Grich Has Last Laugh on Weaver : Angel’s Bases-Loaded Blooper Turns the Tables on Orioles

Bobby Grich walked over to the Baltimore dugout before Friday night’s game between the Angels and Orioles to say hello to Manager Earl Weaver, the man who helped him progress from rookie to All-Star during his first seven years in the major leagues.

The conversation went something like this:

“Hey, Bobby, you’re going good, huh?” Weaver asked, refering to the second baseman’s .339 average in May.

“Yeah, but I’m not doing much damage,” Grich said, in reference to the fact he had driven in just four runs all season.

“There just hasn’t been anybody on ahead of you, huh?” Weaver sympathized.

“Well, actually, I’m hitting about .180 with guys in scoring position,” Grich lamented.

Sunday, Grich raised his RBI total by 50%, thanks to a bases-loaded, broken-bat single to left in the middle of a five-run eighth inning that propelled the Angels to a 7-4 win over the Orioles at Anaheim Stadium.

Oh, yeah. And thanks to Earl Weaver.

Weaver ordered an intentional walk to George Hendrick and Grich couldn’t help but recall Friday’s casual chatter as he stood in the on-deck circle watching Baltimore reliever Rich Bordi throw four wide ones.

“That whole conversation was to set him up for today,” Grich said, smiling . . . then laughing.

Weaver, of course, was just playing it by the book. Gary Pettis’ single, Wally Joyner’s bunt single and Brian Downing’s RBI double had chased starter Scott McGregor. Bordi got Doug DeCinces to pop to left and Weaver wanted his infield back and a chance to get out of the inning with a double play.

“I’d have done the same thing even if a left-hander was coming up,” Weaver said. “We had to try and get out of the inning with one pitch.

“But Grich is a battler and he got his bat on the ball. Anytime you do that, you’ve at least got a chance.”

For the record, Grich didn’t get much of his bat on the ball. And he certainly didn’t get the part of the bat he wanted to on it. Bordi’s inside fastball struck Grich’s bat about two inches above his hands. The ball floated over third baseman Juan Beniquez and died on the outfield grass like a well-struck 9-iron, scoring Joyner and Downing.

“It was a thing of beauty,” Grich said. “Some teams win ugly. I hit ugly. My hands stung, but it sure felt good.”

Grich, who severely sprained his right thumb in the home opener while applying a tag to Seattle’s Steve Yeager, got used to pain in his hand. And because of it, he’s had to settle for singles for most of the season.

He had just four extra base hits--two doubles and two home runs--before the seventh inning Sunday when he sent a drive to dead center that John Shelby ran down but dropped when he collided with the fence. It was ruled a double.

“Two weeks ago, I couldn’t have hit that ball but the thumb is completely healed now,” Grich said. “I had to adjust my swing because of it. I couldn’t hit with power, so I just tried to do what I could and get some singles.”

Grich, who’s hitting .299, muddled through remarkably well. He had a 14-game hitting streak in May, his longest since a career-high 21-game streak in 1981, and accomplished it while seldom playing more than two games in a row.

“I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I won’t be playing every day,” he said, “and I’m learning how to sit out a couple days without losing the groove.”

Despite his success, the thumb injury was the cause of considerable frustration for Grich.

“I had a great last week of spring training and a good first week of the season,” Grich said. “Then I tagged Yeager, felt something pop and the thumb went numb.”

The frustration came to a head May 12 in Boston when he failed to run to first after grounding out to end the game. He stayed at the plate, paralyzed by pain, while Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner chased down an errant throw and then walked over to first to record the out.

Angel Manager Gene Mauch chastised Grich in front of the rest of the team and loudly enough to be heard in Anaheim. And Grich was livid.

“I’ve never failed to run out a ground ball in 15 years and I told Gene I wasn’t about to start now,” Grich recalled. “It wasn’t frustration or an I-don’t-give-a-damn situation. I was just buckled over in pain and when I looked up, Buckner was touching the bag.”

Mauch, who told reporters after the game that Grich “must have broken his leg,” listened to Grich’s side of the story and both say the matter is closed.