The Unkindest Cut : For Many Baseball Veterans, Finding a Place to Play Has Meant Having to Do It for a Lot Less

Pitcher Bryn Smith stood in a corridor of the Colorado Rockies’ clubhouse, water dripping from the ice packs on his shoulder, elbow and right knee, praying that it wasn’t all for naught.

Smith, an 11-year veteran coming off a three-year, $6-million contract, has no guarantee that he will be on the Rockies’ opening-day roster, or even in the organization. He left his family in Santa Maria, Calif., not knowing whether to tell them to pack for Denver, or that he would be home for the summer.

Smith, 37, is one of more than 150 players taking drastic pay cuts this season or, worse, signing minor league, nonroster contracts that offer no guarantees.

The last three seasons, no matter his performance or whether he was even able to pitch, Smith was guaranteed an average salary of $2 million. This year, his only guarantee is $30,000. If he gets hurt again--he has already had arthroscopic knee surgery this spring--the Rockies can release him with no obligation.

“It definitely changes your perspective of the game,” said Smith, who is saving money by living in a recreational vehicle park during spring training. “It used to be that I wouldn’t concern myself with a bad outing, a bad month, or even a bad year. Your job wasn’t in jeopardy, so it was no big deal.

“But now, one bad outing in a B game could mean the end of your career. You’ve got to constantly push and push and push just to make an impression. You’re not just pitching for your team, but for all the radar guns in the stands, the note pads and pens, trying to open some eyes.

“This is the new trend in baseball, and I don’t think it’s going away.”

A record 339 major league players were released, traded or signed by new teams since last season. Nearly 60 still are looking for jobs.

Richard Ravitch, the owners’ chief labor executive, said 13% of the players this year will earn 50% of the major league payroll. Many of the remaining 87%, such as Smith, are struggling to survive.

There were more than 100 veteran players this winter who had to sign minor league contracts or get out of baseball. They are not protected by the Major League Players Assn., are ineligible for the pension or licensing money and will not be paid if they get injured in camp.

“The middle class is being squeezed right out of the game,” agent Alan Meersand said. “This is the latest attack in management’s quest to lower player compensation. What they’re doing is not offering contracts to the middle class, and then creating a glut of free agents like they did this winter.

“You’ve got more competition for fewer jobs and, therefore, lower salaries. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

Although San Francisco outfielder Barry Bonds and Atlanta pitcher Greg Maddux stole the headlines during the winter with their mega-contracts, many others were left begging for jobs, returning from the free-agent market with badly bruised egos:

--Catcher Lance Parrish, coming off a three-year, $6.825-million contract, signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers that guarantees him nothing. If he makes the team, he will earn $600,000.

--Dave Smith of the Chicago Cubs earned $4.95 million the last two years. He has to make the club this year to be paid a $250,000 major league salary.

--Jeff Reardon, baseball’s all-time save leader, was paid $6.475 million the last three years. He signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds that guarantees him only $500,000.

--Catcher Mike Scioscia earned $5.6 million with the Dodgers the last three years only to discover during the winter that nobody wanted him for big money. His only choice was a $300,000 contract offered by the San Diego Padres.

--Starter Scott Sanderson, who has averaged 14 victories a season the last four years, was making $2 million a year with the Yankees. The Angels promised him $250,000. He took it.

“Some players in that classification don’t deserve to be there, but that doesn’t matter,” veteran agent Tom Reich said. “The salary system makes them vulnerable, but vulnerable means they’re not in demand.

“It’s a supply-and-demand game. If they’re not in demand, it doesn’t mean they can’t play. You just have to do everything you can to get them a job and keep them in the system. Some will recover. Some won’t.”

Said Bill Wood, the Houston Astros’ general manger: “It’s a matter of trying to fit guys in with what you can afford. The prime guys at the top are going to get the big money, and that won’t change. Now, we’re seeing what’s happening at the other end of the spectrum.”

There’s no better example than the Padres. They are trying to slash their payroll to $21 million while retaining Fred McGriff at $4 million, Tony Gwynn at $3.75 million, Gary Sheffield at $3.1 million, Andy Benes at $2.05 million and Greg Harris at $2 million.

“When you have those types of players on your payroll, it doesn’t leave you too much leeway,” General Manager Joe McIlvaine said.

The Montreal Expos, perhaps setting the trend of the future, have taken it a step further. Their entire team is on one-year contracts without a penny guaranteed for the 1994 season.

“We just find that players perform better on one-year contracts,” said Dan Duquette, Expo general manager. “It makes the decisions rather easy at the end of the season. If you like them, you keep them. If you don’t, they’re gone.”

Still, it can be a humbling experience to be making $1 million one season, then looking for work the next. First baseman Todd Benzinger learned that when the Dodgers refused to offer him arbitration in December, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Benzinger, who made $1.15 million last season, signed for $500,000 with the San Francisco Giants.

“You don’t look at how the market is changing until it affects you,” Benzinger said. “”You start to feel sorry for yourself, but I look around now, and I consider myself one of the lucky ones.”

Indeed, there are plenty of others still looking for work. Former Dodgers Kal Daniels, Pedro Guerrero and Willie Randolph are among them. This is why agent Dennis Gilbert, correctly forecasting the market in November, hurriedly found employment in Japan for outfielders Glenn Braggs and Mel Hall. Braggs and Hall doubled their salaries, each earning more than $2 million for the next two seasons.

“There was no way they’d receive that kind of salary in the States,” Gilbert said. “Either they could stay here and receive pay cuts, or go to Japan and get raises. It became easy decisions for them.”

Said Bob Gebhard, the Rockies’ general manager: “We’re still going to keep paying the premium players, but the days of paying a guy a million dollars for sitting on the bench are over. It’s crazy just to throw out money to everyone.

“You look at the Dodgers, and they paid out $40 million last year. What did it get them? Ninety-nine losses. I’d hope we could do better than that in our first year, and we’re talking about a $7 million payroll.”

The Rockies took full advantage of the squeeze by signing veterans Bruce Ruffin, Mark Knudson, Gilberto Reyes, Nelson Liriano, Gerald Young and Smith to minor league contracts, and veterans Andres Galarraga, Darryl Boston and Jeff Parrett to inexpensive major league contracts.

Galarraga, who earned $6.85 million the last three seasons, signed a one-year contract for $600,000. If he returns to the form he had as one of the premier power hitters of the National League, Galarraga could be the best bargain in baseball.

Gebhard: “So if he has a big year, he forces us to either give him a big contract, or he’ll go elsewhere for one. That’s the way it should be.”

Most affected by the financial squeeze are pitchers--in particular, relievers. Jeff Russell, Reardon, Jay Howell, Bill Landrum, Dan Plesac, Gene Nelson, Bob McClure, Mark Eichhorn and Rob Murphy are among those who took severe pay cuts. “I still don’t understand what happened,” said Reardon, who took a $2-million cut when he signed a $500,000 contract with the Reds. “It’s like the market just disappeared.”

Bryn Smith, who last attended spring training as a nonroster player in 1982, says it’s foolish for pride to be a consideration now.

“How can you be swallowing your pride if you’re still in the big leagues?” Smith said. “You’re still going to be making at least the minimum--$109,000. I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t have a business degree or any other credentials. I couldn’t get another job that paid me this kind of money.

“I think it’s time we all have to be realistic. Either take what they offer you, or take a plane ticket home. It’s your choice.

“Like it or not, it’s a choice we’re all going to have to get used to.”