Pierre, Dodgers make deal official

Gene Clines already has earned his first Dodgers paycheck even though he hasn’t talked to a single minor leaguer since being hired a couple of weeks ago as the roving outfield and base-running instructor.

He helped persuade free-agent center fielder Juan Pierre to sign with the Dodgers.

Pierre’s five-year, $44-million deal became official Wednesday, and on a conference call from his hometown of Alexandria, La., he credited his former batting coach with the Chicago Cubs.

“Gene Clines and I developed a real strong bond,” Pierre said. “He talked to me about the [Dodgers] organization.”

Another key factor in Pierre’s choosing the Dodgers over the San Francisco Giants was General Manager Ned Colletti’s willingness to make a five-year offer. The Giants reportedly were only willing to go four years.

“I’ve long admired how he plays the game,” Colletti said. “He comes highly recommended from people who know him. He gets on base a lot and gets a lot of hits.”

Actually, he gets on base a lot only because he rarely misses a game and usually bats leadoff.

Pierre has played in 162 games in each of the last four seasons and has more hits than any major leaguer besides Ichiro Suzuki the last six years, but he rarely walks. His on-base percentage was only .328 the last two years, well below average for a top-of-the-order table-setter.

Pierre led the National League with 204 hits last season yet made a staggering 495 outs -- a number that grows to 515 when adding the 20 times he was caught stealing. Among last year’s Dodgers, only Rafael Furcal even had 500 at-bats.

Another potentially misleading statistic is Pierre’s fielding percentage of 1.000 last season. He made no errors but had only five assists because his arm is below average.

Pierre, 29, will earn $7.5 million next season, $8 million in 2008, $10 million each in 2009 and 2010, and $8.5 million in 2011.

Although Pierre has batted leadoff most of his career, he said he would be willing to bat second behind Furcal.

“Me and Furcal have been going at it since low-A ball in the backwoods of Carolina,” Pierre said. “I’ve hit leadoff most of my career. It doesn’t matter, wherever I can fit in. I’d probably be most comfortable hitting leadoff, but I have no problem hitting somewhere else in the lineup.”

Like Furcal, Pierre is a threat to steal whenever he does reach base. He has 325 stolen bases and has finished first or second in the NL each of the last six seasons. But again there is a downside -- he has been caught stealing 116 times.

steve.henson@latimes.com