Hardball

A major league job for Baker?

In the Reagan White House it is customary to diffuse controversy with a snappy one-liner that lightens the mood. When rumors began circulating last week that Chief of Staff James Baker might leave his post to become commissioner of baseball, Baker made full use of the jocular material at hand. In response to reporters' shouts of "Play ball!," Baker pantomimed a pitch, and grinned at every fatuous request for tickets to the World Series. Even his colleagues got in a few cuts. At a staff meeting, Baker found an official major league baseball next to his coffee cup. Said another Reagan aide: "He's having some fun with the whole thing."

The fun soon wore thin. Some viewed the episode as a rare example of hubris from Baker and an embarrassment to President Reagan, who learned that he might lose his aide from the morning newspaper. Said Reagan: "I was as surprised as anyone to read that." Baker later told the President that he had not received a formal offer from the team owners and that he regretted that the story had leaked. The two men agreed to discuss the matter further this week.

When the rumor of Baker's departure surfaced at an owners' meeting in Nashville, some political pros took it as a sign that Reagan might not seek a second term. Nevada Senator Paul Laxalt, who heads the Reagan re-election effort, quickly reasserted that the President would declare his candidacy in late January, and stressed that Baker was "vital to the re-election effort. He's a hell of a lot more important than [Campaign Director] Ed Rollins or myself."

That sort of ego massage may have been what Baker had in mind when he issued a tepid "no comment" instead of hotly denying the baseball commission story. In the past, Baker tried hard to squelch rumors that he would run for a Senate seat. However, he did covet William Clark's post as National Security Adviser, and had persuaded Reagan to appoint him as Clark's successor until Presidential Counsellor Ed Meese and other hard-liners sabotaged his bid. His pique and frustration may have made him receptive to job offers. "The fact that Baker has not knocked this story down with a baseball bat," says one associate, "shows that it's still a possibility." For their part, the baseball owners announced that Bowie Kuhn would stay on as commissioner until March 1, and that they could not determine when his successor would be named.

If Baker stays in the running, it will reinforce the impression that the White House staff is restless and feuding. Director of Communications David Gergen resigned last week to accept a fellowship at Harvard's Institute of Politics. Three weeks earlier, Legislative Liaison Kenneth Duberstein quit to join a private lobbying firm. The departure of these two "pragmatists" as well as the expected resignation early next year of Budget Director David Stockman, will leave Baker with only two staunch allies in the White House, Michael Deaver and Richard Darman. That prospect, along with the fatigue of three years in a very demanding job, may be the reason that one of Reagan's steadiest players is flirting with the idea of becoming a free agent. - This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.