Armas Remains a Hero in His Homeland : Angel Reserve Makes Headlines in Venezuela

At 36, Tony Armas still makes the headlines, but they are mostly in El National and El Universal, the Venezuelan newspapers that still honor their own, no matter how unnoteworthy the performance.

“Armas: 1 for 5,” a small headline will say. It is not important how well he does, only that he is Venezuelan, even after 12 years in the major leagues.

Armas’ days as an everyday player are behind him, as are the best days of his career, and so are most of the headlines.

But today in Caracas, there will be a headline worth noting--”Armas: 3 for 4”.

Armas was in right field for the Angels Wednesday night against the Seattle Mariners and batted fifth in the order. He proved to be in the right place for the Angels, going 3 for 4 with two doubles, driving in the only runs the Angels needed for a 4-1 victory with a two-run double in the fifth inning.

With designated hitter Brian Downing bothered by sore ribs and right fielder Claudell Washington sitting out with a bruised left shoulder, Armas has found himself filling in at one position or the other. For now, he is enjoying a brief return to the time when he could come to the park and expect to find his name on the lineup card.

“I’m not an everyday player. I just go out there for Claudell and go with my role,” Armas said. “I play when they need me.”

That would be now.

Although he is hitting .268 this season in playing time limited somewhat by injury, Armas is having his greatest success against the Mariners, conveniently enough for the Angels.

Of his 37 hits, 11 have come against Seattle. And of those 11 hits, eight have been for extra bases--two home runs, five doubles and a triple.

“Sometimes you’ve got a team you can hit,” Armas said. “I guess I’ve got Seattle. That happens sometimes, with some teams.”

On Tuesday night, the first game of the homestand, Armas went 2 for 5. But he also struck out three times, and that stuck with him.

“They got me last night on breaking balls,” he said. “They got me three times. I was ready for the breaking balls tonight.”

He also suffered the slight indignity of being considered an easy mark, when Seattle starter Brian Holman intentionally walked Wally Joyner to an open first base in the fifth inning, bringing Armas up with two outs and runners on first and second.

“They have to walk him and pitch to me,” Armas said. “They have to.”

The Mariners came after Armas with the breaking ball, but he was waiting, and sent one that came low and outside into the left-field corner, bringing both runners home.

His career is on the wane. It has been five years since 1984, the year he hit 43 homers for the Boston Red Sox. And the headlines are rare, except back home.

“I guess they like me there,” Armas said. “I guess I’m a big hero. To me, that’s all right.”