FAST FRIENDS

Juan Pierre was the first guy to the ballpark every day. Chone Figgins wasn’t far behind him.

Pierre and Figgins were the last guys to leave the ballpark too. No reason for their teammates to suspect anything. Probably another round or two in the batting cage.

But it’s no fun hitting on an empty stomach, and there’s no money at the lowest rungs of the minor leagues. And after every game, as players showered and dressed, concession workers would drop off a few unsold hot dogs for the coaching staff.

So, with the same combination of observation, patience and instinct that would help them develop into two of baseball’s premier stolen-base artists, Pierre and Figgins would wait out their teammates, then stroll into the coaches’ office and politely ask for a couple of hot dogs.

“They’d wait until no one could see them,” said Jim Eppard, who managed the Portland (Ore.) Rockies that season. “We never really ate the food, so we always gave them some.

“They’ve come a long way from taking the coaches’ food out of the clubhouse.”

They’ve come to Anaheim, as best friends and opposing leadoff hitters in tonight’s renewal of the Freeway Series. They can afford to eat well these days, and they’ll eat together for three days.

With Figgins eligible for free agency this fall and Pierre longing to be traded somewhere he can play every day, this might well be the last time the buddies face off against each other in Southern California. Pierre won’t need to commute from L.A. this weekend; he’s staying with Figgins in Orange County.

Pierre, playing left field for the Dodgers while Manny Ramirez serves a 50-game suspension for violating baseball’s drug policy, ranks among National League leaders with a .330 batting average and 16 stolen bases.

Figgins, playing third base for the Angels, ranks among American League leaders with a .320 batting average and 22 stolen bases.

Their friendship is extraordinary given the transient nature of their work. Pierre and Figgins played that one summer together, in the Northwest League, where the season barely lasts two months.

That was 11 years ago. They have yet to play together again.

“We still check up on each other,” Pierre said. “It makes it easier now that we’re on TV.”

That was but a dream when they reported to Eppard’s collection of Colorado Rockies prospects, hopefuls and fillers.

Pierre was 20. So was Figgins.

“We were kind of sitting in the clubhouse after practice,” Figgins said. “Everyone had left, and we kind of looked at each other, and we were like, ‘Wanna go to the batting cage?’

“We hit for two hours that day. It was like we didn’t want to be outdone by the other.”

For the rest of that season, they were fairly inseparable.

Eppard, then their manager and now the hitting coach for the Angels’ triple-A Salt Lake affiliate, said they demonstrated maturity and purpose uncommon for players at that age.

“They both took care of themselves really well,” Eppard said. “They weren’t guys that went out all the time. They were single-minded. They would eat, drink and sleep baseball.”

They would run too.

Pierre, the center fielder, stole 38 bases in the 76-game season. Figgins, the shortstop, stole 25.

“We were the one-two punch,” Pierre said. “It was unbelievable. We were always causing havoc.

“He’d steal. I’d steal. We’d double-steal.”

Pierre ascended to the major leagues two years later, and the Rockies traded him to the Florida Marlins in 2002. The Marlins won the World Series in 2003, with Pierre leading the majors with 65 stolen bases.

Figgins was stalled at double A in 2001, when the Rockies sent him to the Angels for journeyman Kimera Bartee, in what has evolved from an obscure minor league trade into one of the most lopsided deals in recent baseball history. The Angels won the World Series in 2002, with Figgins pinch-running and scoring the tying run in their Game 6 comeback.

In 2005, Figgins led the majors with 62 stolen bases. He and Pierre are two of the four major leaguers with at least 30 steals in each of the last five years; Jimmy Rollins and Ichiro Suzuki are the others.

None of those players has been linked to steroid use.

“The small-ball game still can work,” Pierre said. “Teams got away from it, waiting for the two- or three-run home run.

“Now that they’re cleaning up baseball, it’s coming back -- getting guys on base, sacrificing them over, stealing bases instead of just hitting home runs.

“It might not be as pretty, but it helps in trying to win games.”

Perhaps a club that subscribes to that philosophy could make this goal come true for Pierre and Figgins: The two would like to be teammates, in the majors, at least once before their careers end.

“It would be a dream come true,” Pierre said.

Until then, they keep in touch as they can, talking on the phone every other day, hanging out on the rare occasions the Dodgers and Angels are in town at the same time, working out together in the off-season.

“It’s always funny telling stories about our dads, moms, brothers, sisters, fishing,” Figgins said, “and usually the conversation ends with about 30 minutes of baseball.”

And, yes, there is smack talk. Figgins was born in Georgia, Pierre played high school ball in Louisiana.

“We always argue about Georgia and LSU football,” Figgins said. “That’s probably the only argument we ever have.”

Bragging rights are at stake this weekend, not just for the Dodgers and Angels but for Pierre and Figgins too.

“I haven’t gotten a bunt on him yet,” Pierre said. “That’s one of my goals: bunt on him for a hit.”

Said Figgins: “If he drops it where he wants it, it’s a hit. It doesn’t matter how close you are. You don’t want to play too far in, because I don’t want to get killed.”

If Pierre could drop that bunt single, perhaps he could steal second base, and third base too. Then he and Figgins could be within a few feet of each other, jabbering back and forth.

It has happened before: Figgins playing third base, Pierre taking his lead from third base, and the two guys talking and talking as the pitcher goes into his delivery.

“We spend more time talking,” Pierre said. “I’ve had to say, ‘Hey, you better pay attention.’ ”

Times staff writer Mike DiGiovanna contributed to this report from San Francisco.

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bill.shaikin@latimes.com