SEAVER UNSIGNED

BOSTON--Veteran pitcher Tom Seaver, who could not reach a contract with the Red Sox before a midnight deadline, may not be resigned by the American League champions even after he is eligible, said General Manager Lou Gorman.

"I don't think so," Gorman said of re-signing the 300-game winner after May 1. "We went back and forth on this for five days. It got to the point where it was getting ridiculous to argue over money for a 42-year-old pitcher coming off a knee operation."

Gorman told The Patriot Ledger of Quincy in an interview published yesterday that the club raised its initial offer "two or three times" before deciding to break off the discussions about 9 p.m. Sunday, three hours before the deadline by which Seaver, as a free agent, had to come to terms with the Red Sox.

Teams had until midnight to either re-sign their own free agents or offer them the option of salary arbitration. If clubs did neither, they lost the right to re-sign them until May 1.