Bo Jackson Delays Retirement for at Least One More Season : Baseball: Designated hitter eligible for free agency; Angels plan to offer a one-year deal.

Bo Jackson, who contemplated retirement this year, said Friday he has decided to return for at least one baseball season.

“To be honest, all my intentions are to come back next year and play,” Jackson said from his home in Burr Ridge, Ill. “I would love to come back with the Angels. If something better comes up, I’ll have to look at my options.

“But if I’m healthy, I’ll be back.

The Angels, who spurned an offer in August to trade Jackson to the Cleveland Indians, were delighted with the news. They plan to offer Jackson, who’s eligible for free agency, a one-year contract and use him as a pinch-hitter.

“There’s definite interest,” Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi said, “but it will fluctuate depending on (designated hitter) Chili Davis. The role will have to be limited. We don’t want to work him in the outfield as much as we did, or not even close to that.

“It’s possible a guy like that will want to DH, but we’ll have to see if we’re going to butt heads on that or not.”

Jackson, considered perhaps the world’s greatest athlete until his 1992 reconstructive hip surgery, said his performance last season might have been the most gratifying of his career.

Projected to be almost exclusively a pinch-hitter, Jackson instead played in 75 of the Angels’ 115 games--including 46 games in the outfield. He batted .279 with 13 homers and 43 runs batted in, hitting more homers than every teammate except Davis and Tim Salmon.

Jackson even stole second base--the first since his hip surgery--in the final game of the Angels’ season. He pulled the base out of the ground while walking off the field that Aug. 10 night.

“Everybody was skeptical about what would happen this year,” Jackson said, “even myself. But I had a great time all year. I loved it. I played more, I got more done . . . the whole ball of wax.

“Most people didn’t think my hip could last one year, but this is my third year with it, and it’s not bothering me one bit.”

Said Bavasi: “This is a weird guy. He doesn’t know he’s not supposed to do the things he did. He did more than we ever hoped.”

Jackson said he anticipates only one stumbling block to playing in 1995. He wouldn’t cross the picket line if the players are still striking in spring training, and warns any of his brethren who are contemplating the idea.

“If people think things are bad now,” Jackson said, “just wait. Nobody’s going to bust up our union. And if anybody tries to play when we’re on strike, those players will be shunned, outcasts. Believe me, it’ll get ugly.

“Those players will have targets on their backs. If somebody beans them, he’s going to have to fight by himself because we’re not going to go out and help him.”

Jackson, 31, who said he began working out Thursday in anticipation of playing again, predicts that several players who announced their retirement will be back in 1995. Toronto Blue Jay pitcher Dave Stewart already has informed his agent, Tony Attanasio, that he has changed his mind and wants to play one more season.

“All veterans talk about retiring,” Jackson said, “but I don’t think you could definitely say you’re retiring until everything has run its course. I think guys who go public with that are just trying to get their name in the paper.

“I’m not being critical of anybody, but if a player can still go out there and make money, why not keep playing? Come on, everybody in the game is trying to make money. The owners. Coaches. Players. Clubhouse managers. That’s what keeps everybody going.

“That’s why when I’m done playing sports, you won’t see me. I’ll be out of sports for good. Baseball, and the other professional sports, are just a means of employment, that’s all.”

Jackson, who recently read a few TV scripts, and aired a new commercial endorsing a breakfast cereal, said he turned down the opportunity to become a commentator on the NFL broadcasts for the Fox network. Instead, he plans to spend his winter at home in the Chicago area, eagerly anticipating the opening of deer hunting season today.

“I’m just going to sit back now, and see if the hockey guys go on strike,” Jackson said. “The way things are going these days, nobody’s going to be playing anymore but the college kids.”