Playing His Options : Wallach Makes Sacrifices to Be a Dodger

It was a Christmas Eve that Tim Wallach will never forget. It was a Christmas Eve that Tim Wallach may one day regret.

It’s just that the spirit of giving on Dec. 24, 1992, was so powerful. He was swept up in the moment. Santa Claus would have to wait a day.

Montreal Expos General Manager Dan Duquette was willing to give up a five-time All-Star for a minor league shortstop who made 27 errors in 97 double-A games. And, he was going to throw in $1 million cash.

Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ executive president, was willing to pay Wallach almost $6 million over the next two years, allowing the third baseman’s dream to play at home to become a reality.

So Wallach facilitated the trade by agreeing to scrap his option for the 1995 season.

“We’re going home,” Wallach said after the deal was announced. “This was the greatest Christmas present ever.”

And maybe the most expensive. Wallach, it seems, gave till it hurt.

Montreal will pay $1 million of Wallach’s $3.2-million 1993 salary, the Dodgers will pick up the $3.6 million tab for ’94 and a $3.5 million 1995 salary is gone. The 1995 option year hinged on whether Wallach played in 140 or more games in either ’93 or ’94 and that’s an “option” that’s virtually guaranteed. During 13 seasons in the majors, Wallach has never been on the disabled list and, since becoming a starter in 1982, he’s played in 150 or more games every season but one. He played in 134 games in 1986.

“There’s been a lot of talk about me coming to the Dodgers for the last few years and for it to finally happen, it was such a thrill,” Wallach said. “I can’t explain how excited I am, how excited my family is.

“Christmas Eve is a special day as it is, but for me to finally get the chance to come home and play, that just made it a day I’ll always remember.”

The option year, he says, was never really that much of a stumbling block. He says it wasn’t hard to waive a contract clause and wave goodby to a few million dollars.

“Well, the way I figured it, I was getting a new start in a place where I really wanted to play,” he said. “I’ll just go out and have two good years here and then come back and have a few more.”

The good years are close to being just a fond memory for Wallach. He’s 35 and has hit .225 and .223 the last two seasons, with equally diminished totals for home runs and runs batted in.

After the trade, Duquette told reporters, “there has been a decline in the quickness of the bat.”

Indeed, Wallach averaged only .201 with two homers in 339 at-bats against right-handed pitchers last season. But there are those--Wallach and Dodger Manager Tommy Lasorda included--who see no reason why he can’t put together a season such as 1990, when he hit .296, drove in 98 runs and hit 21 home runs.

“I’m looking for Timmy to have a real good year,” Lasorda said. “I don’t know why really, it’s just a feeling I’ve got. He drove in 59 runs last year and I’m looking for him to drive in 80 or more this year. I don’t usually set number goals for a player because I don’t want that hanging on him. But Timmy is the kind of player that when you play against him, you really respect and appreciate him.

“When you get into seventh, eighth or ninth inning and there’s men on base, he’s the last guy I wanted to see come to the plate. Even if he’s not going great, he’s always tough. He’s one of those guys who rises to the occasion and even if he’s only driven in 59 runs and some other guy has driven in 80, you can rest assured Timmy’s driven in more important runs.

“That’s why I like him so much.”

The Dodgers hope Wallach rejuvenates his offense, and they are expecting solid defense at third base. And that much, at least, they figure to get. The three-time Gold Glove winner says he played his best defense in 1991 before the Expos started switching him between first and third last year.

“There’s no question Tim means a tremendous amount to our infield next year,” Claire said. “We expect him to be our everyday third baseman and to be a very productive player, especially defensively. I expect him to play a lot of games and to help us from an experience standpoint because he knows the league so well.”

Wallach was not a happy camper last spring when the Expos moved him to first base. The poker-faced Wallach--always the dispassionate team player in a sport where many superstars pout better than they hit, run and catch--was spotted sulking.

“I could’ve handled it better,” he said.

He ended up starting 65 games at first and 80 games at third. Wallach refused to make any connection between his defensive positioning and his batting slump, but the Dodgers are betting that being home at third and being home in Huntington Beach will put some zip in his stroke.

“You can always hope for that,” Claire said. “I think he’ll have a productive year as far as home runs and RBIs. Tim has not made any excuses for the last two years and I’m sure not going to make any excuses for him. Moving positions last year, whether that had an impact, I don’t know. But I expect him to be a productive offensive player again.”

Wallach is undertaking drastic measures to live up to those expectations. He’s even, gulp, weightlifting.

Wallach hit a homer in his first minor league at-bat and homered in his first major league at-bat, but he never equated big biceps with the big fly.

“You definitely have to work harder as you get older,” he said. “This is the first year that I’ve ever done any real weightlifting. I had experimented with it in the past, but I didn’t like it so I didn’t do it anymore.

“But this year, since the second week of October, I’ve been lifting and I really like it now. Scary isn’t it? I guess all it took was knowing I needed to do it. Maybe that was enough to get over the hump.”

Over the hump and out of the slump is the idea, of course. And Wallach is convinced he can still make an impact at the plate.

“I don’t want to make any predictions, but I’m looking at this as a fresh start,” he said. “I’m working harder than I ever have and I really believe I have some good years left. I just think there are some flaws in my swing that can be worked out.”

Working hard? A flaw in his swing? It’s hard for those who saw Wallach grow up to imagine such things. Wasn’t he the real-life Natural at Irvine’s University High, Saddleback College and Cal State Fullerton?

Wallach was drafted by the Angels in 1978, but decided to remain in school. Fullerton Coach Augie Garrido was happy about the choice: Wallach batted .398 with 23 home runs and 102 RBIs, and the Titans won the College World Series title a few days after the Expos made Wallach the 10th overall selection in the first-round of the 1979 draft.

He made it look easy in the minors and soon mastered the majors. He’s the Expos’ all-time leader in hits (1,694), has hit 18 or more homers seven times and had 22 or more doubles in 10 consecutive seasons.

These days, though, he’s pedaling the stationary bike and pumping iron, chugging and puffing to stay ahead of the “over-the-hill” label so many are ready to hang on him.

“I’ve just had two bad years in a row and I’m sure it’s going to get better,” he said.

He’s so sure that he can allow himself to contemplate the chance of gaining the one thing missing from his already storied baseball career.

“Everybody talks about money and baseball, but as far as I’m concerned, the playoffs, the World Series, that’s what it’s all about. That’s what keeps you playing.”

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Tim Wallach in the Majors

Year Team Avg. G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI 1980 Montreal .182 5 11 1 2 0 0 1 2 1981 Montreal .236 71 212 19 50 9 1 4 13 1982 Montreal .268 158 596 89 160 31 3 28 97 1983 Montreal .269 156 581 54 156 33 3 19 70 1984 Montreal .246 160 582 55 143 25 4 18 72 1985 Montreal .260 155 569 70 148 36 3 22 81 1986 Montreal .233 134 480 50 112 22 1 18 71 1987 Montreal .298 153 593 89 177 42 4 26 123 1988 Montreal .257 159 592 52 152 32 5 12 69 1989 Montreal .277 154 573 76 159 42 0 13 77 1990 Montreal .296 161 626 69 185 37 5 21 98 1991 Montreal .225 151 577 60 130 22 1 13 73 1992 Montreal .223 150 537 53 120 29 1 9 59 Major League Totals .259 1767 6529 737 1694 360 31 204 905