Anderson Tries to Take Errors in Stride

Kent Anderson knew that the thing to do was to shake the thought from his head.

Brian Downing stopped by and kneeled to share a laugh, his gesture of comfort.

In his office, Manager Doug Rader was talking about how even the greatest players have had nights like this, not just guys with less than a year of major league service filling in for an injured starter. Even guys like Rader, who won five Gold Gloves.

“It happened to me,” Rader said.

On the other side of the clubhouse, Anderson was telling himself to put it aside. The seventh inning was behind the Angels, and so too was their chance at a fourth victory in a row after a disastrous inning in which they committed three errors, two by Anderson, allowing the Minnesota Twins to score five runs, four of them unearned, and walk away with a 7-4 victory.

“I just booted ‘em,” said Anderson, who was playing shortstop for the second night in a row, filling in for Dick Schofield, who is on the disabled list with a hamstring injury. “It cost us the game. It happens. If I make those plays, chances are we win the game. It happens. I’ve got to pick myself up by my bootstraps and get up tomorrow.”

The Angels took a 4-2 lead into the seventh inning. With two on and none out, Dan Gladden hit a grounder to short, and Anderson was thinking double play.

“I tried to turn too quick,” Anderson said. “I tried to do a little too much.”

Everyone was safe, and that left reliever Mike Witt facing pinch-hitter Jim Dwyer with the bases loaded instead of with two outs and a runner at third.

Dwyer singled to left to drive in Greg Gagne and John Moses, erasing the Angels’ lead.

Up stepped Kirby Puckett, who hit a one-hopper that bounced off the heel of Anderson’s glove, sending Gladden to third and setting up Gary Gaetti’s sacrifice fly to right for the go-ahead run.

Anderson’s part was done, but the inning was far from over. Brian Harper, the next batter, doubled to left, and Chili Davis was charged with a fielding error that allowed Puckett to score.

The Angels didn’t get out of the inning until 11 Twins had stepped to the plate and five of them had crossed it.

The Angels’ other error was Wally Joyner’s throwing error in the fourth, which also allowed a run to score.

Joyner made only four errors all last season, but already he has committed two in five games.

Anderson wouldn’t claim inexperience or rustiness for his errors. After all, he played in 86 games for the Angels last season, including 65 in which he started at shortstop, filling in for the oft-injured Schofield.

“I fit in last year when Schofield got hurt,” Anderson said. “I wasn’t pressing. I missed two ground balls tonight. That’s it.”

It was not a pretty night. Four errors by the Angels, two by the Twins.

“I feel real bad for Kent Anderson,” Rader said. “We’ve all been there. . . . Some of the greatest ballplayers in history have had innings like that. Some have had worse. It’s no big deal.”

Anderson understood that.

“I don’t feel like I’m the only one who’s ever done it,” he said. “I’ll try to forget those as soon as possible.”