Angels Will Give Finley $2.5 Million : Baseball: Pitcher had filed at $2.8 million; Angels offered $1.75 million. Agreement on one-year contract came hours before arbitration hearing was to begin.

Money didn’t grow on the trees Chuck Finley tended each summer on his father’s farm and nursery in Monroe, La. Finley went to the big leagues to seek his fortune, and he found it Thursday when he agreed to a one-year contract with the Angels that will pay him $2.5 million.

Finley, whose 34 victories the past two seasons are the most by an Angel pitcher during that time, agreed to terms shortly before his scheduled arbitration hearing in Chicago. He had filed at $2.8 million; the Angels offered $1.75 million.

Finley, a 28-year-old left-hander, had a strong case. He led the Angels with 18 victories last season, finished second only to Boston’s Roger Clemens with an earned-run average of 2.40 and ranked among the league leaders in complete games, innings pitched and strikeouts. Despite settling for less than he sought in arbitration, Finley still more than tripled his 1990 earnings. He was paid $725,000 last season and received $75,000 in bonuses.

Finley was returning from Chicago and could not be reached for comment.

“By my judgment, it’s in line with the current market,” Angel General Manager Mike Port said of Finley’s salary. “It is a substantial amount, and given the circumstances (a settlement that seemingly favors Finley), few will appreciate the fine job done by Dan O’Brien.”

O’Brien, the Angels’ senior vice president for baseball operations, does much of the club’s contract negotiating. He was in Chicago on Thursday to meet with Finley’s agent, Alan Hendricks, and also was unavailable for comment.

Hendricks combined with his brother, Randy, in the past week to negotiate lucrative deals for Clemens and Toronto’s Kelly Gruber, and win a record arbitration judgment of $3,335,000 for Pittsburgh’s Doug Drabek on Thursday.

Finley starts 1991 with the fourth-highest Angel salary. Mark Langston tops the payroll at $3.25 million, followed by outfielder Dave Winfield at $3.2 million, newcomer Gary Gaetti at $2.7 million, Finley $2.5 million and catcher Lance Parrish at $2.25 million.

Finley’s deal also gives the Angels a high-priced pitching rotation. Kirk McCaskill agreed to a $2.1-million contract last week, and the extension given Bert Blyleven last season calls for a 1991 salary of $1.75 million. The bargain is Jim Abbott, who earned $185,000 last season and can be renewed at a comparatively low salary because he has only two years of major league service.

The Angels might not have saved much money by settling with Finley before a hearing, but club President Richard Brown said he was pleased with the agreement.

“Under the system, and that’s a capital ‘S,’ he’s being compensated very fairly,” Brown said. “I’d much rather settle than go to arbitration, because sometimes there’s hard feelings when you go to arbitration. It does my heart good to know we settled.”

The remaining arbitration case facing the Angels involves third baseman Jack Howell. He filed at $835,000, to the Angels’ $652,500, and is scheduled for a hearing next Thursday in Chicago. The club has gone through a hearing only with first baseman Wally Joyner, whose award of $2.1 million was a record until Drabek eclipsed it Thursday.

While Port hates seeing his players’ salaries skyrocket, he understands why players are plundering owners’ vaults.

“If I was on the other side of this desk, I’d be doing the same thing,” he said.

But the money to pay these salaries will have to come from somewhere. Before signing free-agent Gaetti to a four-year, $11.4-million contract and completing the deals that made a millionaire of Bryan Harvey and a two-millionaire of McCaskill, they raised ticket prices and season parking fees for 1991. Most seats will cost $1 more, with field and club box seats rising $2 to $11.

According to Brown, the Angels were not among the eight to 10 teams Commissioner Fay Vincent said had lost money last season. Brown would not reveal the Angels’ 1990 profits but said the club is feeling the pinch of salary escalation.

“It means the reasonable profit the owners (Gene and Jackie Autry) expect will now be unreasonable,” Brown said. “We want to put a winning ball team on the field, and we’ve made every effort in the off-season to produce a winning ballclub. However, we would like to return some profit to the owners, who have put it back into the team.

“This year, there will be a lot less to put back into the team. Obviously, there’s going to be substantially less profit.”

Angel Notes

Conditioning coach Jimmie Reese, who missed most of last season after experiencing heart problems, is scheduled to return to work this season. Reese, 86, will be at the Angels’ Mesa, Ariz., training base next week. . . . Long-time third-base coach Moose Stubing, who was fired after last season, might return as a scout. An Angel spokesman confirmed that Stubing is being considered for a scouting job but said no plans have been set. . . . According to Baseball America, the Major League Scouting Bureau determined that there were only 20 major league prospects among the Angels’ 1990 farm hands.

Paying for Play Since he became a major leaguer during the 1986 season, Angel pitcher Chuck Finley has gone about improving his statistics--and then his pay. 1987 pay: $77,000: 1986 statistics: 3-1, 3.30 ERA 1988 pay: $111,000: 1987 statistics: 2-7, 4.67 ERA 1989 pay: $180,000: 1988 statistics: 9-15, 4.17 ERA 1990 pay: $800,000: 1989 statistics: 16-9, 2.57 ERA 1991 pay: $2.5 million: 1990 statistics: 18.9, 2.40 ERA Finley becomse the fourth-highest-paid Angel. Pitcher mark Langston will make $3.25 million this season, outfelder Dave Winfield $3.2 million and third baseman Gary Gaetti $2.7 million.

The Angels’ starting pitching rotation has three $2-million men. Langston ($3.25-million salary in 1991), Finley ($2.5 million) and Kirk McCaskill($2.11 million). Bert Blyleven will earn $1.75 million. Jim Abbott should be the bargain: his salary isn’t yet determined, but he made only 185,000 in 1990 and can be renewed at the club’s discretion.

Source: California Angels