February 18, 1998|By Joe Strauss | Joe Strauss,SUN STAFF
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Details of Orioles outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds' incentives were reported incorrectly yesterday. Hammonds can earn up to $225,000 annually in appearance incentives in the second and third seasons of his three-year, $7 million contract. Hammonds will make $75,000 each for 400, 500 and 600 plate appearances each season.
The Sun regrets the error.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Completing his rise from perennial trade fodder to a player in the club's future, outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds sidestepped a potentially hurtful arbitration hearing with the Orioles by agreeing yesterday to a three-year, $7 million contract.
FOR THE RECORD - CORRECTION
The Orioles announced the deal shortly before a five-man team, including general manager Pat Gillick and assistant general manager Kevin Malone, was to argue against Hammonds in a Phoenix meeting room.
Hammonds planned to attend the hearing. Given a breakthrough 1997 season in which he hit 21 home runs, stole 15 bases and scored 71 runs in 397 at-bats, Hammonds had submitted a bid for $1.85 million for the 1998 season; the club had offered $1.3 million.
"That's a nasty thing whether you're there or not. You have to present the negative side of a guy as well as the positive," said manager Ray Miller of a process that sometimes scars a relationship between a club and its player.
Gillick and Hammonds' agent, Jeff Moorad, had discussed the framework for a deal since last month but arrived in Phoenix at a seeming impasse. Moorad summoned Gillick and Malone from the meeting 15 minutes after its scheduled start to accept the deal. "It was literally an 11th-hour deal," Moorad said.
Hammonds relented on his first-year demands -- he accepted $1.25 million and a $250,000 signing bonus -- but was rewarded with $2.4 million and $3.1 million guaranteed in 1999 and 2000. He can earn up to $775,000 in appearance incentives in each of the last two years and will receive $250,000 if traded.
"Jeffrey and I are very pleased with the result," Moorad said yesterday afternoon. "We're appreciative of Peter Angelos and the organization stepping up with a contract that sets the stage for his continued development with the Orioles."
The Orioles have only three contracts left to finalize, including an arbitration hearing that looms tomorrow with outfielder Tony Tarasco. Tarasco, projected as a sixth outfielder, is seeking $485,000 compared to the club's offer of $340,000.
Gillick offered little hope for an early resolution of that case.
Yesterday's deal allows the Orioles to keep Hammonds through 2000, which postpones his eligibility for free agency by one year. Its structure also implies the roster's changing personality after the coming season.
Miller projects B. J. Surhoff, Brady Anderson and Eric Davis as his starting outfield. Joe Carter may also split time between the outfield and designated hitter duties, further crimping Hammonds' time. However, Carter, who turns 38 in a few weeks, says this is his last season; Davis, who turns 36 in May, also is on a one-year contract.
"This year we have Eric Davis and Joe Carter, and those guys will have an impact on Jeffrey's playing time," Gillick said. "But both those guys' contracts are up after this year, and we anticipate Jeffrey's role will grow."
Added Miller: "He's been injured and fighting for playing time and might have a little less playing time if everybody else stays healthy this year. [His role] might be a little reduced, but with that financial security behind him, you might have a better guy to work with."
The contract's structure also allows the club to maintain a financial hierarchy within the clubhouse. Surhoff is to make $1.3 million plus incentives this season.
Hammonds served an important role on a veteran team rife with injuries last season. He began the year in center field while Anderson was limited to DH duty with a cracked rib. Shortly after Anderson began playing defense, Hammonds shifted to right field when Davis was found to have colon cancer. Davis did not play from May 25 to Sept. 15. Hammonds established career highs in games played (118), home runs and RBIs (55), and enjoyed three multiple home run games.
Hammonds' average crested at .301 on June 10, three days before Davis underwent surgery.
Bothered by a sore knee, a strained rib-cage muscle and a strained left Achilles', Hammonds' playing time withered along with his average in the second half. He hit .185 after July 22, dropping his average from .300 to .264, and drove in only 13 runs after July.
By season's end, manager Davey Johnson attributed Hammonds' sporadic playing time to his health, a contention the player disputed. Playing behind Davis and Geronimo Berroa, Hammonds received only 13 at-bats during the postseason, batting .077 with two RBIs.
One of only two current position players developed by the organization, the Orioles drafted Hammonds with the fourth overall pick of the 1992 draft. The club tried to trade him last spring during its push for free agent Hideki Irabu. The Philadelphia Phillies also have a long-standing interest.
Pub Date: 2/18/98
