Santiago Leaves Past Behind : Baseball: Padre catcher says he’s not bitter about fans’ booing, management’s hard line.

Padre fans booed him unmercifully last season. The Padre front office has ridiculed his salary demands year after year. His past three contracts have been settled in arbitration hearings.

So now that Padre catcher Benito Santiago is a free agent in seven months, with his choice of employment ranging from Los Angeles to Miami, where would he like to spend the finest years of his career?

Will he go Hollywood and join the Dodgers? Hey, about being on WGN-TV with the Cubs? The city life of New York? OK, the city closest to his native home of Puerto Rico, Miami?

“If all things are equal?” Santiago said, his voice rising. “You mean, if everybody paid about the same?”

Yep.

“That’s easy,” he said. “San Diego.

“I’d stay right here. This is my home. It will always be my home. Who wouldn’t want to play here?”

Santiago, who knows the Padres probably won’t be able to afford him, said Monday that he has no harsh feelings toward the fans who boo him. He said he respects Manager Greg Riddoch and the coaching staff. He even understands why the Padres have chosen to resolve his contract in arbitration hearings.

“I don’t let that stuff drive me crazy anymore,” he said. “It’s hard to play when 30,000 fans are booing you, but people pay $11 for tickets, so they can do what they want. I just want to let them know I’ve said some things maybe I shouldn’t, so give me a chance.

“I’ll always love San Diego.”

Santiago, who became the highest paid catcher in baseball earlier in the month when he was awarded $3.3 million in arbitration, knows he’ll be a sideshow in training camp. Cameras began flashing Monday. Pens and pencils were thrust in his face. Fans gawked, and teammates scrutinized.

“People keep looking at me like I’m supposed to act different,” Santiago said, “like I’m walking on air or something. Hey, I’m the same guy that was making $1.65 million. People can look for changes all they want, and say there’s going to be all this pressure, but money’s not going to change me a bit.”

Forget the sports cars. The fancy jewelry. The million-dollar mansions. Santiago has other plans for his money.

When he receives his first check, for about $250,000, in April, he plans to use the money to buy a home for his sister in Puerto Rico. He’ll also be remodeling his parents’ house. Much of the rest will be spent on his family.

“That’s what makes me feel so good about the money,” Santiago said, “is that I can help my family. They always took care of me growing up, and now it’s my turn.”

Santiago’s salary, of course, might be a pittance compared to the free-agent contract he’s expected to receive. If he has another season like last year’s, when he batted .267 with 17 homers and 87 RBIs, he could be rewarded with at least a five-year contract in excess of $22 million.

“I know what’s at stake,” Santiago said, “but I’m not going to put pressure on myself. If I do that, I won’t have 15 home runs or 50 RBIs. I can’t think that way.

“I just want to play ball, and I’ll let the free agency take care of itself after the season.”

Padre bullpen stopper Randy Myers, who always has been a bit different, stunned his new teammates and irritated management when he decided to stay home and report a week late to camp.

Myers, acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in December, telephoned the Padres and left a message that he would not be in camp until March 1, the last day pitchers and catchers may report without being fined.

So much for making a good first impression.

“I can’t believe it,” one Padre veteran said. “Who does he think he is? The front office has got to be going nuts.”

Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, and Riddoch tried to telephone Myers for an explanation, but failed to reach him. Riddoch wanted to wait before commenting, but McIlvaine clearly was annoyed.

“I think this is Randy’s way of trying to get attention,” McIlvaine said. “He has a right to show up March 1, and there’s nothing we can do. But normally when a guy comes to a new team, he wants to make a good impression.

“I guess Randy’s not worrying about that.”

Starting pitcher Andy Benes might be entering spring training as perhaps the ace of the Padre staff, but in less than two weeks, he’ll learn that his performance will have little bearing on his salary.

The Padres opened negotiations Monday with Benes for his 1992 contract. They’re discussing a one-year contract, and although they’re only in the preliminary stages, it’s no secret Benes likely will be less than thrilled with the outcome.

Benes, who was baseball’s hottest pitcher the second half of the season with an 11-1 record and 1.77 ERA, and has all of the statistics to show that his 15-11 season was among the best of any pitcher in the major leagues, has one major flaw in his exhibit. He has been in the major leagues for only two years, and is not eligible for salary arbitration.

Advantage Padres.

“We’re just following the way the system is set up,” McIlvaine said. “Clubs have very few advantages, and when they have a player who has less than three years of experience, it’s one of the few times they have leverage. I’ll try to treat him fairly, but within the structure.”

This is why Benes, who earned $235,000 last season, will be only the eighth-highest paid pitcher on the staff this season with a contract that likely will pay him less than $450,000. The difference of being eligible for arbitration? His Olympian buddy, Jim Abbott, recently signed for $1.85 million.

“I know they have the leverage, but I’ll be upset if I receive a real low contract,” said Benes, who’s sidelined for a week after undergoing minor surgery in the groin area. “I hope both sides will feel comfortable with the outcome. But regardless how much I’m paid, I’ll go out there every five days and pitch as well as I can.”

McIlvaine has given Benes, and the remaining unsigned Padre players, a deadline of March 4 to resolve their contractual negotiations. If an agreement can not be reached, the Padres will renew their contracts.

Padre reliever Larry Andersen once again was the hit of the first day of camp with his antics.

His opening-day T-shirt: “Help, I’ve fallen down and I can’t get up to get my beer.”

Andersen, who will turn 39 in May, on his physical: “The woman at the physical looked at the age on my chart, and said, ‘5/6/32. Is that right?’ Gosh, I feel old at times, but not 59 years old.”

Andersen on his first-day blues: “Before I came over here, Hursty (Bruce Hurst) reminded me to set my clock an hour ahead. So I checked into my room about midnight, and saw that the clock was California time. So I figured Bruce must have just been putting me on, and I put my watch back to California time. I set my alarm for 8, but when I got here, I realized I was already an hour behind. Boy, I felt real intelligent.”

Around the Basepaths

The Padres sent starter Adam Peterson home after his physical, and asked outright waivers on him Monday. They must wait until Thursday afternoon to learn whether any team will claim him for $20,000. If unclaimed, the Padres then will ask Peterson to waive his free-agent rights. “We probably would have had to go through this procedure anyway,” said Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, “just because he would have a hard time making the team. The only difference is that we’re doing it early.” Peterson was taken off the 40-man roster on Friday when the Padres signed free-agent infielder Kurt Stillwell. . . . Pitcher Rafael Valdez was late to camp once again because of visa problems, and the Padres believe shortstop Tony Fernandez also will be late. However, their biggest fears are reserved for outfielder Oscar Azocar, who’s in Venezuela, and can’t leave the country because of political problems there. “It could be a long time before he gets here,” McIlvaine said. . . . Padre bench coach Jim Snyder was hoping that news of his recent troubles on a Florida golf course would not reach the Padre coaching staff. It’s one thing to play poor golf, but quite another to back your golf cart into the lake. So just how did the coaching staff greet Snyder? They presented Monday with a golf ball cloaked in a miniature life vest. . . . The Padres had 12 position players arrive early to camp Monday, including Tony Gwynn, of course. Gwynn arrived in mid-afternoon, and promptly took batting practice. Gwynn, who says he feels fine since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in September, will experiment this spring with a longer bat--33 1/2 inches. . . . Catcher Dan Walters has a strained back and was kept out of practice, and infielder Guillermo Velasquez had a bone scan on his left foot. . . . Padre reliever Rich Rodriguez arrived in camp having lost 12 pounds, and sporting a mouthful of braces.