Padres Threaten to Dock Pay of Players : Baseball: If money is taken, Clark, Hurst, Gwynn plan to file for free agency, saying contract requires they lose no salary to lockout.

SAN DIEGO —  Padre players Jack Clark, Bruce Hurst and Tony Gwynn said Friday they will file a grievance to try to gain free agency should the club carry out its promise to dock their pay because of a shortened season.

The Padres, on the advice of the Player Relations Committee, have informed Clark, Hurst, Gwynn and Eric Show that they will not receive full pay if the baseball lockout results in canceled games.

According to the Major League Players Assn., the Padres are required to pay the players their full salaries during the lockout. The players received notices with their March 15 paychecks that they should expect deductions for a shortened season.

The Dodgers said Saturday that they would pay two of their three players due full salaries, according to the Players Assn. They will pay Kirk Gibson and Jay Howell, who have contract clauses similar to those of Hurst and Show. The Dodgers refused comment on the status of Eddie Murray, who has a contract clause similar to that of Clark and Gwynn.

Gibson will be paid $1 million this season and Howell will be paid $900,000. Murray, who sources said will not be paid, risks up to $2.7 million.

Clark was clearly angry over the notice.

“I guarantee you if any of my checks are missing so much as a dime,” he said, “they won’t see me again. The next time they’ll see me again will be in court.

“If (the major league owners) think there will be a whole new ballgame now, just wait, I’ll show you a whole new game when we’re in court. I’m tired of their damn games. This is another one of their ploys. It’s one of their scare tactics.”

Clark said the PRC is behind the Padres’ action and vents his anger not only at Padre management but all of baseball. Yet, if the Padres continue with their threat, he promises they will pay the price.

“Am I taking this seriously?” Clark said. “You’re damn right I am. If they pull this crap on us, they’re going to lose me. They’re going to lose Hurst, and they’re going to lose Tony. They’re screwing with the wrong guys. We’ll all file for free agency and split.

“It’s sad. It’s ugly. No matter what happens, these scars aren’t going to go away.

“The owners keep telling us to trust them. Yeah, right, as gutless and untrustworthy as they are.”

Hurst, who became a free agent after the 1988 season with the Boston Red Sox, signed a three-year, $5.25 million guaranteed contract with the Padres that specifically provided he be paid during a baseball lockout. If the Padres had not provided the clause, Hurst said he’s not sure he would have come to San Diego.

“They know what they signed, and I know what I signed,” Hurst said. “No one got hoodwinked in this deal. The deal is if there was a lockout, I would get paid. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.

“Now, all of a sudden, they say they’re not going to pay me. I’m not a whiz kid, but I perceive that as breach of contract.

“If we don’t get paid, we’ll file a grievance, and I’ll sure take my chance at free agency.”

Show and his agent, Arn Tellem, could not be reached for comment.

The four Padre players learned of their predicament when written notices were included with their March 15 paychecks that advised them of possible future deductions.

That most of the major league players with guaranteed contracts won’t be paid is no secret, considering 199 players with guaranteed contracts have lockout language in their contracts that relieves the club’s obligation for payment.

But, according to sources in the Major League Players Assn. and the Player Relations Committee, 31 players have clauses in their contract that provide for payment in the event of a lockout, and 16 players have no language at all. Hurst and Show each have defensive language that provides for payment, and Clark and Gwynn have no language in their contracts that would preclude payment.

Bill Beck, the Padre assistant to vice president/baseball operations who sent out the notifications, said: “This is a mandate from the PRC. Hopefully, this will become a moot point, anyway.”

The Players Assn. has been informed of the notices mailed to the Padres and other teams, and said that it will wait until any pay deductions materialize before a grievance is filed. Once a grievance has been filed, the major league club has 10 days to cover the lost wages, according to an official with the Players Assn. If the player is not compensated, the spokesman said, the player may then petition for free agency.

“It’s going to open a whole new can of worms,” said the official, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity.

Times staff writer Bill Plaschke contributed to this story.