Sport: Splendor Among the Potted Palms

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At baseball's annual meetings, the elite meet to wheel and deal

It was a deal worth millions, the kind of high-finance finagling that usually takes place in the plush penthouse suites of office towers or aboard private Learjets. In such transactions, aides with bulging briefcases and thick black books usually dance attendance near by, ready to proffer, at a nod from the principals, relevant statistics and legal interpretations. But the deal under discussion did not involve a merger or a stock swap but a swap of a different kind:, a trade for a relief pitcher, a third baseman and young outfielder. And, because baseball men are true to the traditions of their anachronistic business, Whitey Herzog, general manager and manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, and Bob Kennedy, general manager of the Chicago Cubs, sat down at a table in the lobby of a Dallas hotel and, while hundreds looked on, made their deal. Baseball's 79th winter meeting—an annual extravaganza that is part Oldtimers' Day, part industry trade fair and part human flesh market—was under way.

Herzog and Kennedy continued their negotiations for nearly half an hour, pausing to consult with a player's agent (a recent and much resented addition to such discussions) and to check minor-league scouting reports. Abruptly, the men exchanged handshakes, then departed to announce formally that Cubs Relief Ace Bruce Sutler had been sent to the Cardinals in exchange for Third Baseman Ken Reitz, second-year Outfielder Leon Durham and a St. Louis minor leaguer to be named later. That seemingly casual negotiation was symbolic of baseball's return to its old ways after five years of free-agent chaos. For the first time since players won the right to play out their options and sell their services on the open market, owners and executives have slowed the pace of free-agent signing and turned to the traditional methods of swapping players and beefing up farm systems.

When the winter meeting opened in Dallas last week, less than a month after the free-agent draft, only eight of the big leagues' 48 free agents had signed new contracts. (In 1976, 18 of 22 free agents drafted signed fat contracts within a month.) A few, such as San Diego Superstar Dave Winfield, who is reportedly holding out for $20 million, have not signed because they expect the ante to jump with each passing day. But a number are simply finding that the market is less bullish. Furthermore, 18 minor-league players were drafted by big-league clubs during last week's meetings; a year ago, just ten players were selected. The Oakland A's—reviving under General Manager-Manager Billy Martin and flush with funds since Skinflint Owner Charlie Finley sold the team to Levi Strauss Chairman Walter A. Haas Jr. last summer—have passed up the free-agent market in favor of acquiring minor-league clubs to develop young players. Other clubs are following suit.