Salaries See Rare Decrease

Baseball salaries went down in 2004 for the first time in a decade and only the third time since record-keeping began nearly 40 years ago.

The average dropped 2.5% to $2,313,535, according to final figures released Tuesday by the Major League Baseball Players Assn. The average had been $2,372,189 in 2003.

Since the union started keeping track in 1967, the only previous decreases had been an $86 drop in 1987, when owners were found to have conspired to hold down salaries among free agents, and a 4% decline in 1995, after a 7 1/2 -month strike that wiped out the World Series for the first time since 1904.

The union has spent the last two years trying to determine whether to file a new collusion grievance but has not taken action. Union head Donald Fehr said he hadn’t determined what to attribute the drop to.

“Obviously, we’ve been looking at things closely the last couple of years and we’ll have to see how things play out,” he said. “It’s too early to tell.”

There was no spending drop for the New York Yankees, who established a record with a $6.38-million average, more than $1.4 million above the previous mark they set two years ago.

The World Series champion Boston Red Sox were second at $3.71 million.

The $2.67-million gap between the Yankees and the Red Sox was greater than the averages for 20 of the 30 major league teams.

The Angels were third at $3.64 million, followed by the Chicago Cubs ($3.5 million), the New York Mets ($3.34 million), the Dodgers ($3.29 million) and Atlanta ($3.27 million).

St. Louis, which won the National League pennant, was ninth at $3.19 million.

The Angels climbed to third from 14th in 2003, while Seattle dropped from fifth to 16th, Texas from ninth to 21st and Arizona from 11th to 22nd.

Pittsburgh had the lowest average, $917,126, just below Milwaukee ($1.04 million) and Tampa Bay ($1.1 million).

The survey was based on the 927 players on Aug. 31 rosters.

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The New York Yankees finalized their $4-million, two-year contract with second baseman Tony Womack.

Womack, 35, hit .307 with five homers and 38 runs batted in last season for the St. Louis Cardinals. He set career bests with a .349 on-base percentage and a .385 slugging percentage.

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Catcher Ben Davis and the Chicago White Sox agreed on a $1-million, one-year deal, one day after the team cut him by failing to offer a 2005 contract.... Former All-Star pitcher Jeff Zimmerman agreed to a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers.... Third baseman Joe Randa agreed Tuesday to a $2.15-million, one-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds.... Catcher Todd Greene and right-hander Jamey Wright agreed to one-year contracts with the Colorado Rockies, and utilityman Greg Norton agreed to a minor league deal.... Reliever Amaury Telemaco agreed to a $600,000, one-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.... Left-hander Wayne Franklin and the San Francisco Giants agreed on a one-year contract.