Konerko Welcomes Chance to Compete

It might have been lost amid the bigger names and bigger money, but Paul Konerko, the minor league player of the year in 1997 and the latest in a succession of can’t-miss Dodger phenoms, was traded for the second time in four months last week.

The Cincinnati Reds, who had acquired Konerko and Dennis Reyes from the Dodgers in the July 4 trade that sent closer Jeff Shaw to Los Angeles, sent Konerko to the Chicago White Sox for young center fielder Mike Cameron.

The first trade was a shock, leaving Konerko with the feeling that he never had a legitimate shot at a permanent position with the Dodgers. This second trade was one he requested.

“There was just no place for me to play with the Reds,” Konerko said. “In some ways it was tougher than L.A. because I came in late to a situation where they were already going with young players and the mind-set was that they had to give those players their at-bats. I actually saw more action in L.A.”

The Reds returned Konerko to triple A, where he clearly has nothing more to prove. In 63 games at the minor league level last year, he hit .346 with 65 runs batted in and 14 homers. In 75 part-time games with the Dodgers and Reds, he hit .217 with seven homers and 29 RBIs. The White Sox’s plan is to keep Frank Thomas as the designated hitter while using Konerko in a first-base platoon initially with switch-hitting Greg Norton. Konerko could also play some at third base if Robin Ventura leaves as a free agent. Konerko, who went from catcher to first base to third base to left field with the Dodgers, hopes to find a home at first base, where he is the most comfortable.

The uncertainty of when and where he was going to play, he said by phone from Arizona, wore on him last year, compounding the expectations and inherent pressures as a rookie. Obviously, he said, “there are things I have to work on and adjustments I have to make, but last year was the first time I’ve ever experienced a situation where I knew that if I didn’t get a couple hits, I wouldn’t play the next day. It was hard for me to distinguish whether I was at fault or a victim of the situation. I think even the best hitters would find it difficult to produce playing only once or twice a week.”

Konerko, of course, was the season-opening first baseman but knew it was temporary, pending the return of Eric Karros.

“Nothing is ever given to you,” he said. “I know it has to be earned. I’ve just never been in a situation where I have a legitimate chance to compete for the first-base job, and I hope that’s what I get with the White Sox.”

The Dodgers, under previous administrations, have been accused of inflating the potential of their young players. Konerko created his own inflation with his minor league stats. He said he has no bitterness about the Dodger experience, only the feeling that “it ended prematurely. I wanted to do something for the organization and think I could have. I think if Fred Claire was the general manager, I’d still be there, but it was a learning experience. I learned a whole lot about the business, and I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.

“I learned how other people can change positions and it can affect your whole life. Fred was fired and Tommy [Lasorda] traded me, and now Tommy isn’t in that position either. As it turned out, the whole thing strikes me as being meaningless. I mean, the trade didn’t work out any better for me, and L.A. didn’t make the playoffs. If one or the other had happened, it would have seemed more meaningful.”

The Dodgers, of course, retain Shaw, a top closer. Konerko? Well, still only 22, he remains confident his time will come.

“I’m hopeful that five years from now,” he said, “people will say, ‘Well, he’s another of those guys the Dodgers had who became successful with another team.’ There have been quite a few.”

FEELING A DRAFT

The Dodger signings of free agents Devon White and Alan Mills fill two needs at the major league level but carry a high price in addition to the respective price tags of $12.4 million and $6.5 million. In the statistical rankings that determine free-agent compensation, White was a Class-A free agent and Mills a Class B, which means the Dodgers, at a time when they are trying to rebuild a barren farm system, will lose their first-round pick in next summer’s amateur draft to the Arizona Diamondbacks (White’s former club) and their second-round pick to the Baltimore Orioles (Mills’ former club).

This will be the first time since the 1991 draft that the Dodgers will be without a selection in the first two rounds. Their signings of free agents Darryl Strawberry and Kevin Gross during the previous winter resulted in the loss of their top two picks that year.

The signing of another ranked free agent could cost the Dodgers a third draft choice in next summer’s draft. That might not be a prime consideration in the pursuit of Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown or Mo Vaughn, but it definitely is on a lesser scale.

Left-hander Dennis Cook, for instance, would provide balance to an all right-handed bullpen and interests the Dodgers, but Cook, reportedly seeking a three-year, $7-million contract, is also a Class-A free agent. However, if the New York Mets, Cook’s 1998 team, fail to offer him arbitration by Dec. 7, he could be signed by another team without the signing team losing a draft pick.

THAT’S RICH

With an array of major signings still to come, many in baseball continue to shake their heads over the financial excesses of this winter. It is difficult to determine which signing has caused the greatest consternation, but the winner so far may be Brian Bohanon.

The veteran left-hander, 25-30 overall, turned two good months with the Dodgers into that three-year, $9-million contract with the Colorado Rockies.

Manager Jim Leyland suggested, however, that it might be a bargain.

“I think he’s one of those late-blooming left-handers, like [Al] Leiter was for us in Florida,” Leyland said.

“He’s a guy who is coming into his own. If he pitches the way I think he can, after three years he’ll be a steal.”