Angels Take Chance on Walton, Top Rookie in ’89

Hoping to revitalize the once-promising career of outfielder Jerome Walton, the Angels signed the 1989 Rookie of the Year to a triple-A contract Friday that will pay him $450,000 if he makes the big leagues.

Walton, 27, whom the Chicago Cubs released only three years after he was voted the National League’s top rookie, will have a shot at winning a job as an extra outfielder at the Angels’ spring training camp. If he’s sent to the minors, he’ll be paid about $150,000.

“Everything’s going to depend on how he does in spring training,” said Dan O’Brien, Angel vice president of baseball operations. “But if a player can do it once, you’ve got the feeling he can do it again.

“The big thing is he’s 27 years old. Having the kind of year he had at 24, there’s a lot of time for him to have a lot of good years.”

Walton has been an enigma since his rookie season when he batted .293 with five homers and 46 RBIs. He was a spring-training holdout the following year because of a bitter contract dispute, and never again was the player the Cubs envisioned.

“He should have been a star by now, and there’s no reason he still can’t be,” said Hugh Alexander, Cubs’ super scout. “I think this might wake him up. I think he might have learned his lesson.

“Listen, you’re talking about a guy that’s still a pretty good player. He’s a good outfielder, and he can run. If he turns the corner, like I think he will, it could be a steal.

“There’s no reason it had to happen like this, but really, it was his fault.”

Walton’s woes coincided with his acrimonious relationship with the Cubs after his rookie season. He became embroiled in two contract disputes, and was incensed when the Cubs renewed his contract in 1990 for $185,000 and in 1991 for $210,000.

Walton’s performance suffered. He batted .263 with two homers and 21 RBIs during an injury-plagued 1990 season, and hit only .219 the following year.

He was projected to the Cubs’ starting center fielder in 1992, being paid $525,000, but lost his job to Sammy Sosa. Walton was moved to left field but was bumped out of the lineup by Derrick May. He was batting .127 in 30 games when he was optioned June 19 to triple-A Iowa. He played in only seven minor-league games because of injuries to his hip and back, and never returned to the big leagues.

“He just never performed again like he did in ‘89,” Alexander said. “He became aloof when he didn’t get the money he wanted, and it was like he played with something on his mind. If he puts out, you’ll see an entirely different player.”

Walton, who had offers from as many as 10 teams, according to agent Alan Hendricks, chose the Angels primarily because of the opportunity to play. The Angels have an opening for a fifth outfielder, and starting center fielder Chad Curtis has played in only 35 big-league games.

“He just needs to get some of his skills back, and he has the capabilities to do that,” Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said. “Whether he’s our fifth outfielder or goes to triple-A, he’s going to help us.

“He was one of the better center fielders in the game, one of the better leadoff hitters, and a pretty good baserunner. We think he can do it again.”

The Angels now are expected to focus their attention on pitching. They’ll intensify negotiations with free-agent reliever Jeff Russell, and hope to sign free-agent starter Scott Sanderson.

“I’m concerned about our starting pitching,” Rodgers said. “We’re still very thin. We need a fifth starter, and we’d be devastated if anybody got hurt.

“I hope we get that resolved next.”