Angels Might Profit in Long Term

The average major league salary at the end of last season was $1.313 million, according to management calculations. It is now $1.437 million.

The Dodgers, including prorated shares of signing bonuses, are above that at $1.654 million. The Angels are below at $1.290 million.

In Anaheim, where renovated Edison Field, improved pitching and an opening-series sweep of the New York Yankees have already contributed to a feeling that something special may be brewing, the Angels have stayed ahead of inflation by continuing to sign the best of their young players to multiyear contracts, often buying out the early years of arbitration and free-agent eligibility.

The Cleveland Indians pioneered the practice, and the Angels have made it an art form.

This is not to say that the Angels and Indians have dueling contracts this weekend, but the philosophy has significantly contributed to the success of the Indians and it clearly has put the Angels on a steadier and more stable course.

“When I go home in the off-season, I don’t have to wonder about which of the guys will be there when I come back in the spring,” shortstop Gary DiSarcina said. “Each of us knows what the other guy can and can’t do. The chemistry and sense of familiarity is irreplaceable. You can’t quantify what that’s worth.”

Familiarity, as the saying goes, can breed contempt, but in the context of the clubhouse, DiSarcina added, it has loosened restraints.

That core group isn’t leery about jumping on one another if need be, a watchdog approach missing, perhaps, in the home clubhouse at Chavez Ravine.

Among the Angels, chemistry and familiarity have come with a price.

Each of those young players has accepted a discounted deal for early security.

At some point in their multiyear contracts, they are going to be below market value.

“It’s a trade-off,” said DiSarcina, a veteran at 30, and now in his second multiyear contract with the Angels. This one is guaranteed through 2000 at $11.65 million for four years.

“I gave up a lot of money in my first contract [$2.9 million for three years], but I knew it would give me the at-bats and experience to build on,” he said. “I knew my name would be in the lineup for three years, no matter who the manager was. And sure enough, Buck Rodgers, who had made me the regular shortstop, was gone after the first year. I was also taught never to [kick] away your first fortune. My dad’s a teacher and my mom is a housewife. It may have been a bad deal, but who knew if it would be on the table again?”

There are 10 home-grown players on the roster, among them Todd Greene, who is on the disabled list.

Of those, six fall into the category of young players who might have sacrificed some dollars for early security, knowing they will still be young enough to sign another multiyear deal when this one expires.

Besides DiSarcina:

* Tim Salmon, 29, has a four-year contract through 2000 at $22.5 million.

* Jim Edmonds, 27, has a four-year contract through 1999 at $8.8 million.

* Garret Anderson, 25, has a three-year contract through 1999 at $4.5 million.

* Troy Percival, 23, has a three-year contract through 1999 at $3.075 million.

* Darin Erstad, 23, has a four-year contract at $7.2 million.

Bonus provisions and option years can enhance the value of some of those deals, but consider:

* Two months after Salmon signed his $22.5-million contract in February 1997, fellow right fielder Gary Sheffield signed a six-year, $60-million deal with the Florida Marlins, the first four years of which pay him $19 million more than Salmon will make over the life of his contract. Sheffield has four more years of service than Salmon, a key consideration, but his statistics over the three previous seasons were not as good as Salmon’s.

* Edmonds, who is in the same service class as Raul Mondesi and whose statistics are similar, aside from stolen bases, earned $2.65 million in the first two years of his four-year contract. Mondesi, on one-year deals, earned $3.65 million. Edmonds will earn $6.15 million in the last two years of the contract, and Mondesi will earn $13.5 in the same period--the first two years of his four-year, $36-million deal.

* Anderson signed his three-year, $4.5-million contract in March 1997. Outfielder Troy O’Leary, who is in the same service class and whose ’97 statistics were similar to Anderson’s, signed a three-year contract with the Boston Red Sox for $9.9 million, a year later.

* Erstad chose the security of his four-year, $7.2-million deal in February after his first full season. Scott Rolen, National League rookie of the year, got $10 million for four years, and Nomar Garciaparra, American League rookie award winner, got $22.25 million for five. Garciaparra plays a more demanding position and his statistics were overwhelmingly superior to Erstad’s, but Rolen’s weren’t.

Attorney Mark Rosenthal, who handles contract negotiations for General Manager Bill Bavasi, wouldn’t discuss specific comparisons or individuals, but he acknowledged that if Bavasi’s “talent evaluations pay off [as to which young players should get multiyear contracts], as they have in almost every case, the Angels wind up with substantial savings.”

He added that he has never had an agent or player come back to him, complaining about the discounted deal.

“They’re getting security and doing it at an age when they’ll still be young enough to sign another [contract], maybe more than one,” Rosenthal said. “It’s the team that’s taking a risk on a basically unproven player. If he doesn’t continue to develop and produce, or if he’s injured, the Angels are still committed to a lot of money.”

New Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman, supervising a $72-million payroll, made a point this week to congratulate Bavasi on the signings and the direction he has taken with his young players.

That direction also has enabled him to avoid the acrimonious processes of arbitration and unilateral contract renewals.

“It would be presumptuous of me to say we’ve done a better job of this than any other club, but I will say that I don’t think any other scouting or farm department has provided their club with the number of good young players that we have,” Bavasi said.

“Any fool could determine which of them should be signed [to multiyear contracts]. I mean, our approach isn’t brain surgery.”

Mistakes, however, are part of the business. Bavasi acknowledges he made one with his last contract to Jim Abbott. Any general manager is always under a microscope. Should he have traded Chili Davis? Should he have tried harder to acquire Mark McGwire? Should economics have precluded the drafting of neighborhood pitcher Jaret Wright, a budding star with the Indians?

The continuity and stability of the homegrown foundation speaks for itself. Now scouting director Bob Fontaine Jr. might have another wave on the way, including pitchers Jarrod Washburn, Scott Schoeneweis and Ramon Ortiz, and position players Troy Glaus, Nelson Castro, Norm Hutchins and Justin Baughman.

That next wave--if it comes--will provide Bavasi with the opportunity to recycle the payroll and roster, the most prudent way to survive amid the current economics. Cleveland General Manager John Hart has never hesitated to pull the trigger on a major deal, even if it involves moving one of the young players he initially signed to a multiyear contract.

Hart, of course, operates from a position of strength. Jacobs Field sellouts have fed the success of the Indians by providing the revenue stream necessary to sustain a payroll among baseball’s top five.

Edison Field--if the early glow is indicative--might finally provide the Angels a similar stream.

“Opening night here was electric,” DiSarcina said. “I’ve never had more fun playing in a game here. I don’t know if it’s the team, the stadium or the marketing, but the atmosphere is totally different now. It reminded me of the playoff in Seattle.”

October in April?

A totally different atmosphere, indeed, in Anaheim, where the payroll, under economically cautious Disney, has risen from $26 million to $40 million--even with those discounted deals.