Angels ’87 : Defense Should Earn an A-Plus : Rookies’ Speed Has Mauch Speaking in Superlatives

They used to go to Palm Springs hoping for a March sunburn and a close-up look at some bigger-than-life baseball players with names such as Reggie and Rod.

This spring, they went hoping for the sunburn and a chance to look into the future.

The rookies stole the show in Angels Stadium the last two weeks and Angel fans got a good dose of rookies and rays.

Newcomers Devon White and Mark McLemore were impressive in the field and at the plate. So was almost-a-rookie Jack Howell. And the consensus--from the manager to the coaches to the players--was that even if these kids don’t contend for the batting title, the Angels will be much improved defensively.

The only problem is there doesn’t seem to be all that much room for improvement. Last year’s team set a club record for fewest errors (100) and allowed only 63 unearned runs.

“Most people think of speed as running the bases and stealing bases,” Manager Gene Mauch said. “But that’s no more important than defensive speed. Defensive speed can turn triples into singles, doubles into outs and ground-ball singles into outs.”

Sometimes, it’s a two-way street, however.

“They ought to have a statistic for dumb speed,” one reporter said after White tried to make a shoestring catch and turned a single into a triple.

Right fielder White is sure to make a lot of appearances in highlight films, and second baseman McLemore will run down some ground balls that used to end up in the outfield. But aren’t rookies apt to make rookie mistakes?

Mauch shrugged. “Guys with this kind of speed can outrun most of their mistakes.”

Wally Joyner, last year’s kid on the spot, proved as handy with a glove as a bat. He’s proof that a player can be poised and a rookie too.

“We’ve been a sound defensive team because Gene is a stickler for fundamentals,” Joyner said. “We spend a lot of time working on defense.

“White and McLemore, and to some extent Jack Howell, give us a little more speed. Our fielding percentage might be down, but so will the other teams’ batting average because we’re going to get to some balls--and maybe sometimes make an error--that no one ever got to before.”

Not counting veteran third baseman Doug DeCinces, the Angels will have a total of 4 years and 59 days of major league experience at the other three infield positions. They’ll have two new faces in the outfield. Maybe a new catcher.

Mauch remains steadfastly optimistic.

“Yes, the defense last year was adequate,” he said, “but with White, McLemore and Howell out there the potential goes beyond adequate.

“I think we’ll have a far better defense then we’ve ever had.”

Here’s a breakdown of how the Angels stack up defensively:

CATCHER

There’s no questioning the defensive skills of Bob Boone. The incredibly durable 39-year-old strapped on the gear for 144 games last year. He didn’t just squat there either. He threw out 41 of 80 runners who tried to steal and won another Gold Glove.

Boone would be an asset even if he wasn’t a master strategist when it comes to setting up hitters, a “pitch framer” who can get balls called strikes, a molder of young pitchers and a team leader.

There’s a good chance that Boone will be back with the Angels this season, but Mauch seems satisfied that Butch Wynegar, an 11-year veteran at only 31, can handle the job.

“You want to know what I’m going to get from Butch Wynegar? I’m going to get everything he’s got,” Mauch said.

Which is?

“Butch is a solid major league catcher. He’s got a good pair of hands, a soft pair of hands. He’s a good thrower and he knows a little more about this game than some people have given him credit for.”

If Boone isn’t back, backups Jerry Narron and Darrell Miller, who has had some defensive problems this spring, will get more playing time. If Boone does come back, one will probably have to go.

FIRST BASE

Joyner, the first rookie to start in an All-Star game since fans regained the vote in 1970, got his votes because he had 20 homers and 72 RBIs at the All-Star break. A lot of people never noticed that he’s also an above-average fielder.

Joyner is sort of a reverse Steve Garvey at first: Good range and great arm, but his weakness is digging throws out of the dirt.

“I made 15 errors last year and I bet 10 of them were on balls no one expected me to get to,” Joyner said.

And he’s confident too.

SECOND BASE

McLemore may come under closer scrutiny than White because of the outstanding defense that Bobby Grich and Rob Wilfong have provided.

“Mark has great range, quick hands and the ability to turn the double play,” DeCinces said, “but it’s not fair to compare him with Bobby Grich. Bobby was always in the right place at the right time. It was automatic.”

Said shortstop Dick Schofield: “I’ve never seen anyone with better hands than Bobby Grich, but Mark has great range and he’s working out fine.”

Angel scout Cookie Rojas spent almost every day this past winter with McLemore. They started with the basics and worked on every facet of his game during winter ball in Puerto Rico.

“Cookie came down three games into the season and stayed until the end,” McLemore said. “We did lots of extra work. One day we’d work all day on going to my right, the next day something else.”

Earlier this spring, Mauch felt that McLemore was playing too conservatively. Mauch, 61, had a talk with his 22-year-old rookie, and now McLemore is “free and easy and really winging it,” according to a grinning Mauch.

“It’s not like me to play cautiously,” McLemore said. “I’m not sure why I was, but going all out is part of my game, and that’s what I’m doing now.”

Some scouts say McLemore’s defense is still suspect, but at this point he has convinced the man who matters most.

“Grich and Wilfong made the outs outs,” Mauch said. “But last year I watched him routinely field four ground balls that we wouldn’t have touched in the last five years.”

SHORTSTOP

Schofield was rushed to the majors at 21. Three years later, he’s a rugged veteran of 24, not to mention one of the steadiest shortstops in baseball. He didn’t make his first error until the 41st game last season and finished with just 18 errors.

“He’s better than anyone except the guy in Toronto (Tony Fernandez) and maybe Alfredo Griffin at Oakland,” said Moose Stubing, the Angels’ third base coach. “But nobody makes all the plays like Dick. He’s a premier shortstop. . . . He’ll take you to a championship.”

THIRD BASE

As long as DeCinces’ lower back holds out (and it hasn’t bothered him this spring) and he can still lean over to field ground balls, the Angels will get solid defensive play at third.

DeCinces, 36, has been one of the league’s best-fielding third baseman for a decade but has never won a Gold Glove.

He’s not likely to win one this year, but his defensive skills don’t seem to have eroded.

And Mauch says DeCinces “is playing like a young colt again.”

LEFT FIELD

Brian Downing has played more than 1,000 games for the Angels, and he has spent more than half of them patroling left field. He holds the major league record for consecutive error-free games (244) and is living testimony that hustle is a talent.

Downing hasn’t been able to get much on his throws in recent years. In an effort to compensate, he sometimes hurt his shoulder, which hurt his hitting, which hurt the team.

He also had this inclination for running into walls.

Downing, who volunteered to take over as designated hitter, will still see a little action in left.

Howell will play left this season . . . at least when the opposing pitcher is right-handed. If Howell continues to hit as he has this spring, he might get a full-time job.

A converted third baseman who played eight games in the outfield last year and “some in high school,” Howell seems to be making the transformation smoothly. Downing, who studied hitters relentlessly, has been passing on the information.

Howell will get to more balls than Downing and nobody will be testing his arm once they’ve seen him throw.

“Few play left field as intelligently as Brian,” Mauch said, “but it’d be an indictment of all of us if Jack couldn’t learn it. There’s a potential for us to be better there strictly because of Jack’s arm. He’s got a major league arm.”

George Hendrick, whose right-field platoon with Ruppert Jones produced a combined 31 homers and 96 RBIs in 1986, will probably begin the season platooning with Howell. Hendrick might play in right and White would shuttle over to left.

CENTER FIELD

White may be a hair faster than Gary Pettis, but it’s doubtful that he can surpass the standard of excellence the Angel center fielder has established in only three years.

Pettis recovered from a slow start last year and regained the magic in time to win his second consecutive Gold Glove. He received more votes than any other American League outfielder in 1985 and 1986. He also led the league’s outfielders in putouts last season with 462.

Pettis and White have had their problems meshing on occasion this spring, but Pettis isn’t worried.

“We both can cover so much ground, both of us are there to make the catch,” Pettis said, shrugging. “We’re going to cover a lot of ground this year.”

Mauch isn’t worried either.

“I consider it a luxury to have one Gary Pettis in the lineup,” Mauch said. “Now, I may have two.”

RIGHT FIELD

This spot is White’s to play himself out of. If he can hit .280 or so, he’ll be a fixture.

“He might take all the fun out of the game,” pitcher Kirk McCaskill said, smiling. “Both of those guys (White and Pettis) can get to balls nobody else can.”

White routinely makes semi-spectacular catches, but the converted center fielder has been too aggressive at times and sometimes too cautious this spring. And he’s just plain misplayed a couple of fly balls.

“It’s a little different out there for me right now,” White admitted. “It could be bad playing alongside someone as fast as Gary. I have a tendency to slack off. I don’t want to be hogging it, and I’m used to taking everything I can get to.

“It could be a great outfield or it might not develop.”

Mauch thinks White is concerned about nothing. He doesn’t expect sometimes spectacular, sometimes inconsistent play from his star rookie. The Angel manager just sees a gifted athlete who has the ability to become a great defensive player.

“Devon’s not having any trouble that I see,” Mauch said. “He had a little trouble with the background and wind in Phoenix one day and he had a little trouble with a swirling 40-m.p.h. wind in Tucson one day, but that’s it.

“I can put Jones and Hendrick out there together and White by himself would catch more balls.”