330 GT Registry

ST  PETERSBURG, Fla., Feb 28 – When the New York Mets were turned loose with all that prize money last winter, what-did they do?

They did what any red-blooded American boys would do. They bought ranches in Texas, restaurants in the suburbs of New York, blue chip stocks, a 14-foot motorboat, a house on the Pedernales River, a golden Ferrari – and the pièce de résistance, a Univac computer.

With all the affluence of winners, the Mets ended their first full week of spring training today surrounded by the signs and occasionally by the mortgages - of success

They received $18,337 each in playoff and World Series prize money plus their salaries, and they passed the winter saving or spending nearly a million dollars from the biggest bonanza in baseball history 

Advice From the Better Half

But most of them have relied on the advice of business managers, agents or wives  'They have avoided sprees and they are showing a strong inclination to invest their booty

The most remarkable investment was shared by Jerry Koosman  Art Shamsky and Bud Harrelson, three children of the age of  technology, Their business manager steered them to a Univac  computer, which they bought and installed in Farmingdale, L I.  Now they are leasing it to companies that need electronic brains to solve statistical problems

"I use it in my new restaurant, too," said Shamsky  who runs a club called 'The Marshmallow in New City, N.Y. "It keeps track of my taxes and payroll."

"1 guess I could figure; out my' batting and "fielding averages on it," said Harrelson. the shortstop  "But when it's not being used by clients, J slip my personal checking records through it ' for tax purposes."

"We're making money," the 25-year-old Californian said  sounding surprised  "We didn't expect to. We expected to take a tax loss for a while, but we're making money, We're like Mrs. Payson, I guess."

Joan W  Payson, the owner of the Mets, also owns racehorses, art collections and expensive home - but no electronic computer  Nor docs she have a golden Ferrari, as Gary Gentry does after one year in the big leagues

"I was home in Phoenix: at a New Year's Eve party," the 23-year-old pitcher said  "Somebody mentioned that a Cadillac dealer in town got this Ferrari in a trade for a Cadillac and would sell it at an unbelievable price when I woke up the next day  it struck me - so I went down a couple of days later and bought it,

"It's the first time I ever saw a car as an investment  This one was worth $14,000 new five years ago and it would be worth $20,000 new today  It's a 330 GT, brownish-gold, with a back seat, and no matter how long I keep it, I'll get my money out."

"All men dream of having a car like that," said Gentry, who realized his dream because the men of the Mets realized a dream of their own last season, When the Mets go north early; in April, he will assemble his treasures in New York  His wtfe, Janet, will drive the Ferrari north while Gary flies with the team and their pet St. Bernard will be crated and flown from Arizona to New York  Then the young Met will spend more of his fortune feeding his dog, who weighs 220 pounds.

A lot of Met money will never leave Texas. Jerry Grote, the catcher invested his prize money in  a 230-acre ranch near San Antonio, 12 miles from a ' 200-acre ranch bought by Nolan Ryan, the pitcher. Ryan also is investing in an education  He was late getting back to college' after the World Series, but made up six weeks of biology and chemistry before spring training and some day will be a veterinarian  One of his clients may be Grote, who expects to raise cattle.

Down the 'River a Fair Piece

"I invested my money in a house on the Pedernales River in Travis County," drawled Ken Boswell, another of the Texas Mets and a land owner at 23. "We're 30 minutes from Austin and  a fair piece downriver from Lyndon Johnson's ranch.  Three levels, a sundeck, a boat mooring, fireplace, 330 feet of waterfront."

Clean Jones, who lives in Mobile; socked some of his money into a 14-foot boat  It's a big improvement over the rowboat he used -to take into the Gulf of Mexico last year to fish and to contemplate his batting average which also showed a big improvement last year rising 43 points to .340. Clean liked his new toy so much, he hitched it to the car and towed it to Florida.

His friend and  roommate. Tommie Agee, sat on a stool in the locker room and noted that his prize money was still intact   He even added $10,000 to it by singing in Las Vegas last November with six other Mets  "Right now," he reported  "it's just sitting, like me."

"Where did it go?" asked Ren Taylor, the 32 year-old pitcher from Canada who had been through it all' with the SL Louis Cardinals five years earlier  "To the United States Government and the State of New York.

"In 1964,with the Cardinals, a full share was worth $8,400 before taxes  This time it was worth about; $10 000 after taxes  I've got most of mine left  I bought some stocks and I'm advised there'll be bargains in the market in the next few months.  So  I'm not in a hurry to spend it "

Neither was Ed Kranepool, who struck gold  with the Mets the day after he graduated from James Monroe High School in the Bronx in 1962  He signed then for an $85,000 bonus, became a stockbroker and already was a young capitalist by the time the Mets scored last season

'''Rocky Swoboda and I are going into the restaurant business in Farmingdale," he said  "It's called The Dugout and it'll open in June. But we had to come up with $25,000 apiece cash just for the land. If we hadn't made it to the Series, we wouldn't have bought the restaurant.'"