Going 1 for 6 Is Better Than Going 0 for 6, Especially for Grich

Reggie Jackson spotted Bobby Grich in the Angel clubhouse.

“Hey, Bobby,” Jackson said. “You didn’t need that one too bad.”

Grich laughed. He could afford humor now, what with his 11th-inning single that gave the Angels a 4-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox Saturday night.

“Yeah, not too bad,” Grich shouted back. “It was either a hit or a gun.”

This was a night Grich promised to commit to memory. He had entered the 11th inning with no hits in five confusing tries. He had struck out three times--twice against Red Sox starter Roger Clemens and another time against reliever Calvin Schiraldi in the ninth with the bases loaded.

As if he needed more misery, there was Grich’s error in the eighth inning, which didn’t go unnoticed by Anaheim Stadium fans. Afterward, any ground ball fielded cleanly by Grich was rewarded with a smattering of sarcastic applause.

Nothing has come easily for Grich in this American League championship series. He has had his hits, but other events have tended to overshadow whatever happened at the plate.

On Wednesday in Boston, Grich entertained a national television audience with an innovative tantrum following a botched running signal from third base coach Moose Stubing. And who can forget his battles with the sun over Fenway Park. He lost one ball in the glare and botched another grounder, this time for an official error.

Now this. Now an 0-for-5 evening going on 0 for 6. He had blown his chance for a certain amount of redemption in the ninth with the bases loaded. When he arrived at the plate in the 11th, Schiraldi, the Red Sox’s best reliever, was still there, waiting to further damage Grich’s pride.

As Grich began to make his way out of the dugout, he said Mauch motioned to him.

“Don’t go up looking for a base on balls,” Manager Gene Mauch said. “Hit this guy.”

Said Grich: “That’s an omen. He’s saying, ‘Go ahead and hack.’ ”

So Grich hacked. Schiraldi’s first pitch, a fastball, splashed gently in left field. Hurrying around third base was another unlikely success story, reserve catcher Jerry Narron, who had begun the inning with a single to right. As Narron moved toward home with the Angels’ third victory in four playoff games, the remainder of the Angel team moved with him down the line. Shortly thereafter, a high-five convention broke out, led appropriately by Grich.

“You can have all the money in the world, but you can’t buy a thrill like that,” Grich said. “I was glad to be in the middle of it.”

At one point, as the Angels loaded the bases in the ninth, Grich said he thought Mauch might choose a pinch hitter. After all, Schiraldi was a right-hander (so is Grich) and, hey, Grich wasn’t exactly reminding anyone of Babe Ruth.

“I kept looking over my shoulder,” Grich said.

But there was Mauch, shaking his fist at Grich.

“Go get ‘em,” Mauch said.

Strikeout. An out later, the Angels go to the 10th with the score tied, 3-3.

“I was on my fourth different stance,” Grich said. “I was making all kinds of adjustments.”

The Angels were retired without difficulty in the 10th. Then came the 11th. There was Narron’s single, a sacrifice bunt by Gary Pettis, an intentional walk to Ruppert Jones.

Grich’s turn.

He kept reminding himself to adjust his hands properly on the bat. And don’t be afraid to hit the first pitch. No use waiting, he said.

Schiraldi obliged with his fastball. Grich obliged with his single and soon was mobbed by Angel players and some fans.

“Bobby’s been through a lot,” said Doug DeCinces, who provided a bit of theatrics with a ninth-inning homer. “He knew what he had to do and did it. And he didn’t waste any time.”

And this from Jackson: “The nicest thing about the base hit was that Bobby Grich had had a tough couple of days. It couldn’t have happened to a more needy guy. He needed that hit to put him on a high.”

A high? Grich said he jumped about three or four feet after the single.

“It was a good ending to a frustrating night,” Grich said.