HE'LL STAY TRUE BLUE KARROS SIGNS 3-YEAR EXTENSION THAT GUARANTEES HIM $24 MILLION.Byline: Brian Dohn Staff WriterVERO BEACH Vero Beach (vēr`o), city (1990 pop. 17,350), seat of Indian River co., E Fla., on Indian River (a lagoon and part of the Intracoastal Waterway); founded c.1888, inc. 1919. , Fla. - The man who has come to symbolize the Dodgers in the '90s should be around Chavez Ravine for the first half of the '00s. Eric Karros He signed a three-year extension with a club option for the 2004 season late Thursday night. The deal guarantees Karros $24 million and could pay him as much as $32 million. ``I've always felt Eric represents the Dodgers in so many ways,'' Dodgers managing general partner and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Bob Daly said. ``Forget his unbelievable talent as a player. It's just what he stands for and the way he's handled himself in his whole career. It was one of our first priorities, to sit down and work out an extension with him.'' Karros, 32, established career highs by hitting .304 and driving in 112 runs, and tied a career high with 34 homers. He's 17 home runs shy of tying Ron Cey's L.A. Dodgers career mark. ``At the end of November when I had lunch at Mr. Daly's house, he point-blank asked me if I wanted to be a Dodger or if I didn't want to be a Dodger,'' said Karros, who has averaged 31 homers and 104 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in the last five seasons. ``I had made up my mind I wanted to be a Dodger, and that I hoped to continue my career here in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. .'' And at least for the next two years, Karros won't have to deal with the trade rumors that have followed him seemingly forever. A no-trade clause is written into the deal. It covers the 2000 season, which pays him $5 million in the final year of his current contract, and the first year of the extension. After that, Karros would usually have veto power of any trade as a player with 10 years experience, including five with one club. However, sources said Karros waived that right for the 2002 and 2003 seasons, and the option year. The extension pays him $7 million, $6.5 million and $8 million annually. The option is for $9 million with a $1 million buyout. The option is vested if Karros has 500 plate appearances in the 2003 season. He has reached that total in seven of his eight seasons with the Dodgers. He received a $1.5 million signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee by a company as an incentive to join that company. These are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive to the employee e.g. if the annual salary is lower than they desire. and will donate up to $500,000 to area organizations during the contract. ``I'm real happy Eric's coming back,'' Dodgers manager Davey Johnson A slang term for a person who works in the investment industry and makes small amounts of money at a time on small investments, over and over again. Notes: . I like guys that grind, that are constantly working at it. He's a very stabilizing influence.'' The Dodgers now have one off-field distraction looming - the Adrian Beltre case. But that could be concluded before it reaches a hearing. While Daly continues to say figures haven't been exchanged, he said he's talked about the dilemma with Beltre's agent, Scott Boras Scott Boras (b. November 2, 1952 in California) is a sports agent for professional baseball players. He is the president of Scott Boras Corporation, which holds its headquarters in Newport Beach, California. . In addition, sources said the Dodgers are willing to sign Beltre to a multi-year deal to have the players association drop its grievance. Those figures could pay the third baseman third baseman n. Baseball The infielder stationed near third base. Noun 1. third baseman - (baseball) the person who plays third base third sacker in the neighborhood of $5 million for three years, a source said. Also, signing Karros means the Dodgers have three potential free agents after the season. Neither Darren Dreifort ERIC KARROS Here's a look at Karros' statistics during his last five years with the Dodgers: Year G AB H HR RBI Avg. 1995 143 551 164 32 105 .298 1996 154 608 158 34 111 .260 1997 162 628 167 31 104 .266 1998 139 507 150 23 87 .296 1999 153 578 176 34 112 .304 CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) Eric Karros, right, was rewarded for his productivity with a three-year, $24 million contract extension. Daily News file photo Box: INSIDE THE NUMBERS (See text) |
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