Pettis’ Bat Heavier, Not His Feet : He’s Finding Hits Are Hard to Come By, but Steals Are Easy

It is too early to tell if the techniques prescribed by Harry (The Hat) Walker last winter have taken hold.

There is only modest indication that Gary Pettis, the Angels’ spectacular center fielder, will reach base more than he did as a 1984 rookie who hit .227.

The one certainty is this: Once on first, Pettis will soon be on second. He is virtually unstoppable in that regard.

In fact, a three-game series between the Angels and New York Yankees opening at Anaheim Stadium tonight seems to provide a confrontation between the once and future kings of the stolen base in the American League.

Rickey Henderson, who set the single-season record of 130 steals with Oakland in 1982, has been successful on all eight of his steal attempts as New York’s new leadoff man.

Pettis, though, is 21 for 21 this season, has a two-year streak of 23 straight and boasts the confidence inherent in all aggressive runners.

Talking about the green light that Manager Gene Mauch gives him almost routinely, Pettis said: “I think he has the same feeling I have . . . unless they make a perfect throw, I’m going to be safe 90% of the time.

“I don’t care if they pitch out, if I break when the pitcher makes his first move, I’m going be safe the majority of the time.”

Pettis’ 21 steals are two fewer than Vince Coleman, the major league leader has. Coleman is a rookie with the St. Louis Cardinals. In the American League, though, Pettis is seven ahead of runner-up Dave Collins of Oakland.

The 23 straight have put Pettis within nine of the league record, set by Kansas City’s Willie Wilson in 1980 and equaled by Julio Cruz, then of Seattle, in 1981.

Davey Lopes, then of the Dodgers, set the major league record of 38 straight in 1975.

Henderson has dominated the American League, having won the stolen-base title each of the last five years.

His debut, however, as the potential Yankee catalyst was delayed by a sprained ankle that put him on the disabled list until April 23.

Henderson, batting .304, expects to play tonight after missing the last three games with a bruised elbow suffered when he was hit by a pitch Monday.

He does not expect to steal, however, with the regularity of his Oakland years.

Henderson has said that his return to center field--he played primarily left with the A’s--puts a new demand on his legs. He has also said that the productivity of such players as Don Mattingly, Dave Winfield and Don Baylor, who hit behind him, means that he probably can score more while running less.

Pettis, who converted 48 of 64 attempts as an Angel rookie who did not play much after July, has generated a pace that projects to 103 steals, 33 more than Mickey Rivers’ club record, set in 1975.

Pettis, however, said he is a controlled and cautious runner who is concerned about the possibility of making a tactical mistake.

He refused to speculate on how many bases he might steal and said that the streak is something he thinks about only when asked.

“I’m not trying to steal to prolong the streak,” he said. “I’m trying to put us in a position to score runs.

“I don’t want to steal just to put up a high total. I know I can do that. I want to be able to do it when it means something to the team.

“I wouldn’t do myself or the team any good if I stole 70 bases and got thrown out 40 times. I mean, I can’t say that I wouldn’t want to lead the league, but it doesn’t mean a lot if we don’t win. I’d trade (a stolen base title) any day for making the playoffs.”

If discretion governs Pettis’ approach, so does Mauch. The green light is almost always on, however.

Mauch estimated that if second base has been open 40 of the 50 times Pettis has been on, then “37 or 38 times I’ve given him the sign to run when he’s ready--and it doesn’t take him long. A lot of clubs are now pitching out against him, doing what they did against Maury Wills and Lou Brock, but he still makes it.”

The keys, Pettis said, are quickness, timing and a willingness to challenge the pitcher with an extended lead.

“A base stealer has to be aggressive,” he said. “You can’t let the pitcher dictate. Last year I knew I could take a bigger lead (than I did) but I was afraid of getting picked off. The tendency is to think that major league pitchers have better moves than minor league pitchers, but they don’t. I had to learn that.”

Also, Pettis said, Mauch has removed some of his mental burden by maintaining some control over when Pettis runs.

“He’s provided me with discipline and patience,” Pettis said. “The fact that he has a sign has made it easier for me. The fact that he works the green light just about every time I get on shows me he has confidence in my ability. He’s even surprised me by letting me run a couple times when we’ve been behind.”

Pettis had stolen successfully in a club-record seven straight games until he went without an attempt Wednesday night in Toronto.

The intriguing aspect of his continued success on the bases is that he is waging a hauntingly familiar struggle with the bat.

His average, .282 on April 30, is down to .231. He has just six hits in his last 45 at-bats, a 13-game span in which he still stole 11 bases and scored five runs. He drew a significant eight walks in the 13 games and reached base another six times on errors or fielder’s choices.

Mauch, however, believes that Pettis is slowly prospering from his two winter visits with Walker, former National League batting champion and now baseball coach at the University of Alabama Birmingham.

The goal was to allow Pettis to make better use of his speed by making more contact. He was taught the rudiments of bunting and hitting the ball to the opposite field. Simplified, in Mauch’s lexicon: “The high hop and hard run.”

In practice, it is not at all simple. Pettis is still having problems making contact. He struck out once every 4.5 trips to the plate last year and is doing even more poorly now--averaging a strikeout every 3.86 trips.

His on-base percentage has improved, though, from .335 to .357, and he is showing an ability to lay off the bad pitch, a cornerstone of his new approach. Pettis is averaging a walk every 6.2 trips to the plate compared to 7.7 last year. At his current pace, he will reach base more than 200 times, which was Mauch’s hope.

“I knew what I wanted to do last year, but I didn’t know how to go about it,” Pettis said. “I’m not completely satisfied with what I’ve done, of course, but I at least feel I now know how to go about it.”

Said Mauch, of Pettis’ adaptability: “I’m surprised. I didn’t know he’d take to it as fast as he has. When you make this kind of drastic change, Harry and I were both worried that Gary might first get worse to the point of being embarrassed.

“He still has some things to iron out. He still goes up there at times unsure of what all his options are, but his mental approach is improving with every at-bat.

“I mean, he had the tendency to think only hit before, but now he’s looking to get on any way he can. He knows now that a walk is like a line drive to center. He knows now that he can have the satisfaction of being a major influence on a game even though he didn’t get a bases-loaded triple.”

Pettis is the key, the catalyst, the man who can make it happen with the impact of Reggie Jackson wielding the hammer.

The Angels, however, can afford the luxury of his glove and speed only if he eventually hits. There is no pressure. His trial will be a long one.

Pettis, in fact, has already come a distance since he and Henderson were semipro teammates and high school rivals in Oakland. Pettis laughed and said Henderson was always the more daring, the more flamboyant runner.

“I’m more controlled,” he said. “I can do the same things but I do ‘em quietly.”

The same things?

Well, maybe not 130 steals.

“That’s remarkable,” Pettis said. “He set out to break the record and did it. He said to himself, ‘I’m going to steal this base, then I’m going to steal that one.’ It was the only thing on his mind.

“For me to get 130, I’d probably have to make 160 attempts, and that’s cutting it close. I don’t think I’ve ever had more than 70. People ask if I can steal 100 and I tell them I don’t know. I don’t even want to get into it. I mean, it’s a lot of running, and I can’t believe I’ll have to do that much of it with this club. That’s not the only way we can score. It’s one of the many ways we can score.”

The decision ultimately rests with the man whose finger is on the switch.

Mauch said that Pettis is by far the best stealer he has managed in his 24 big league seasons.

“He’s better sooner than both (Lou) Brock and (Maury) Wills,” Mauch said. “If he maintains his speed as long, he’ll get a whole sackful of stolen bases. And I see no reason why he shouldn’t, considering that lithe body.”

A lithe body is fine. Gary Pettis is trying to fatten that lithe bat.