Angels Keep Erstad in Fold With New Deal

The Angels put a padlock on another one of their young stars Wednesday, when they signed first baseman Darin Erstad to a four-year, $7.25-million contract.

Erstad, who hit .299 with 16 home runs, 34 doubles, 77 runs batted in, 99 runs and a team-leading 23 stolen bases in 1997, his first full season with the Angels, will be guaranteed $500,000 this season, $800,000 in 1999, $2.5 million in 2000 and $3.45 million in 2001. The package includes $500,000 in incentives and $50,000 if he has 500 plate appearances in 2001.

Erstad is no stranger to million-dollar deals--he received a $1.575-million bonus after being selected first in the 1995 draft. And he reacted to Wednesday’s news as he did in 1995: with little fanfare.

“Honestly, I don’t feel any different now than I did yesterday,” Erstad said. “I don’t play this game for money, that’s for sure. It comes with the territory, and obviously it’s nice to have that security, but it doesn’t weigh heavily on my mind.”

The deal secures Erstad, 23, through 2001 and buys out two of Erstad’s three arbitration years. The Angels originally had offered a five-year deal plus a one-year option, but Jeff Moorad, Erstad’s attorney, did not want Erstad to lose all three arbitration years.

“It was important for us to . . . not contract for an unreasonably long period of time, so we’re very pleased with the result,” Moorad said. “Darin was not interested in breaking the bank. I don’t think he did, but he can clearly buy one.”

With Wednesday’s signing, the Angels now have now secured seven home-grown players--Erstad, Garret Anderson, Jim Edmonds, Tim Salmon, Gary DiSarcina, Troy Percival and Chuck Finley--to long-term contracts in the last two years. They also signed pitcher Ken Hill to a three-year deal this winter.

“All the guys we locked up are good players, and these deals are good for both parties,” Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi said. “But the most gratifying aspect is they want to be here, and that’s important.”

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Erstad will donate $200,000 during the term of the contract to help upgrade Little League facilities throughout Southern California. . . . Wednesday night’s exhibition game against Arizona was canceled because of soggy grounds in Tempe Diablo Stadium, so the Angels played an intrasquad game on one of their practice fields. They’ll play another intrasquad game today before opening Cactus League play Friday against Oakland. . . . Reliever Mike Holtz has a touch of tendinitis in his left shoulder and was told not to throw for several days. Holtz missed almost a week of camp in 1997 because of the same condition. . . . Pitching coach Marcel Lachemann, umpiring behind the mound in Wednesday’s intrasquad game, was hit on the back of the right hand by an errant throw, and his hand was placed in a soft cast.