BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Gwynn Still Wants to Play Every Day
Dodger left fielder Chris Gwynn, who has started the last two games, has no reason to look at the lineup card today. He knows he won’t be in it.
It has nothing to do with his .310 batting average, or that he has filled in nicely for the slumping Billy Ashley. But the Dodgers want Ashley to play every day and Gwynn is 30.
Gwynn, a career .277 hitter, is being utilized as a spot starter and the team’s top pinch-hitter. With the trade of first baseman Henry Rodriguez and Jeff Treadway, Gwynn and third baseman Dave Hansen are the only left-handed hitters on the bench.
“Maybe the trade will help me in the long run,†said Gwynn, who is batting .500 as a pinch-hitter. “It’s just I’ve never had the opportunity to prove I can play every day.
“They know how much I want to play, and if I didn’t, they should be leery. But we understand each other.â€
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The Dodgers have only three players under contract for the 1996 season--first baseman Eric Karros ($3.15 million), catcher Mike Piazza ($2.7 million) and reliever Rudy Seanez ($650,000).
“The biggest thing we have now is flexibility,†said Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president.
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