Angels Hope Ryan Offer Is Too Good to Refuse : If Free Agent Agrees to $1.5 Million, He Would Be Highest-Paid in Club History

The Angels have significantly upped the ante in the Nolan Ryan sweepstakes, offering the 41-year-old free-agent pitcher the most lucrative 1-year contract in club history, believed to be a guaranteed $1.5 million.

“We have made Nolan Ryan an offer that would make him, deservedly so, the highest-paid player in Angel history,” General Manager Mike Port said Wednesday afternoon.

Only two Angel players have earned as much as $1.4 million in a single season. Outfielder Fred Lynn was paid $1,425,000 in 1984, and pitcher Mike Witt was paid $1.4 million last season, the same amount he will receive in 1989.

“The Angels have made what I would characterize as a substantial offer,” Ryan confirmed. “It’s something that I will have to seriously consider.”

So, too, will the Houston Astros, Ryan’s employers since the 1980 season. Ryan earned $1 million in base salary and $200,000 in incentives during 1988 but was asked to take a pay cut for 1989, according to his agent, Dick Moss.

That helped convince Ryan to file for free agency on Oct. 25, opening the door for the Angels, who lost Ryan to the same free-agent system after the 1979 season.

The Angels’ interest in baseball’s all-time strikeout leader prompted a response from the Astros Wednesday. Moss spoke again with Houston General Manager Bill Wood, who was believed to have countered with an offer in the $1.2-million range.

“The process is still working, and the process is still give-and-take,” Wood said in a statement. “We still hope to get it settled before Thanksgiving.”

Working against the Angels is the fact Ryan makes his home near Houston in Alvin, Tex., and has said he hopes to end his career in his native state. As Moss remarked last week, “Nolan grew up in and has spent his whole life in Alvin. Alvin’s very special to Nolan.”

Port knows, then, that it will take a special contract to pry Ryan away from Houston--and believes the offer he presented Moss on Monday is just that.

“I’m cautiously hopeful,” Port said. “(Ryan) is one of those quality people with whom money may not be everything. We have money on our side, but again, it may come down to more than money with Nolan.

“But I would describe our discussions as ‘ongoing,’ and I view that as a positive sign. I plan to talk with Dick again before the end of the week.”

Port responded angrily to a published report that Moss and Ryan had given the Angels a counterproposal calling for $1.6-million plus a $250,000 signing bonus in 1989, an option for 1990 for $1.4 million and a 5-year, $750,000 post-retirement settlement for Ryan. Port described the report as “a fictional masterpiece.”

According to Port, negotiations with Moss thus far have been limited to a 1-year contract for 1989.

“My reliance (on a 1-year offer) is based on statements I have read from Nolan,” Port said. “Nolan has expressed a couple times that whether it’s in Houston or somewhere else, ‘I’m only planning to pitch one more year.’ That’s what I’m going by.

“But, we’re open-minded on that. Dick is open-minded also. But for the time being, I think we’re both concentrating on the 1-year (agreement).”

Port, who established a tight-fisted fiscal policy during his first 3 years as Angel general manager, waging highly publicized contract disputes with Kirk McCaskill in 1987 and Wally Joyner in 1988, has already added a pair of $1-million salaries (Lance Parrish and Bert Blyleven) to the 1989 payroll. He was asked about the prudence of offering $1.5 million to a 12-11 pitcher who will turn 42 in January.

“If the years have taken their toll on Nolan Ryan, I submit that his skills have deteriorated from unbelievable and incredible to terribly well above average,” Port said.

“Tangibly, Nolan Ryan is a pitcher who will give you in excess of 200 innings and a good hits-to-innings pitched ratio. Wins are a team function, but that kind of consistency goes a long way toward helping you chalk up the victories.

“Intangibly, we all know what Nolan Ryan stands for. He’s on his way to the Hall of Fame, and he would bring additional stability to what we’re trying to build here.”

Another bonus, as perceived by the Angels: Signing Ryan would bring additional fans to Anaheim Stadium, no small concern for a franchise that dropped 350,000 in attendance between 1987 and 1988. During his California career, from 1973 to 1979, Ryan was perhaps the most popular player ever to play for the Angels.

“Because of his presence here before, people may be saying, ‘Well, gee, you made a mistake letting him go and now you’re trying to make up for it,’ ” Port said. “I would reply to that: No, not really. Here’s a man who still has one of the best ratios in regards to hits and walks per innings pitched. He remains a quality pitcher.”

Already this week, Port has parlayed a Texas-Anaheim connection into a new manager, enlisting former Texas Rangers manager Doug Rader as his replacement for Cookie Rojas.

His next task: Successfully tapping Texas again. And toward that end, Port is about to learn just how loudly money talks.