Angels Fall in a Battle of Witts

The battle of Witts was over and Mike had come away with mixed results. He had lost to his Texas namesake, Bobby, 4-3, Sunday afternoon, which meant he wouldn’t be winning 20 games this season.

But he did walk off with the 1986 Owner’s Trophy, an annual award given to the Angels’ most valuable player by a vote of his teammates.

Witt was asked how he felt about it

“It’s great,” Witt muttered, his head down.

A reporter mentioned he didn’t sound convincing.

“You probably won’t write it that way but that’s how I feel,” Witt snapped.

Thus began another postgame press conference with Mike Witt.

Few of these sessions generate much real information or dialogue. Usually, as this one was, they are strained, awkward meetings, punctuated by long pauses and short answers.

Witt is to the 1986 Angels what John Tudor was to the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals--in both performance and public image. He is 18-10 with a 2.74 earned-run average. He leads the league in innings pitched, is tied for third in complete games and fourth in strikeouts.

He also holds the press in great disdain and makes no attempt to hide it.

Sunday, he was asked why.

“I don’t think I’ve been treated fairly,” Witt said. “I played with Carew and Reggie and Doug (DeCinces) and I know what’s going on. But I never saw half the stuff written about those guys that I got my first three years.”

Witt believes he received undue criticism during his early years with the Angels, when he arrived at 20 amid glowing scouting reports and struggled through seasons of 8-9, 8-6 and 7-14.

“Maybe I’ve been waiting five years for this,” Witt said. “So you guys can come to me and get nothing.

“Talking to you is not part of my job. There’s a guy on this team (George Hendrick) who doesn’t talk to you guys at all and he seems to do all right.”

Witt said he was considering adopting Hendrick’s no-comment approach to media relations.

“It’s an option,” Witt said.

Sunday, however, Witt was still talking. As little as possible, but still talking.

A sampling:

On Bobby Witt, who struck out six and allowed four hits in 6 innings: “I’m not a scout. I don’t rate talent.”

On his own performance: “I pitched just bad enough to lose.”

On the fact he will fall short of a 20-win season this year: “I never thought about 20. I was only thinking about 19.”

On being voted the Owner’s Trophy by his teammates: “It’s nice that they think that of me. I just happened to have a good year. That’s their feelings.”

On the possibility of starting Game 1 of the playoffs: “That’s just the way he (Manager Gene Mauch) wants it.”

On the banality of such answers: “I hope you’re frustrated. . . . I don’t play the game. I just try to answer the question and not say anything beyond that. You guys come in, get a quote and who knows what happens with it?”

Witt said he preferred the treatment he received in high school, when he was pitching for Anaheim Servite High, located just a few stoplights away from Anaheim Stadium.

“I liked it in high school,” he said. “Then, the writers just looked at the game and what happened on the field. Shoot, that was fun.”

On the field Sunday, Witt had a no-hitter through five innings before former Servite teammate Steve Buechele beat out a dribbler down the third-base line in the sixth inning.

He had a shutout until the seventh inning, when two singles and an intentional walk loaded the bases for Pete Incaviglia. Incaviglia, ending an 0-for-25 drought, hit Witt’s first pitch over the left-field fence for a grand slam.

Witt went on to finish the game, recording his 14 complete game. His numbers for the afternoon: 4 hits, 4 earned runs, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts, 1 defeat.

Witt said he was tired of “stupid questions,” so the pitcher was asked what he would ask himself after such a performance.

Witt thought it over for a moment.

“I wouldn’t ask anything,” he finally said.

And that, in the view of Mike Witt, would represent the perfect press conference.

Angel Notes

It was bound to happen sooner or later and, when it did, it was bound to create some confusion. After the game, Angel Manager Gene Mauch was asked the inevitable question: “What was your impression of Witt?” Mauch: “Which Witt?” . . . Mauch on Mike Witt: “He’s already got 20 (wins) in my book. You just can’t put it in the record books. Sure, I’d like to see him get 20, because of the recognition that would bring him. But I think he’s highly regarded already.” Mauch on Bobby Witt: “The other Witt ain’t bad, boys. Roger Clemens doesn’t walk out there with better stuff. I’m not talking about knowing how to pitch and winning; there’s a disparity there. But he has the velocity. He’s faster than our Mike.” . . . The Witts are not related.

Mauch called for an intentional walk to Larry Parrish in the seventh inning, loading the bases for Pete Incaviglia. Incaviglia responded with his second career grand slam, a set of events that was still on Mauch’s mind when he was handed a microphone to address the crowd on Fan Appreciation Day. “How about that intentional walk?” Mauch said. “Wasn’t that a beauty?” . . . Sunday’s crowd of 57,224 gave the Angels a final attendance total of 2,655,872 for the season. It was the second-highest total in Angel history, behind the 1982 figure of 2,807,360. It also meant an extra $127,936 for Reggie Jackson. Jackson’s contract has an attendance clause which pays him 50 cents for each ticket sold beyond 2.4 million.

Other Angel awards went to Wally Joyner (Rookie of the Year) and Bob Boone (Most Inspirational Player). Joyner, who seemed a cinch for the Owner’s Trophy before his second-half slump, was asked about the team’s selection of Witt. “I voted for Mike Witt,” Joyner said. “Things happen. Mike had a great year, I’ve been injured. I don’t need to talk about this anymore.” . . . Texas’ Mitch Williams got the last two outs of the seventh inning, which represented his 78th appearance, tying the rookie record. . . . Incaviglia struck out two more times, raising his American League record to 179. He is 10 shy of Bobby Bonds’ major league record with seven games remaining.