Padres Pursuing Cub Broadcaster for No. 2 Spot

As if it hasn’t been enough this winter to spread new stars throughout their lineup, the Padres appear ready to open their wallets and make room for one in the broadcast booth.

According to Chicago Cubs announcer Dewayne Staats, the Padres got serious Wednesday about attempting to hire him to fill their No. 2 announcer spot, phoning to say they would “love” for the top young talent to join their team.

“They called me (Wednesday) and said it would be really nice if I could come there, that they would love to have me,” said Staats, 36, currently one of Harry Caray’s foils on WGN national cable television and radio. “They never actually talked money--we both kind of danced around it--but for the first time I referred them to my agent (Gil Engler), and I’m sure they are talking money right now. This thing is going to get interesting.”

Said Padre Broadcast Director Jim Winters: “We have talked to Dewayne and expressed our interest, but there’s been no offer made.”

Winters’ call to Staats came one day after the revelation that Winters’ reported top pick, New York announcer Gary Thorne, was close to accepting a job broadcasting the Chicago White White Sox. League sources confirmed Thursday that Thorne was indeed going to join White Sox flagship station WMAQ. Dave Pearlman, station vice president and general manager, would only confirm that “there will be an announcement Friday.”

After Staats, the next name on Winters’ list reportedly is Gary Cohen, a broadcaster for the triple-A Pawtucket (R.I.) Red Sox. Cohen, 30, has no steady major league experience, having announced minor league baseball for two seasons.

“All I can say is I’ve submitted a tape and resume, let’s leave it at that,” Cohen said.

This leaves Staats, who has backing throughout the organization because of his potential to eventually replace No. 1 announcer Jerry Coleman and become an equally strong leading man, as the most logical pick.

Winters’ Wednesday phone call to Staats was the Padres first contact with him since Staats flew here and met with team officials last week. While it was said to have been a good meeting, Staats departed feeling the Padres could not hire him because of money.

“We had a very nice lunch, but it never got any further than them saying, ‘Here’s how much we were thinking about paying’ and then asking ‘How much would you require?’ ” Staats said. “That’s where it was left.”

That’s because the Padres were reportedly offering a reasonable No. 2 announcer’s salary (around $125,000) while Staats was interested in a No. 1 salary (more along the lines of $200,000) because he would be groomed to replace Coleman when Coleman retires. Coleman will be 65 next year and might retire following the 1991 season, when his new 3-year contract expires.

“I can’t take a pay cut to go there,” said Staats, currently making around $170,000 a year with a year remaining on his WGN contract. “I love my current position, the people here have done everything they’ve promised, I’m not going to run away from them. But I love San Diego, and if everything can be right for me and my family, I would have to consider it.”

Apparently, following the surprise decision of Thorne, the Padres may suddenly be willing to make things right, even if it would also likely mean an increase for Coleman.

“We’re going to get the best possible man,” Winters promised. “We aren’t going to just lavish money on anybody, but we will get the best man for the job.”

Staats, who began his work as a professional broadcaster while still a student at tiny Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in the early ‘70s, was the play-by-play man for the Houston Astros from 1977 through 1984 before joining WGN and the Cubs. He was first contacted by Winters last month, after the Padre official received permission from WGN. While Staats said it would be difficult to leave Chicago, he is not an automatic pick to replace Caray when the Chicago institution finally retires, considering that the Cubs announcing team also contains veteran Steve Stone.

“I’ve always said there were only two places I’d move my family from Chicago--to San Diego or North Carolina,” Staats said. “And North Carolina doesn’t have baseball . . . “

Coleman, likened to a “national treasure” by Winters, admitted that whoever was hired would be groomed as his replacement.

“I’m no kid,” Coleman said. “I’m not thinking about retiring, but sometimes they retire you.”

It was long assumed that Coleman’s eventual replacement would be Dave Campbell. But 2 months ago, Campbell’s contract was not renewed, ending his 11-year broadcasting association with the club and putting the Padres in this highly publicized mess in the first place.

Campbell still has not found work. With the fan outrage over his dismissal now quieted, he has settled down to a not-so-pleasant Christmas.

“I’ve gone through the anger stage, I’ve gone through the depression stage and now . . . it’s out of my hands,” Campbell said earlier this week. “I’m not a terribly religious person, but I’ve realized there must be a plan for my life . . . I just don’t know what it is.”

Campbell thought he was close to obtaining a job with Montreal but has heard nothing from the Expos, the White Sox, the New York Mets or any other big league club to which he has applied.

“I used to always read about stress, but never knew what it meant until now,” Campbell said. “Right after my firing, I would go around my house from one room to another, always forgetting where I was going. I was really scared my brain was going bad.”

Campbell said he has since accepted his situation, and is waiting for 1989 to make another move.

“If I don’t have a job by the first weeks of next year, I’m going to have to pursue some things locally,” Campbell said. “I don’t understand what is happening around the league, how I can’t get noticed by anybody, but I’ll just have to make the best of it.”

Padre Notes

The Padre offices--and Manager/General Manager Jack McKeon’s phones--will be locked up next week. “I think everybody around the league is taking a holiday break, and that’s fine, I will too,” said McKeon, who hopes to re-open trade talks with teams in the first week in January. Look for him to continue to discuss, in order, Atlanta slugger Dale Murphy, New York Yankee third baseman Mike Pagliarulo and third baseman Jim Presley and reliever Mike Schooler of Seattle. . . . Earlier this week, the Houston Astros made a move that could eventually affect the Padres. They did not offer a contract to veteran third baseman Buddy Bell. Look for the Padres to talk seriously with Bell if talks for other third baseman fall through. . . . Former Padre catcher Bruce Bochy will make his managing debut this season for the club’s rookie league team in Spokane. Former Padre bullpen catcher Ron Oglesby will make his pitching coach debut for the club’s Class A team in Charleston, S.C. The other minor league coaching change of note will occur in double-A Wichita, where the organization’s top young pitching coach, Gary Lance, is being moved up from class A to work with, among others, national No. 1 draft pick Andy Benes.