Langston Not Content With Hanging On

Forget for a moment the nausea-inducing verbiage about “rebirth” that always seems to accompany spring training.

This time of year is also about finishing. For some, the end is near and it’s only a matter of how long they can postpone it.

That’s the reality Mark Langston must confront as he tries to catch on for one more ride. One painful twinge in his left elbow or a few bad starts mean his career is over.

He is 37 and has 14 years of major league service, but after an injury-marred 1997 season that limited him to only nine starts, he is in the San Diego Padres’ camp, trying to prove himself like a fresh-faced rookie.

“I want to play, I want to be a part of maybe something special here,” Langston said. “If not, then I know I’ve given it every last opportunity and it will be the end.”

Langston is competing with Pete Smith for the fifth spot in the Padres’ rotation. Unlike younger players, Langston has no time for patience and no desire to fit in wherever possible.

“I’m not going to go to the bullpen,” he said. “I don’t want to be used just to get left-handers out.

“No minor league stuff. I’m hoping to help at this level.”

After joining the Angels as a free agent before the 1990 season, Langston figured he would finish his career in Anaheim. Instead, the Angels cut him loose after last season. Langston went 2-4 with a 5.85 earned-run average in a season cut short by arthroscopic surgery to remove loose and damaged tissue in his left elbow. He came back on Aug. 20, but lasted slightly more than an inning and gave up two home runs and five runs on six hits. He was back on the disabled list the next day and dropped out of the Angels’ plans.

In a somewhat cruel twist, the Angels last week committed $1 million--with a potential $5 million more in incentive clauses--to another pitcher coming off an injury-shortened season, Jack McDowell.

Langston said he was upset when the Angels bade him farewell in the off-season.

“For whatever reason, they decided not to have me back,” he said. “That’s their prerogative. I would have loved to have been back. I think [the Angels are] going to win this year. I wanted to be there and be part of that when they did do it. It just didn’t work out. I’ve got a lot of good friends on that team. You spend a lot of time in that situation, you want to be there when the upside comes around, and I think the upside’s now. I really expect them to get to postseason and go very deep in the postseason.”

Langston picked up a ball and began throwing again in November, and decided he wasn’t quite ready to call it quits.

“I felt that I wanted to give myself a chance, just to see if I could do it,” he said. “Last year, after I had surgery, I never gave myself a chance to heal up like it should have. I pushed it to get back. After August, I had given it a chance to heal up and I wanted to see if I could still do it. It’s something that I love. I want to do it as long as I can still do it.

“If something breaks down on me, then I’ll retire. But the good Lord has not arranged that yet.

“I’m not here to trick or fool anybody. I’m here to help contribute. If I can’t do that, I’ll go home. I’m not here to try to hang on or do anything like that.”

The Padres seem like a good team for Langston. He was born in San Diego, although his family moved to Santa Clara before he was 1 and he grew up there. At least San Diego isn’t far from his home in Anaheim Hills.

“This is probably the second-best situation I could imagine,” Langston said. “The team has a chance to win. That’s really important, to get that opportunity to win. They’ve got some talented young players.”

And they have a consistent older player in Langston, who is third among active players in strikeouts.

He said his velocity has been good, and so has his breaking ball. But he tweaked his left shoulder throwing batting practice over the weekend, and his first start of spring training, scheduled for today, has been postponed.

There’s also the possibility that his left arm can be perfectly fine and the Padres will still decide he isn’t right for them.

“That’s fine,” Langston said. “I can live with that. I know that if I’m coming in here, working hard, if they don’t see that I’m one of the guys that can contribute to the club, I can live with that. I know I’ve worked hard. I’ve done all that.

“You adjust accordingly. I really feel I can help this team if my health is there. If it’s not, then I won’t be here. I’ll think about that scenario when it comes to it.

“This is something that I love. You want to do it as long as you have the opportunity to do it. When it’s over, it’s over. There’s no opportunity when it’s all said and done, no take a year off, two years off and say, ‘I can do it two years from now.’ Uh-uh.

“If it doesn’t work out, then I know I’ve given it every opportunity, every chance. Then it’s time to go spend time with my family.

“I know I’ve worked hard. I’ve had a very blessed and fortunate career. I would have no problem walking away from the game of baseball. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll miss it. I’ll miss being part of the fraternity, being part of being in the locker room, going out and competing at the elite level. I’ll miss that, but I’ll know that everybody’s time comes to an end somewhere.”

Sometimes, even in spring training.