BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Chris Gwynn Is Happy to Return

He had been one of the many talented players the Dodgers had no spot for, but Chris Gwynn, who was traded away after the 1991 season, is back now, and gives the Dodgers another option in left field.

Gwynn, 29, who was released by the Kansas City Royals about two weeks ago, said he still doesn’t understand why it didn’t work out there. “The last two weeks have been different,” Gwynn said. “I thought I had a good season (in 1993), in fact, I know I did, but I guess it just didn’t matter. They got some new guys, Vince Coleman and Dave Henderson, but still, I was one of the better players. But there is one thing I know, that just because I didn’t make that team doesn’t mean I can’t make another one.”

Gwynn was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Long Beach, and with his brother, Tony, in San Diego, he is glad to be back. The Dodgers said they signed him for left-handed punch off the bench, but there is a left field job open for the taking, with Henry Rodriguez and Billy Ashley having the edge.

“(The Dodgers) haven’t said anything to me,” Gwynn said. “But I just want to get ready to play, and the rest will take care of itself.”

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Ashley said a meeting he had with Manager Tom Lasorda during spring training has helped his performance.

“I’m seeing the ball better and I shortened up my swing a little bit,” Ashley said. “Tommy sat me down and told me that if I wanted to make it to the big leagues, I would have to shorten my swing, and that was enough motivation for me to change it. I always have known that I have a long swing, and the fact that I was successful with it in Albuquerque and in double A was the level of pitching. In the majors, they are going to pitch me to that weakness.”

Ashley batted .297 with 26 home runs and 100 runs batted in in Albuquerque, but he also struck out 143 times. Since taking Strawberry’s place on the roster, he is two for six with a double and has struck out twice. He and Rodriguez--a left-handed batter--are platooning in left field.

“The thing that impressed me about Ashley was when we sent him to Albuquerque to start the season, he had such a great attitude,” said Fred Claire, executive vice president. “It’s as if he now knows that he’s a good player, he has the confidence.”

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At home in Los Angeles, the players can wear what they want to the clubhouse, but on the road, jeans are not allowed. So when Darren Dreifort showed up in jeans to go to a St. Louis mall with Orel Hershiser, he was told the rules. “I knew you couldn’t wear jeans on the plane or to the clubhouse, but I didn’t know about the rest of the time,” Dreifort said.

And when Delino DeShields showed up Monday at the clubhouse at Busch Stadium dressed in jeans and a jean jacket, he heard about it from Lasorda. “This is what we wore in Montreal,” DeShields said. “Oh, well, guess I better go buy some slacks.”