Bonds Gets a Sweet Severance Check : Baseball: Free agent is owed $250,000 by the Pirates after his second most valuable player award in three years.

NEW YORK â€”  Barry Bonds won the National League’s most valuable player award for the second time in three years Wednesday and may soon have another title--that of baseball’s highest-paid player.

“If you are the best, you should be paid the best and I’m confident Barry will be,� agent Dennis Gilbert said of the Pittsburgh Pirate free-agent left fielder during a conference call from his Beverly Hills office after it was announced that Bonds won the MVP in voting by a committee of the Baseball Writers Assn. of America.

However, Gilbert said he did not think the award would raise Bonds’ price, because “people in the bidding are already cognizant of his ability.�

Gilbert said seven clubs have showed interest in Bonds, but two have been eliminated. He said there has been contact with the Angels and Dodgers, but neither has shown interest to date.

The Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and both Chicago teams are believed to be the front-runners. Gilbert said there is a possibility Bonds will be signed before the winter baseball meetings in early December.

Bonds, who said the primary criterion in evaluating teams is a commitment to winning, might receive a five- or six-year contract for about $35 million. Gilbert said Bonds, who recently sold his house in Pittsburgh, is resigned to leaving the Pirates.

“I love the city, I love the fans and I love (Manager) Jim Leyland, everyone knows that,� Bonds said. “But the Pirates have had the opportunity (to reach an agreement on a multiyear contract) for 6 1/2 years. I don’t think they’ve opened the door for me to stay there.�

For winning the MVP, Bonds will receive one last check from the Pirates, a $250,000 bonus on top of his 1992 salary of $4.7 million.

Bonds, who won in 1990 and narrowly lost to Terry Pendleton of the Atlanta Braves last year, won easily over Pendleton and Gary Sheffield of the San Diego Padres, who planned to join Bonds in a congratulatory dinner in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.

Bonds received 18 of the 24 first-place votes and 304 points. Pendleton had four first-place votes and 232 points. Sheffield received two first-place votes and 204 points.

Bonds led the Pirates to a third consecutive title in the National League East by hitting .311 with 34 home runs and 103 runs batted in. He scored a league-leading 109 runs, walked 127 times as opposing pitchers frequently pitched around him, and stole 39 bases. He also made only three errors and won a third consecutive Gold Glove.

He is the 10th player to win more than one MVP, joining such Hall of Famers as Stan Musial, Willie Mays and Ernie Banks. Asked if he regrets the 1991 loss to Pendleton that deprived him of three in a row, Bonds said:

“Not at all. What’s done is done. I’m proud for Terry.�

Bonds said he was excited by the prospect of the announcement.

“I never thought of winning twice,� he said, adding that this one would be dedicated to his mother, the first having been dedicated to his father, Bobby Bonds, a former major league standout.

This one, he said, was sweeter.

“I didn’t want anyone thinking (the first MVP) was a fluke,� he said. “It’s comparatively easy to climb the mountain, but harder to stay. I want to do this again and again.�

Multiple Winners

Players who have won the National League MVP award more than once:

PLAYER, TEAM YEARS Carl Hubbell, New York Giants 1933, 1936 Stan Musial, St. Louis 1943, 1946, 1948 Roy Campanella, Dodgers 1951, 1953, 1955 Willie Mays, Giants 1954, 1965 Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs 1958, 1959 Johnny Bench, Cincinnati 1970, 1972 Joe Morgan, Cincinnati 1975, 1976 Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia 1980, 1981, 1986 Dale Murphy, Atlanta 1982, 1983 Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh 1990, 1992