Twins Re-Sign Puckett; Swindell Becomes Astro

Outfielder Kirby Puckett turned down better offers from other teams to re-sign with the Minnesota Twins on Friday.

Puckett signed a five-year, $30-million contract, the second-biggest in baseball history.

“If it was the numbers, I would not be here because I had more lucrative offers elsewhere,” Puckett said.

“But I thought about my family. I didn’t only think about baseball. Who’s to say that you will be much happier elsewhere? The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. I’m happy to be a Minnesota Twin for the rest of my career.”

Also Friday, Greg Swindell left the Cincinnati Reds for the Houston Astros; outfielder Mitch Webster re-signed with the Dodgers and reliever Jesse Orosco stayed with the Milwaukee Brewers. Paul Molitor of the Brewers rejected the team’s first offer.

Puckett, 31, a .321 lifetime hitter, is a seven-time All-Star and a six-time Gold Glove winner. He batted .329 last season with 19 home runs and 110 runs batted in.

The Boston Red Sox met with Puckett last week and the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs were said to be among the other clubs interested.

Puckett signed a day after he and his wife, Tonya, had dinner with Twin owner Carl Pohlad and his wife, Eloise.

“You need to do a little wining and dining yourself sometimes,” Twin General Manager Andy MacPhail said.

“Christmas from now on for me is December 4th,” said Puckett, who can become a free agent again after the 1995 season.

“I looked at Tonya and I gave her a kiss and said, ‘We can finally get some sleep tonight.’ ”

The only bigger total package is the $32.5 million, five-year deal shortstop Cal Ripken got from the Baltimore Orioles on Aug. 24. The only higher yearly averages are $7.1 million for Chicago Cub second baseman Ryne Sandberg and Ripken’s $6.5 million.

Swindell, who pitched for the University of Texas, signed a four-year, $17-million contract. Earlier in the week, Doug Drabek, from Victoria, Tex., and the University of Houston, left Pittsburgh and got a four-year, $19.5-million deal from the Astros.

“Even before Doug signed I knew where I wanted to play,” Swindell said.

Swindell was 12-8 with a 2.70 earned-run average in 30 starts last season.

“He turned down offers from five other clubs for more money,” agent Randy Hendricks said.

“We just stayed with our offer with Houston, even though we had better offers coming, because that’s what Greg wanted to do and we knew Houston had a budget.”

Webster, who batted .267 with 35 RBIs in a reserve role for the Dodgers, re-signed for two years and $1.2 million. He set a team record last season with 17 pinch-hits.

Orosco, who was 3-1 with a 3.23 ERA as a middle reliever for Milwaukee, agreed to a one-year deal for $900,000.

Unless Molitor re-signs by Monday night, Milwaukee won’t be able to sign him until May 1 unless it offers him salary arbitration. Molitor, a first baseman and designated hitter, batted .320 last season and drove in a personal-best 89 runs.

Highest Salaries

Baseball contracts with average annual values of $5 million or more. Figures include guaranteed income only.

Avg. Player, Team Years Salary Ryne Sandberg, Cubs 1993-96 $7.1 Cal Ripken, Orioles 1993-97 $6.5 Kirby Puckett, Twins 1993-97 $6.0 Bobby Bonilla, Mets 1992-96 $5.8 Jack Morris, Blue Jays 1992-93 $5.43 Roger Clemens, Red Sox 1992-95 $5.38 Dwight Gooden, Mets 1992-94 $5.15 Barry Larkin, Reds 1992-96 $5.12 Danny Tartabull, Yankees 1992-96 $5.1 Doug Drabek, Astros 1993-96 $5.0

All salary figures in millions