DATE: Wednesday, August 20, 1997            TAG: 9708200617

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER  

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   57 lines

CUDDYER SIGNS $1.85 MILLION CONTRACT TWINS ASSURE GREAT BRIDGE STAR HE'LL PLAY SHORTSTOP.

Michael Cuddyer call it a no-lose situation.

His banker obviously thought otherwise.

Cuddyer, the All-Tidewater baseball player of the year last spring at Great Bridge, Tuesday spurned a baseball scholarship to Florida State and signed a contract with the Minnesota Twins.

His $1.85 million signing bonus is nearly double the largest one previously given by the Twins.

``Either way I would have been ecstatic,'' Cuddyer said. ``I would have loved to have gone to Florida State, but I'm also ready to start a pro career.''

Cuddyer, the Twins' first pick and the ninth overall in June's Major League draft, is the second former Wildcat to turn pro this summer. John Curtice, a lefthanded pitcher chosen 17th overall by the Boston Red Sox, signed in July for a reported $1 million bonus.

Cuddyer and the Twins began serious negotiations Sunday - he was to leave today for Florida State - and reached a tentative agreement Monday night.

Cuddyer's agent, Casey Close of IMG, reviewed the details Tuesday and the signing ceremony was done in the kitchen of the Cuddyer home.

Twins' general manager Terry Ryan spent Sunday and Monday in Chesapeake, underscoring the importance of striking a deal for the team.

``The basic bottom line is that we wanted and needed to sign Michael,'' Twins scouting director Mike Radcliff said. ``Besides the fact that Michael is a great player to add to our system, he was even more important for us because we were unable to sign our No. 1 pick last year.''

Cuddyer expects to visit Minneapolis over Labor Day weekend to meet the Minnesota media and work out at the Metrodome. The signing is too late for Cuddyer to join a team this summer and he won't officially start his career until Sept. 23 when he reports to the Twins' Instructional League in Ft. Myers, Fla.

The Twins hope he will show enough promise there to start his career at Class A Fort Wayne, Ind. of the Midwest League next spring.

``That's our hope and desire,'' Radcliff said.

In addition to the bonus, Cuddyer will receive money for college. Perhaps just as important to him is the Twins' plans to leave him at shortstop.

Cuddyer (6-2, 190) was drafted for his prodigious hitting talent - he belted a team-high seven home runs in 68 at-bats for the U. S. Junior National team this summer. But he also led the team with 10 errors.

``The GM assured me that shortstop is where they want me, unless I grow out of it or am downright pitiful,'' he said.

Cuddyer has no special plans for the bonus money, but said it was the deciding factor in his decision to sign.

``It was way too much to walk away from,'' he said. ``It's every kid's dream to be a No. 1 pick and sign for these dollars. It's hard to believe it happened to me.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

Michael Cuddyer

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