Many Angel Players See No Reason to Save Season

There’s growing sentiment among Angel players, according to Gary DiSarcina, assistant player representative, that they prefer sitting out the rest of the season rather than play the final few weeks.

“Most of the guys I talked to don’t even think it’s worth coming back,” DiSarcina said. “The season is so tainted anyway, and to come back with a few weeks left, it would just make a mockery out of the game. Why do it?

“But there’s other guys who say, ‘Well, if that’s what it takes in saving the postseason, why not?’ ”

Although only a few Angel players say they have even bothered to stay in shape, most have not picked up a ball or a bat since their last game three weeks ago, Aug. 10 against the Kansas City Royals. They wonder what good it would do to resume playing in mid-September if games resemble little more than spring training.

“You’d be seeing some ugly baseball,” DiSarcina said. “It would be just like the first week of spring training. Pitchers would be going two or three innings, and position players wouldn’t be able to go a whole game. You think there are some long games now, just wait. You’ll really see something then.

“I mean, it might be a different feeling for the teams that are still in the race, but really, all we’d be doing is helping out teams getting ready for postseason. They’d be using us to get in shape.

“How can you show up and play for two weeks, especially if we’re out of it. I know I can’t picture myself coming back to the clubhouse.”

Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann concedes that injuries, particularly to pitchers, would be a primary concern if the season resumed. The games would be treated similar to spring training, he said, limiting pitchers to about three innings or a certain pitch count.

“Obviously, nobody is in baseball shape,” Lachemann said, “so I don’t know how you could pitch someone more than three innings. You’ve got to really be careful. The first time out might be the easiest, but the second and third times, that’s what really can cause problems.”

Said starter Mark Langston, Angel player representative: “If we’re going to salvage any part of the season, things are going to have to happen quickly. And if it’s resolved, it’s our job to go out and play. But it’ll definitely be a spring-training situation because nobody’s really working out.”

The reality of the strike’s economic effect were felt Wednesday when no checks arrived. This was the players’ first missed check since the strike’s inception.

While no Angel player has lost more during the strike than starting pitcher Chuck Finley, who already is out $363,387.97, the effect can be traumatic for the younger players.

“I was hoping I could save enough money where I wouldn’t have to work,” rookie outfielder Jim Edmonds said, “but you can only save so much from the beginning of the year. We knew what was coming, but there was a refrigerator we had to buy, and a washer and dryer, just stuff you need when you have a family.

“It’s not cheap living in Southern California. Our apartment cost $1,200 a month alone. We may have to move to a smaller place, I just don’t know right now.”

Players will begin receiving licensing checks from their strike fund every two weeks beginning Sept. 15, with veterans having accrued as much as $147,000 in reserve the last four years. Yet, for the rookies, all that remains is about $7,500.

“That’s going to go pretty fast around here,” said Edmonds, who just had three card shows canceled that would have paid him $8,000. “I was hoping I’d never have to go back to work once I made the big leagues, but that could all change.”

Angel first baseman J.T. Snow, who spent less than two years in the major leagues, just joined his wife in becoming first-time homeowners. Unfortunately, the mortgage bills start this month, and with no paychecks coming in, and card shows postponed, they must rely on their savings account.

“It’s a weird feeling right now,” Snow said. “A lot of people told me to prepare for the worst case, but it’s tough, it really is.”

Angel executives continue to be hopeful the season will resume by Sept. 15, and if not, plans already are being made for the 1995 season. General Manager Bill Bavasi has been busily formulating blueprints to improve the team, and he talks almost daily to Lachemann on an operational plan to ensure they no longer remain the American League’s worst team.

“Right now, I think we all feel like part of our life has been taken away,” Angel President Richard Brown said. “I’ve seen so many movies lately, I could sell my services as a movie critic.”

Said DiSarcina: “A lot of guys were excited to go fishing, and spending time with their families, but that nervous energy isn’t there anymore. Really, it’s nerve-racking.

“I don’t want to be a member of a group of people that’s blamed for not having a World Series, but if all avenues are exhausted, what are you going to do?

“No matter what happens, this season is going to have a big asterisk to it.

“To me, it’s already been ruined.”