Mariners Stake Claim to Angel Who Was Sold to Japanese Team

The Angels, who seem to have a knack of getting themselves into such predicaments, lost a player who didn’t belong to them Monday during baseball’s annual winter meetings in Atlanta.

Confused? So were the Seattle Mariners.

Earlier in the off-season, the Angels had quietly signed free-agent pitcher Mike Hartley, a six-year major league veteran, then sold him to the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese League. Even so, they put Hartley’s name on their double-A Midland reserve list for Monday’s National Assn. Rule 5 draft. The Mariners, figuring they had found a bargain, drafted Hartley and gladly paid the $12,000 claiming price.

When they learned the truth, the Mariners demanded that Hartley should be designated a Seattle player or, failing that, the Mariners should receive the money from the sale to Chiba Lotte.

The snafu wound up stalling the draft for nearly 10 minutes, according to one baseball official in attendance.

The Beverly Hills Sports Council, Hartley’s representatives, contend that Hartley’s rights belong to the Japanese League. Bill Bavasi, Angel assistant general manager, said he can’t explain what happened because Ray Poitevint, the Angels’ director of international scouting, had handled the Hartley transactions.