg Riddoch said he spoke with Gwynn Thursday morning and the Padres’ leading hitter was “home in bed, in quite a bit of pain” one day after arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Asked if Gwynn could pinch hit, Riddoch said, “He’d have to have a long bat, to hit from bed. If anybody could, Tony could.” . . . There was nothing new on the status of Bruce Hurst’s left elbow, which he injured Tuesday night. He is not expected to take his next scheduled turn Sunday and it’s wait-and-see after that. . . . Bip Roberts was back in the starting lineup Thursday but remains on a day-to-day basis since returning from Aug. 19 knee surgery. . . . Riddoch, whose team will face the Dodgers next week, said it’s fun facing the contenders. “I just wish we could play them with a healthy team,” he added.