Injuries, Losses Mount In the Padres’ Final Days

Padre starter Bruce Hurst stammered, not knowing what to say.

He has pitched in the seventh game of the World Series, appeared in several playoff games, and been in the most critical of situations on the mound.

No one ever told him how he is supposed to get out of this jam.

Hurst was informed Friday that he should have rotator cuff surgery on his left shoulder. He fears that his career is in danger.

Hurst knew nearly two weeks ago that his season was over--well before the Padres’ doubleheader defeat Friday to the Atlanta Braves, 4-1 and 7-2, in front of 41,075 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. It will be another six months before he’s needed to pitch.

But he never expected this news.

Hurst was diagnosed with an inflamed rotator cuff and shoulder joint. Orthopedist specialist Dr. James Andrews of Birmingham, Ala., recommended surgery.

Hurst, however, wonders whether surgery will prolong his career. He likely will visit Dr. Arthur M. Pappas, Boston Red Sox team doctor, for another opinion before deciding.

“It’s up to me what I’ll do,” Hurst said, “and I haven’t decided. I’ve never had (shoulder) surgery before.

“What I don’t know is if I have surgery--and at my age and at this stage of my career--will the surgery make me 100%.

“Nobody knows if it would hinder me or not.

“They don’t pass out a guarantee on those things.”

The Padres also learned that right fielder Tony Gwynn will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Monday at Scripps Clinic. Just like that, the Padres’ highest-paid position player and highest-paid pitcher will be spending their off-season in rehab together.

But while Gwynn’s surgery is not considered serious, and was expected, the Padres could not hide their concern about Hurst.

“It’s not unusual for a pitcher to have some trouble in that area,” said Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, “but when it’s your pitching arm, you want to make sure you make the right decision.”

Hurst, who has not picked up a baseball since Sept. 23, said that his shoulder has been bothering him since November. Because of treatments, the pain had been tolerable until he pitched Sept. 2 against the St. Louis Cardinals. He had a 10-day layoff, but was winless in his next three starts and had a 7.56 ERA.

“It was useless going out there anymore,” Hurst said, “I just didn’t have anything. I knew something was wrong, but obviously not this.

“It’s not the greatest news in the world. It’s not what I want to hear at the end of every season. But I don’t think it’s career-threatening or anything like that.”

Considering that Hurst will be 35 in March, there’s no telling how long rehabilitation will take. Hurst also does not know the extent of the damage is in his shoulder until the surgery is performed.

And that greatly worries him.

“The question I have to ask is how necessary is the surgery,” Hurst said. “If I just rest it and get all the rehab, I don’t know if that will be enough to maintain it all season.

“Or if I had the surgery, and they clean it up, would that be enough to keep it healthy?”

Surgery or no surgery, Hurst wants to continue his career. He watched teammate Ed Whitson’s career end this spring when he sustained a torn ligament in his right elbow, but unless Hurst has a torn rotator cuff, he envisions returning in spring training.

“I want to pitch whether I’m in San Diego or someplace else,” Hurst said, “but I want to pitch. I want to be 100% for whatever team that happens to be.

Perhaps the irony of Hurst’s diagnosis is that this should ensure he’ll stay a Padre until at least the start of next season.

The Padres, according to sources, were hoping to trade Hurst in the off-season because of financial considerations. Hurst, who was 14-9 this season with a 3.85 ERA, is scheduled to earn $2.75 million in 1993 with an option for $3 million in 1994. If the option is not picked up, the club will have to pay a $400,000 buyout.

“At least that’s the good news,” Gwynn said, “now they can’t trade him.

Said McIlvaine, who concedes that trade attempts will be made: ‘If Bruce needs surgery, teams probably will wait until they see how he’s pitching. We don’t think it’s serious, but obviously it’s a concern.”

Gwynn will undergo surgery for the third consecutive season. He underwent similar surgery on his knee last September but only to repair cartilage damage. This time he has a sprained medial collateral ligament.

“The whole thing stinks,” said Gwynn, who played only four innings in the last 25 games of the Padre season. “I’ll have to get knocked out, go through the procedure, have to have rehab for God knows how long, and then start working out.

“But it’s the only move. They’ll go in, clean out what is left because there’s not much left in there. Then I hope to start rehab in a week.

“It’s nothing major unless they find something else, like a torn ligament or something. I just want to get it over with and get back, but it still stinks.”

The Padres were fortunate they didn’t have to send any more players to the operating table after Friday’s doubleheader, in which the Braves established a franchise record with their 97th victory.

Left fielder Jerald Clark and shortstop Craig Shipley collided with one another in shallow left field in the second game. Shipley sustained a strained left shoulder and left elbow, and likely will miss the final two games of the season. Clark sustained a back bruise and is questionable.

The incident occurred in the fifth inning when Atlanta second baseman Mark Lemke hit a popup into shallow left field. Shipley drifted back, caught the ball, only to have it pop out of his glove when Clark crashed into him from behind.

Shipley and Clark each dropped to the turf. After several minutes, they were able to get to stand.

“What a day,” Padre Manager Jim Riggleman said, “what a day.”