In New York: Big League Fantasies

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The word is out: the unpredictable Veecks (as in wrecks) are going to make Free-Agent Henderson, the Yankees' peerless lead-off hitter and champion base stealer, their first selection. (The new book by Veecks Owner Golenbock is looked at somewhat askance by his fellow owners. Newcomer Golenbock finished in twelfth place last season, 68 points behind Mark Starr's victorious Nova, and his lodge brothers wonder where he gets his expertise.) This does not necessarily mean the Veecks will sign Henderson; merely that as last season's last-place team, they have the right to kick off the action. The rumor is the bidding will open at a record-high level for a single player, $57, and top out somewhere at a hitherto unthinkable $70, more than a quarter of a team's entire budget. The view around the league is that the Amaros, the preseason favorite with a formidable squad of returning wall bangers, need only to sign Henderson to have a nearly preemptive claim on the pennant.

Surprise: the first name thrown out by the Veecks is Brett Butler, the speedy Cleveland centerfielder. Because the American League has a scarcity of base stealers, speed is a highly prized commodity; Butler, a .278 hitter with little power but who swiped 32 bases, goes for $22. Yankee Slugger Don Mattingly goes for $45; Baltimore Catcher Terry Kennedy for $14. Henderson, year in and year out the Rotisserie League's Mr. Everything, comes up fourth. The bidding is fierce, quickly passing Rickey's previous salary of $53. Given the finite money pool of $3,120, the large number of top players in this year's draft would seem to make each one less valuable. But Rickey is immune to the iron laws of economics, and he boldly goes where no man has gone before: $60, then $65 and finally $69. The auctioneer intones his ritual "Going once, going twice . . ." Everyone looks at the Amaros.

Without hesitation, they pass. "It would ruin our salary structure," they explain. The high bid belongs to Hugh Sweeney's Wssox, so attention now focuses on the Moose Factory, Rickey's employer the past two seasons and the holder of topping rights to his salary. For $1 more, Mooser Alex Patton, the league's winningest owner, can have his star player back for two more years at $70. But Patton passes too. The league breathes a double sigh of relief.

And out comes the cash: Cleveland's potent Joe Carter, who hit .302 with 29 home runs, 121 RBIs and had 29 steals in 1986, fetches $46; Detroit's injury- prone slugger-speedster and amateur airplane pilot Kirk Gibson goes for $41. More than five hours later, the auction closes with the march of the scrubeenies, the cheap players who fill out everyone's roster. There are still some good buys for those who have husbanded their money, either by design or dumb luck. The Moosers grab Milwaukee's Cecil Cooper for $3, the same price that Nova pays for Catcher Ron Hassey. Pitiably, the once mighty Reggie Jackson commands merely a single buck as the Hackers' designated hitter.