Angel Ride: Fun While It Lasted

Unless Jose Canseco joins a gun club, Dennis Eckersley loses his nerve, Tony La Russa practices law, Rickey Henderson pouts, Mark McGwire bunts or Dave Parker puffs up, the Oakland Athletics are going to win the AL West and the Angels--surprise--are not.

I told you so.

Of course, I also told you that the Angels would be out of the race by May and look what happened. They lasted until late summer and have won 80 games, five more than they won last year.

If anyone picked this team to win the division, I want to meet the person and then say, “Liar, liar, Angel pants on fire.” Either that, or recommend they seek professional care.

Nobody chose the Angels to do this well in 1989. Even Gene Autry, who owns the team, didn’t expect them to win this many games. A good season for Autry would have been 2.5 million fans and less cheese on his nachos.

Who could blame him for modest expectations? The proposed Angel starting rotation was 40-54 the year before (or 49-57, if you count Jim Abbott’s senior season at the University of Michigan). They didn’t have the prototypal cleanup hitter. Their left fielder could produce heart murmurs, what with his very special brand of defense. Their newly acquired catcher had a history of back aches, to say nothing of batting-average ailments. The manager, if the stories were true, was good friends with Norman Bates.

The ’27 Yankees, they weren’t. Or the ‘37, ‘47, ’57 editions, either.

They were, however, a team with enough holes and intrigue to earn a curious following. You figured these Angels to be awful, but in a fun, interesting way.

Yes, well, that was before we discovered that Doug Rader had filed his fangs down from his stormy days as the Texas Ranger manager. Engaging isn’t the right word to describe the new and improved Rader, but it’s close. Turns out he was the perfect choice for a team in need of the strong, not-so-silent type.

And who would have guessed that an aging practical joker would officially replace Mike Witt as the rotation’s anchor piece? But there was Bert Blyleven, his curveball revived, his clubhouse pranks unleashed, winning games and friends on a team heretofore known for its stoicism.

A polite round of applause also goes to Abbott, who won more games as a rookie major leaguer than he did last year in the Big Ten. And have you noticed that fewer people are using the usual qualifiers when mentioning his name. No longer is it, Abbott, who was born without a right hand . . . Now it’s just pitcher Jim Abbott . . .

Much better.

There are other moments that tend to linger from this season, beginning with the time Chuck Finley sent Boston Red Sox All-Star Mike Greenwell to the dirt with a knockdown pitch. It may not sound like much, but Finley, who had watched Roger Clemens whiz one past Angel Jack Howell earlier in the game, was making a statement: the Angels wouldn’t be intimidated, not even by a Clemens heater.

And let me ask you one question about the play of one Mr. Charles Theodore Davis:

What would you rather have--a Gold Glove or another 20-plus home runs and 80-plus runs batted in?

I thought so.

This also was a season of tranquility, thanks partly to Angel vice president Mike Port. Port pushed for Rader’s hiring and was rewarded with an unexpected record. Port acquired Blyleven and took a chance on Abbott. And Port didn’t waste half the spring pinching the copper out of pennies. His player negotiations didn’t feature the bitterness of past bargaining sessions.

Still, I wonder if Port doesn’t regret not doing more to get Rickey Henderson atop the Angel lineup. Instead, Henderson went to the A’s and pestered the rest of the American League in an Oakland uniform. He ignited rallies, stole bases, forced mistakes. The Angels could have used him, as well as another starting pitcher, when Finley went down with a toe injury. But alas, nothing, though there were rumors of Yankee reliever Dave Righetti or Detroit Tiger Doyle Alexander coming to Anaheim.

More moments . . .

How about the gentle guidance of pitching coach Marcel Lachemann? Lachemann helped turn Finley into a 14-game winner. He led Abbott through a difficult rookie season. He did what he could with Witt. He didn’t panic when reliever Bryan Harvey suffered his inconsistencies.

And for those of you who were driven to chain-smoking when Harvey took the mound, remember this: he still allows fewer hits than innings pitched. Better yet, opponents are hitting less than .200 against him. One of the reasons--Lachemann.

As Angel seasons go, 1989 was a doozy. It had drama and suspense, two items not seen in Anaheim Stadium since 1986. What it didn’t have was a few more victories, which is why the A’s soon will be dousing themselves with bubbly and the Angels won’t.

That’s OK, though. No one expected them to be soaked in champagne come October. And they were right--sort of.