Second baseman Ryne Sandberg said Sunday he wants a long-term contract of five years or more to stay with the Cubs and hopes a deal can be worked out by next weekend.
Sandberg reported to spring training camp three days early. Pitchers and catchers have been in camp since Friday, but position players aren`t due in until Wednesday. Eight position players, including Sandberg, have reported early and are working out on their own.
”I`m just happy to be back on the field and be over here playing again,” said Sandberg, who lives in nearby Phoenix during the off-season.
”It was a lot tougher just being home and away from baseball and to have this distraction.”
That distraction, of course, has been the hubbub about Sandberg`s future. He is entering the last year of a six-year contract and will be eligible to become a free agent after the season unless the Cubs sign him to a new deal.
Technically, talks could continue until next fall and Sandberg could sign at any time. But the only major-league second baseman to win nine Gold Gloves in his first nine seasons has instructed his agent, Jim Turner, to break off negotiations unless a contract is signed by March 1.
”I feel that`s when the season starts for me. I don`t want any distractions,” Sandberg said after some running and stretching.
Money doesn`t appear to be the biggest obstacle, despite the staggering salary explosion of recent years. Sandberg probably should command at least $6 million a year, considering that Bobby Bonilla recently signed with the New York Mets for five years at an average of $5.9 million a year. Bonilla has a lower batting average than Sandberg since breaking into the majors in 1986, has 29 fewer home runs during those years and has never won a Gold Glove, while Sandberg never has failed to win one.
Sandberg wants to be paid well, but insists the length of his contract is more important than the value.
”I`m looking for security for my family and for myself,” he said.
”It`s important for me that I know where my family is going to be next year, two years, three years.
Sandberg, however, turns 33 in September. The Cubs have to decide whether it is in their long-term interest to sign a player who, while still great, could be past his prime.
Cubs General Manager Larry Himes has said repeatedly he wants to keep Sandberg.
Himes said Sandberg was one of those rare players, like teammate Andre Dawson, who could be expected to excel long beyond the age when most athletes have passed their primes.
”One of the real factors with long-term contracts is the kind of body that a guy has-what you`re going to end up with,” Himes said. ”Looking at him, I don`t think you`re going to have a problem. He always keeps himself in top condition during the off-season.”
Sandberg has denied he ever gave the Cubs a ”pay-me-or-trade-me”
ultimatum, but Sunday he refused to rule out the possibility he might leave Chicago. Sandberg is a 5-and-10-year man, meaning he has been in the major leagues 10 years, five of them with the same team, and has the right to veto any trades.
Asked point-blank if he wanted to play for the Cubs the rest of his career, Sandberg said: ”It`s one of the teams I`d like to play for. That`s safe, isn`t it?”
Sandberg`s caution is caused by the confusion surrounding his contract. He doesn`t understand why the Cubs-or, more specifically, Tribune Co.-hasn`t signed him or given long-term contracts to other proven veterans.
Pitcher Greg Maddux, for example, recently signed a one-year deal worth $4.2 million and said he was ready to make a long-term deal but the Cubs refused to do it.
A quiet man, Sandberg vented some of his frustrations last weekend when he said he was disappointed that new Cubs manager Jim Lefebvre, who lives just a few miles from Sandberg during the off-season, never bothered to call him during the winter.
Both Sandberg and Lefebvre dismissed those remarks Sunday. They met at Fitch Park, the Cubs` training site, and had a friendly chat.
”I talked to him. I`m impressed,” Sandberg said.
Lefebvre explained he had tried to call Sandberg several weeks ago, but was unable to make contact. Then, when the contract situation began to get sticky, Himes asked Lefebvre to hold off his calls until the paperwork could be settled.
Besides Sandberg, the other position players who have reported are shortstops Shawon Dunston and Alex Arias, third basemen Gary Scott and Doug Strange, first baseman Mark Grace and outfielders Doug Dascenzo and Jerome Walton.
