Sun Also Shines on Angels, Abbott

They still could use a catcher, and a world-class chiropractor to back up Tim Wallach, and maybe a Louisiana game warden to revoke Lee Smith’s hunting license, but on the day after Doomsday, the Angels look like the team to beat in the American League West.

That isn’t always a good thing, as was discovered last summer. Everyone said the Angels were the team to beat in the AL West last August and you saw what happened. The Angels were beaten, and beaten, and beaten some more, until, eventually, Seattle beat them to the playoffs.

But considering the state of the AL West around mid-October, the Angels have mounted quite a comeback--by doing not much more than preserving the status quo.

Then:

Mariners--Finalists for the American League pennant; have Ken Griffey; have Randy Johnson; have Jay Buhner; have Team Martinez; “dynasty-in-waiting” by popular decree.

Angels--Crushed; deflated; spent; used up; blew their opportunity; yesterday’s news.

Now:

Mariners--Lost Tino Martinez; lost Mike Blowers; lost Andy Benes; lost Bill Risley; about to lose Tim Belcher.

Angels--Kept Chuck Finley; kept Jim Abbott; still have Mark Langston, Tim Salmon, Jim Edmonds, Garret Anderson, J.T. Snow, Gary DiSarcina and Troy Percival.

Suddenly, the sun shines again over Anaheim Stadium.

Yes, there actually is a tomorrow after Jan. 8.

Finley and Abbott were supposed to be gone by now. Gone to New York and Toronto. Bill Bavasi’s hands were supposed to be shackled to a file cabinet of yellowing escrow documents, Finley was supposed to be modeling Yankee pinstripes for the tabloid photographers, Abbott was supposed to be adding a fourth stop in six years to his ongoing tour of the American League.

And the Angels?

How does a starting rotation of Langston, Anderson, Sanderson, Leftwich and Belcher (if they spent the money, if they got lucky) sound?

It sounded like Wait Till ‘97, but that was before the Angels opened ’96 with back-to-back upset triumphs.

Finley’s signing last Thursday was the icebreaker, demonstrating what can happen when the team and the player keep the lines of communication open, negotiate in good faith and agree to give and take.

The team gives the player a contract calling for less money and the player decides to take it.

Finley signed for $3 million in ’96 when he could have had $5 million elsewhere.

Four days later, Abbott signed for $2.2 million in ’96 after he had netted $2.8 million in ’95.

Bouquets and kudos have been piling up outside Bavasi’s office door for riding to the rescue and seeing both deals all the way through, but neither Finley nor Abbott would be Angels today if they hadn’t agreed to accept a pay cut. These contracts are gifts to the fans by Finley and Abbott, who nearly said as much Monday night after signing within 45 minutes of the 9 p.m. deadline.

“I think the people here, the fans, are tired of seeing my name involved in negotiations,” said Abbott.

He also spoke, gratefully, of “Angel fans and how well I have been treated here for a long time.”

Abbott is acutely aware of the public sentiment regarding his 1992 departure from the Angels, which could have been avoided had he agreed to accept the team’s four-year, $16-million offer. When he didn’t, Whitey Herzog bullheadedly traded Abbott to the Yankees, a move that soured the fans on both parties.

Whitey immediately was fitted for a black hat, but Abbott had his saint’s cloak stripped away as well. Abbott went from All-American hero to “just another greedy jock” in a matter of seconds--and that perception not only still stings him today, but also influenced his decision to re-sign with the club in the final hour Monday night.

Abbott, sensitive and good-natured, did not want to be remembered as the Angel pitcher who bailed on the fans twice just for a bigger contract. “I wanted to be here, first and foremost,” Abbott said. “I never made any secret of that.” Admirable, but the Angels used this information to negotiate against Abbott. Bavasi knew Abbott’s desire to stay was intense, so he maintained a rock-hard line--giving Abbott one proposal in early December and refusing to budge for a month.

Had the final decision been up to the agent instead of the pitcher, Abbott probably would have gone to bed an ex-Angel for the second time in his career. Scott Boras likely could have found Abbott more money elsewhere. But when the client says, “I want to stay with the Angels, get me the best deal with them you can,” it is the agent’s responsibility to close the deal.

However, it is also the agent’s responsibility to instruct his client not to cave in altogether. The Angels and Abbott were still polarized at 6 p.m. Monday--Bavasi said the deal looked dead at that point--before Abbott and Boras requested a couple of face-saving concessions: a limited no-trade clause and a very limited incentive package.

Abbott said he would sign for $2.2 million in ‘96, $2.6 million in ’97 and $3 million in ’98 if the Angels allowed him to name 12 teams to which he could not be traded and threw in a bonus that would pay him an additional $300,000 if he pitched 600 innings over the life of the contract.

It was the least the Angels could do, so they did it.

If Abbott had taken the Angels’ $16-million offer in 1992, he would have made $4 million in 1996.

As his contract stands today, Abbott will make roughly half that amount--$2.2 million--in 1996.

But in 1992, the Angels weren’t going anywhere. In 1996, they will be favored to go to the playoffs. That has to be worth something. To Abbott, maybe even as much as $1.8 million.