Salmon Will Fly Highest of Angels

Tim Salmon agreed to a four-year, $22.5-million contract extension Wednesday that will make him the highest-paid player in Angel history, but the right fielder doesn’t put much stock in such labels.

“It’s more a reflection of the times,” said Salmon, who is under contract through 2001. “If Reggie Jackson played today, what would he make? I recognize the fact [that] I’m playing in an age when the marketplace dictates these tremendous dollar amounts . . . but I’m not going to turn it down.”

The deal includes an additional $1.5-million advance, $600,000 in incentives for plate appearances and $1 million in deferred salary, which can push the package to $25.6 million. That surpasses the four-year, $18-million contract given to pitcher Chuck Finley last season.

Salmon, who is entering the final year of a four-year, $7.5-million deal that will pay $3.5 million this season, will jump to $5 million in 1998, $5.5 million in 1999 and $6 million in 2000 and 2001.

“I don’t know when this is going to sink in,” said Salmon, who has a .293 average with 120 home runs and 374 RBIs in four seasons. “My wife asked me if I was excited, and I said, ‘I’m too exhausted to be excited.’ I’m still in a fog right now.”

The deal culminated several weeks of negotiations that intensified the past four days. Ted Updike, Salmon’s agent, and Angel officials met every day this week, including a 13-hour session Tuesday.

The major stumbling blocks, according to General Manager Bill Bavasi, were whether to include an option year--the Angels wanted one; Salmon did not--and how to structure the payout over four years.

Salmon spent more than an hour in negotiations Tuesday afternoon in Tempe Diablo Stadium but finally had to leave. “It was like a cat-and-mouse game,” he said. Salmon had set a Tuesday deadline for the deal so negotiations wouldn’t interfere with preparations for the season.

“I didn’t want it to be a distraction to the team,” Salmon said. “I saw what happened last year with Gary [DiSarcina, Angel shortstop who hit .207 for two months while contract talks dragged into the season]. It wasn’t a healthy situation, and I didn’t want to deal with that.”

Can Salmon deal with the expectations that come with being the highest-paid player in franchise history?

“He has the kind of personality that can handle this,” Bavasi said. “His dedication, the way he approaches the game, is very consistent.”

Salmon, 28, was more concerned with long-term security than with being one of the highest-paid players in the game.

“I think that’s had an effect on how I’ve played,” he said. “I’ve never had to worry about next year’s contract in the off-season. And I’ve never felt during the season that what I’m producing would set my salary for the next year.”

The Angels have four players signed through 1999 (Finley, Dave Hollins, Jim Leyritz and Mike James), one signed through 2000 (Jim Edmonds) and three signed through 2001 (Salmon, DiSarcina and Troy Percival).

“Sometimes you can give a long-term contract to a guy and he’ll lose his drive, his motivation,” Bavasi said. “But if you give them to the right guys, it will pay off.”

The Angels have followed a trend set by the Cleveland Indians, who began signing their best young players to multiyear deals in the early 1990s.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve done it just like the Indians. We did a better job with our deals,” Bavasi said. “With our deals, the timing has been right.”

Well, maybe not all of them. The Angels, remember, signed Jim Abbott to a three-year, $7.8-million deal last season and the pitcher went 2-18.

Salmon, though, has shown no signs of slowing. The 1993 American League rookie of the year, Salmon became the first player in Angel history to hit 30 or more homers in three seasons and has one of baseball’s best throwing arms.

“He has the ability to be a franchise player,” Bavasi said, “but I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on one guy.”

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Salmon at a Glance

Statistics for Tim Salmon, who signed a four-year, $22.5-million contract extension with the Angels:

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Year AB R H HR RBI AVG 1992 79 8 14 2 6 .177 1993 515 93 146 31 95 .283 1994 373 67 107 23 70 .287 1995 537 111 177 34 105 .330 1996 581 90 166 30 98 .286 Totals 2,085 369 610 120 374 .293

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