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No Laughing Matter : Schofield Brings Smile With Home Run, but He Hasn’t Found His Batting Slump Amusing

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Times Staff Writer

A funny thing happened in the seventh inning at Anaheim Stadium Wednesday night. Angel shortstop Dick Schofield hit a home run.

Now Ray Burris, the Brewer pitcher who threw a 2-0 fastball down the middle to Schofield, wasn’t laughing. And neither were his Milwaukee teammates, who came up on the short end of a 2-1 Angel win, California’s eighth victory in nine games.

But Reggie Jackson was certainly laughing when someone asked him if Schofield was now part of the personal home run derby Jackson and Ruppert Jones have been engaging in lately.

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“Uh, no,” was all Jackson, who hit his 518th career homer for the Angels’ first run Wednesday, could get out after almost choking on a postgame beer when he heard the question.

It’s not as if Schofield never hits a homer. He had four in his rookie season last year and had five already this season. It’s just that Schofield, struggling with a .189 batting average, hasn’t had a chance to work on his home run trot (it’s nonexistent, by the way) since the temperature in Anaheim went over 70 degrees.

Following a rookie season during which he hit just .193 after being highly touted by Angel management, it looked as if that season of discontent was all behind him this spring. The Angel shortstop, son of former major leaguer “Ducky” Schofield, was as hot as a desert noon in Palm Springs and then hit four homers and drove in 12 runs in April.

But he managed just one more homer in May before wallowing in the offensive doldrums. In the three months since April, Schofield has driven in just nine runs.

Things had begun to look even bleaker recently. In the last 17 games, rookie Craig Gerber had started 10 times, and Schofield was beginning to wonder if his glove alone could keep him in the lineup anymore.

“I hate to sit,” Schofield admitted Wednesday night, “but I guess it’s good for a lot of people. It gives you a chance to sit and watch and think. It’s part of baseball and I guess he (Angel Manager Gene Mauch) was giving me a rest . . . or whatever.”

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Schofield, of course, was afraid “whatever” might turn into “forever.” But Mauch claims he never even considered such a notion.

“Schofield is the shortstop on this club as long as he plays the way I know he can,” Mauch said. “I had never given him more than one day off until he sat six out of seven recently.

“It was nothing more than a mental respite.”

Schofield isn’t sure it did him any good, but he’s been hitting the ball hard the last few days. Hard, but at people most of the time.

“It was a relief to see that no one could catch that one,” Schofield said, forcing a smile. “I’m pretty sure that pitch wasn’t right where he (Burris) wanted it. I was just looking for a pitch I could drive. It was down the middle and I just bumped into it.”

It was pointed out to Schofield that his home run jog needs some work. You’d think a teammate of Jackson would have that aspect of the game down pat.

“When I hit the ball, I run as fast as I can until I see the ball go over the fence,” Schofield explained.

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“It always feels good to do anything to contribute,” he said. “I think of myself as a hitter who can drive in some runs, but when you’re hitting .190, you obviously miss a lot of chances.”

Does the home run restore some of the confidence he’s lost recently?

“When you’re going like I am, a base hit restores your confidence,” he said.

Someone mentioned to Mauch that the homer must have been “nice” for Schofield.

“Yeah, nice for him and 29 other guys,” Mauch said. “Did you see the score?”

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