Yount Signs 3-Year Pact With Brewers : Baseball: The Angels lost their bid to sign the American League MVP despite a rumored $16-million 5-year contract offer. Dodgers also left out.

American League MVP Robin Yount today agreed to a three-year contract to remain with the Milwaukee Brewers, the team he has played for since 1974.

Yount’s decision ends speculation that the two-time MVP would accept a lucrative offer from the Angels. Previous reports said the Angels had offered Yount more than the $16-million five-year contract they offered pitcher Mark Langston.

Other teams reportedly interested in Yount were the Dodgers, the Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays.

The Brewers announced that the 34-year-old Yount has agreed to stay with the team through the 1992 season. Terms of the contract were not released, but previous reports said the Brewers had offered more than $3 million a year.

The Milwaukee Journal reported in today’s editions that Yount would receive about $9.6 million over the span of the contract.

“I’m delighted to sign with the team I’ve played for throughout my entire career, and I’m especially grateful for all the Milwaukee and Wisconsin fan support the past two months as well as during my 16 years in Milwaukee,” Yount said in a prepared statement.

“I’m looking forward to being with the Brewers for the next three years in our effort to win a world championship,” he added.

Yount batted .318 with 21 home runs and 103 RBIs in 1989 and has a career average of .292 with 208 home runs. This summer, he became the fifth youngest player in baseball history to reach 2,500 hits.

Yount, who filed for free agency Nov. 10, reached an agreement with the Brewers after extensive negotiations between Brewer President Bud Selig and Larry Yount, Robin’s brother and agent.

“Robin has been a very important member of the team for years, and we’re extremely happy to have him continue his career with us,” Selig said.

Brewers General Manager Harry Dalton said the delay before Yount rendered his decision made the Brewers management nervous.

“The longer the delay, the more concern I had that he might be seriously considering going somewhere else,” Dalton said.

The Brewers and a circuit judge in Milwaukee organized a letter-writing campaign last month, urging children to write Yount and ask him to choose Milwaukee over California.

Dalton conceded that the Brewers would have had a hard time replacing Yount.

“You wouldn’t have replaced him in kind,” Dalton said. “You could get someone to replace him in center field, but there aren’t many Robin Younts throughout baseball.”

Dalton said Yount’s performance on the field is only one facet of his importance to the team.

“First, his physical contributions as an everyday player are outstanding. He’s a .300 hitter and a fine defensive outfielder,” Dalton said. “But in addition, he plays every day. . . . His work ethic is an example for the entire ball club.”

Yount broke in with the Brewers in 1974 as a long-haired 18-year-old shortstop.

He quickly became a stalwart in the Brewers lineup and was AL MVP and a Gold Glove winner in 1982 when he led the Brewers to the AL pennant. Milwaukee lost the World Series to St. Louis in seven games that year.

After recurring elbow problems, Yount was moved to center field in 1985, where he has starred for the Brewers since.

His 1989 statistics allowed Yount to win his second MVP award, joining Stan Musial and Hank Greenberg as the only players to be MVPs at two positions. He also became the first AL winner to play on a team without a winning record. The Brewers were 81-81 in 1989.