Abbott Reaches End of Line With Angels

The once-magic but now-tragic Angel career of Jim Abbott ended ingloriously Monday when the team released the struggling pitcher, swallowing the remaining $5.6 million on his contract and severing ties with one of the most popular players in franchise history.

Abbott, who in 1996 suffered through a 2-18 season with a 7.48 earned-run average, was given the choice of returning to the Angels’ triple-A team at Vancouver or being released.

After spending the last week at his Newport Beach home with his wife and 3 1/2-month-old daughter, Abbott decided he didn’t want to live the uncertain existence of a minor leaguer.

The left-hander with an 80-100 record and 4.11 ERA in eight seasons stopped short of announcing his retirement, but if he tries a comeback with another club, he said it will be on his terms.

“To go back to the mound and pitch now would be to go back out on a limb and expose myself to a lot of the hurt,” Abbott, 29, said. “That’s not stopping me from playing. I’m not afraid of failure.

“But I really, really wanted to be on the Angels and do well for them. And going somewhere else, where I don’t care as much for the people and the area, is not as appealing for me at this time.”

Abbott, who reached the major leagues despite having been born without a right hand, said his release might have been best.

“I feel that if I’m not a contributing member to the Angels on the major league level, then I’m a distraction to the organization and they need to move away from that,” Abbott said. “I don’t want to be a martyr or anything, but I felt my presence was a disturbance to both sides.”

Will he ever pitch again?

“I don’t know,” he said. “I think I can, and I believe that in my heart. I worked really hard this winter and spring and felt I made some positive steps . . . but my family is most important at this time of my life.

“I don’t want to sacrifice other priorities right now, and I think being away from them for an extended period of time is not in my best interest.”

General Manager Bill Bavasi described the decision to cut Abbott as emotional and painful.

“But this is part of the game,” he said. “We don’t like releasing anyone who has more time on a guaranteed contract--we don’t like throwing away money--but we’re doing the right thing.”

Pitcher Chuck Finley said a break from the game is exactly what Abbott needs.

“I thought he’d bounce back, as strong as he is, but maybe he can take a year off and then come back strong,” Finley said. “You hate to lose a player of Jim’s quality, but sometimes these things happen. He had the positiveness you want to see in people. He’s done some amazing things.”

One of them was going directly from the University of Michigan to the U.S. Olympic team to the Angels--completely bypassing the minor leagues--in less than a year.

Times staff writer Lon Eubanks contributed to this story.

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Abbott’s Career

A look at the career of Jim Abbott, released by the Angels on Monday.

* 1988: Signed by the Angels after stellar college career at Michigan. Also pitched U.S. team to gold medal in 1988 Summer Olympics and won the Sullivan Award, given annually to the nation’s top amateur athlete.

* 1989: Became only the 15th player since the free-agent draft was begun in 1965 to make professional debut in the majors. Finished rookie season 12-12, the first Angel rookie to win more than 10 games since Willie Fraser in 1987.

* 1991: Had best season in the majors with 18-11 record. Third in Cy Young Award voting behind Roger Clemens and Kevin Tapani.

* 1992: Struggled to a 7-15 record, but the real news occurred after the season. In December, after talks for a long-term contract broke down, Abbott was traded to the New York Yankees for J.T. Snow and pitchers Russ Springer and Jerry Nielsen.

* 1993: Pitched no-hitter for Yankees amid 11-14 season.

* 1994: Did not re-sign with the Yankees after a 9-8 record.

* 1995: Signed with the Chicago White Sox in April as a free agent, but was traded to the Angels for four minor leaguers after a 6-4 start. Finished the season 5-4 with the Angels.

* 1996: In January, Abbott signed a three-year, $7.8-million deal to stay with the Angels. The season, however, was a disaster. Abbott was sent to the minors for the first time in his career en route to a 2-18 record.