By Rob Gloster. .c The Associated Press
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. 19 (AP) - Five years ago, Livan Hernandez was in the Cuban leagues and Russ Ortiz was at the University of Oklahoma. Now they're multimillionaire pitchers for the San Francisco Giants.
The two right-handers signed four-year contract extensions Saturday, with club options that could keep them with the Giants through the end of the 2004 season.
``In Cuba, I did not have dreams,'' said Hernandez, who defected in 1995. ``I'm very, very happy to sign for four years. The money's in the bank, I don't care about it. I want to play baseball.''
Hernandez, who joined the Giants last July in a trade after spending 2 1/2 seasons with the Florida Marlins, signed a $13.5 million contract that includes a $1.3 million signing bonus. His 25th birthday is Sunday.
San Francisco has a $6 million option for the 2004 season, but that would become guaranteed if Hernandez pitches 650 innings during any three-year span of the contract. There also are incentives for innings pitched each year of the deal.
``Livan wanted a deal that would get him through the arbitration years,'' said the pitcher's agent, Juan Iglesias. ``It's such a unique thing for a two-plus player.''
Ortiz is guaranteed $8.7 million over the next four seasons, with the club holding a $5.7 million option for the 2004 season. There also are performance bonuses in his contract.
``I'm only 25 and I only got out of college five years ago. To be in the position that I'm at is something I never could have dreamed of,'' Ortiz said. ``I mean, I'm pretty overwhelmed. I don't play this game for the money. I know if I play well and long enough I'll make a lot of money in this
game, but that's not my focus.''
Hernandez, the NL Championship Series and World Series MVP in 1997 for the Florida Marlins, has a 27-27 career record. He was 3-3 for the Giants last season after his trade from the Marlins, and has already been tabbed by manager Dusty Baker as the opening day starter this season.
Ortiz, a 1995 amateur draft choice by the Giants, went 18-9 with three complete games in 33 starts for San Francisco last season. He threw 207 2-3 innings last season, while Hernandez logged 199 2-3 innings for Florida and the Giants last year.
``They're both young, both are going to get better,'' Baker said. ``This is what you've got to do now, tie up that pitching. Now they can just relax and not think about anything else but pitching.''
The four-year contracts are the longest given by the Giants to pitchers in several years. The club originally had planned on giving shorter deals to Ortiz and Hernandez, but were swayed by the pitchers' willingness to accept performance bonuses as part of their deals.
``The longer we talked and the more they were willing to pitch to earn the ultimate dollar figures, the more interested we became,'' assistant general manager Ned Colletti said. ``Both of them agreed to pitch a lot of innings. A lot of players just want it, and these guys were willing to take
the risks along with us.''
AP-NY-02-19-00 1808EST
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