They Are Running Out of Options : Abundance of Players Hurts Lansford, Davis and Hinshaw

YUMA, Ariz. —  Being the younger brother of Oakland’s Carney Lansford has created identity problems for Padre first base hopeful Joe Lansford.

At an exhibition game last year in Phoenix, a spectator “recognized” Lansford in the on-deck circle.

“Carney,” the fan said. “May I have your autograph?”

“I’m not Carney” Lansford said.

“Sorry, Rick,” the fan replied.

“He thought I was Rick Langford (of Oakland) when he found out I wasn’t my brother,” Lansford said. “The fan had the wrong team, the wrong colors and the wrong guys.”

The experience is a microcosm of Lansford’s career. In six professional seasons, he simply has not been able to make a name for himself.

And this season, Lansford may well find himself in another organization because he does not have any options left with San Diego. If the Padres do not keep him on their 25-man roster, another team could buy him for the waiver price of $25,000.

Two other Padre prospects are nearing Lansford’s situation. Outfielder Jerry Davis and third baseman George Hinshaw have one option left before the Padres might lose them.

Lansford came close to making the major league roster after an impressive 1982 spring training. In fact, the final roster decision came down to keeping Eric Show as a 10th pitcher or Lansford to platoon with Broderick Perkins at first base. Show stayed.

Davis was the last player cut by the Padres in 1984. And though Hinshaw has never come that close to making the team, he has a .355 major league average in 31 September at-bats.

“It’s not as easy for players to make this ballclub now,” Manager Dick Williams said. “We have a different type ballclub than three years ago. Then, we were a last-place ballclub hunting for players. Now, we have an abundance of players.”

Obviously, the situation only makes things more difficult for Lansford, Davis and Hinshaw.

Lansford, 24, was a first-round selection of the Padres in 1979. He has played six seasons in their farm system, the last three at Triple-A.

“I’m 24, so everyone says I’m young,” Lansford said. “I’m in my seventh year now. You can’t use that line anymore.”

The line on Lansford is that of a power hitter who strikes out a lot. He had 47 home runs and 196 RBIs in his last two seasons at Las Vegas, but he also has struck out 208 times.

And he’s got a two-strike count against him in his final attempt to make the Padres. Because Steve Garvey has three years left on his contract, the Padres simply do not have room for another first baseman.

If Lansford gets cut this spring, he’ll become a free agent.

“A lot of times, that situation is a break to the player,” Williams said. “Now he may get his chance, whether it be here or with someone else.”

Despite the odds against it, Lansford wants to remain with the Padres.

“I have to have a good spring,” he said. “For one thing, I have to show the Padres I can play. Or if not the Padres, at least I have to show another team.

“I’ve been very patient here. This is my fourth spring training. Knowing that Steve Garvey has a multi-year contract bothers me now that my options are up. It puts both the Padres and I on the spot.”

Davis, 26, was one of the most frustrated people in the nation during the 1984 World Series. Had he survived the final cut of spring training, he could have collected the $42,000 postseason share each Padre received.

“The hardest thing was thinking about how I could’ve gotten a share of that money,” Davis said. “After busting my tail in Triple-A and not getting called up in September, it was real frustrating. I lost out on the $6,000 I could’ve made in September, plus I could’ve gotten a share of the World Series money.”

But 1984 was filled with disappointments for Davis.

After missing out on the 25-man roster, he also had subpar production in Triple-A by the Padres’ standards. Though he batted .302, he had just 9 home runs and 64 RBIs. The year before at Las Vegas, he had 23 homers and 100 RBIs.

Davis is beginning his sixth year in the Padre organization. He has seen the team go from dead last in the National League West to the World Series.

“Five years ago, I would’ve gotten my shot by now with this team,” he said. “I might have had two years in the big leagues by now. With the talent this ballclub has now, it does nothing for my career. But it doesn’t demean my ability, either.”

Unlike Lansford, Davis has a legitimate shot at making the 1985 Padres.

Williams has said it is “very possible” the Padres will keep six outfielders. If so, the final two spots are being contested by Al Bumbry, Ron Roenicke and Davis.

“With younger players, we would rather have them out playing than sitting around,” Williams said. “Even though they might have to spend a couple of years at Triple-A, sometimes that’s going to happen with people.”

Hinshaw, 25, could be the Padre third baseman of the future. Graig Nettles turns 41 in August and Jerry Royster is 32.

But before Hinshaw becomes the third baseman, he wants to know if he is a third baseman.

Last season at Las Vegas, he played 47 games in the outfield, 46 at third base and 36 at second base.

“I just want to stay in one position,” Hinshaw said. “I don’t think it helps me switching back and forth. It takes away from my offensive production, and it takes offensive production to make the big leagues.”

At the outset of 1984, Hinshaw’s production did slip. He batted just .227 the first five weeks of the season but came on to finish at .269 with 12 homers and 53 RBIs.

Hinshaw originally switched from the outfield to third base during spring training of 1983. He was back in the outfield last spring until being returned to third base late in camp. But once he was optioned to Las Vegas, he was again an outfielder.

This spring, Williams has definite plans for Hinshaw.

“I want George to play third base,” Williams said. “We have to find out if he can be a third baseman or be in our bunch of outfielders. When you check our roster in the organization, there are not many third basemen. If I was a guy who could play infield and management asked me to, I would. We asked him to play infield last year, and he wanted to play outfield.”

Hinshaw now agrees that third base is the place to be . . . if the Padres leave him there.

“I’m much more comfortable at third base now,” he said. “But I’m not looking at anything in a drastic way. Wherever I’m at this season, it could make a difference in my career.”

Lansford and Davis know the feeling. Like Hinshaw, they feel as if they have waited long enough for a shot at the big leagues.

Padre Notes

Eric Show’s first intrasquad performance on Sunday afternoon was strikingly familiar to his postseason efforts of 1984. Show allowed five runs on six hits in three innings, including a two-run homer by Bobby Brown and a double by Mario Ramirez that hit the 420-foot sign in center field on one hop. Tim Flannery had two doubles, one single and three runs scored as Coach Harry Dunlop’s team beat the team of Coach Deacon Jones, 7-1. Luis DeLeon and rookie Kevin Kristan both pitched two perfect innings. DeLeon struck out three batters--Jerry Royster, Steve Garvey and Terry Kennedy. . . . Dick Williams said DeLeon’s performance was one of the weekend’s highlights. Williams was also encouraged that outfielders Kevin McReynolds and Carmelo Martinez had virtually pain-free weekends. McReynolds is coming off a broken left wrist, and Martinez has been bothered by a bone bruise in his left hand.

‘I just want to stay in one position. I don’t think it helps me switching back and forth.’