Joyner, Hitting .217, Remains Optimistic : Angels: First baseman says outside of the blazing beginning of 1986, this is his best start, so he’s not worried.

Measured in years, Wally Joyner’s rookie season happened recently. It was in 1986 that Joyner captured baseball’s fancy by driving in runs at a precocious and dizzying rate.

But by Joyner’s reckoning, it was a lifetime ago, a person ago.

“I think it’ll always be a question as to whether that really did happen to me,” he said. “It was my first year, so I didn’t have another year to compare it to. Everything was going 100%, and I wasn’t able to sit back and enjoy it and I’ve had my doubts about whether it happened to me.”

Those may be the only doubts the Angel first baseman harbors. The recent off-season might have been the winter of his contractual discontent--he ultimately went to arbitration and won a salary of $1,750,000 instead of the $1,225,000 the club had offered--but this is the spring of Joyner’s optimism.

Although the .217 average he takes into tonight’s game against the Red Sox isn’t batting-title caliber, it’s better than his usual beginnings. And although the Angels’ offense has been less than overwhelming in the early weeks of the season, Joyner is sure that, too, will improve.

“Outside of ‘86, this is my best start,” said Joyner, who hit the majority of his 22 home runs in the early weeks of that season. He was below .200 the following April, and still finished at .285, with 34 home runs and 117 RBIs.

“It’s kind of funny, because after three games I was five for 10 and it was looking like I’d get off to a pretty good start,” he said. “I’m always a slow starter. I think the problem is when you try not to have a slow start, then you put too much pressure on yourself. I can make contact, it’s a matter of putting a good swing on the ball.

“I can remember my first two years I told everyone, ‘I’m not a home run hitter.’ It was hard to make them believe that and to make me believe it after I said I’m not a home-run hitter and I get 56 home runs.

“It’s a matter of maintaining a good approach and a good swing over a period of time. I think I’ve gotten off to a good start, though I haven’t gotten good results. . . . It’s the hardest thing to realize when you’re not getting good results but you can’t do anything better. Sure, I’d like to have six or seven more hits, but my at-bats could easily have (resulted in) six or seven more.”

That the result of his arbitration hearing was favorable was more a reward than vindication, he said. It’s standard procedure for club officials to cite flaws in the same players whose virtues they publicly extol, but it can’t be pleasant for a player to be reminded of his shortcomings.

The Angels pointed out Joyner’s declining RBI totals--117, 85 and 79 the last three seasons--and the unevenness of his home run totals--34, 13 and 16 in that span.

His side pointed out the similarity of his statistics to those of such higher-salaried players as Montreal’s Andres Galarraga, and his fielding statistics--four errors and a .997 percentage in 1989--were better.

Joyner shrugged it off as a game within the game that still stirs in him a boyish sense of wonder.

“I knew that was going to happen before we went to arbitration,” he said of the criticism. “I don’t have doubts about myself.

“I was watching a game the other night and they were talking about (the Dodgers’) Tim Belcher and how opponents’ batting average against him were .217, .217 and .216. That, I thought, was pretty amazing. It’s 162 different games in every season and a lot of things can happen.”

That Joyner happens to be hitting only slightly higher than his weight, 198, doesn’t worry Angel Manager Doug Rader.

“He’s got a good natural swing, and it’ll all be there when it’s supposed to be,” Rader said. “He’s going to hit home runs. There are very few home run hitters, when you stop and think about it, beyond the (Jose) Cansecos and those people.

“If Wally hits 20 to 25, that’s a fine year. To expect him to hit 30 again is unreasonable. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but you can’t expect people to have that kind of year, year in and year out.”

Although his first year belonged to those who celebrated him, the year he savored most was 1989, when the Angels contended for the West Division title for much of the season.

“A lot of things (in 1986) would be hard to duplicate because there were a lot of firsts: my first home run, playoffs, All-Star game,” he said. “I enjoyed last year--that was my favorite year. I was able to be out of the spotlight and enjoy watching Jim Abbott, Devon White and the younger guys and watch us, as a team, play. I could enjoy that, whereas in ‘86, I wasn’t able to.”

A division title this season could make him enjoy 1990 even more.

“We played two games against Oakland (losses last week) and I thought we played them very well,” Joyner said. “I think we pressed, as far as the hitters are concerned, and we’re still pressing. We’re trying to do too much with every at-bat. Instead of going for three singles, we want three triples or a double and two home runs.

“In 1988, the reason why we won a lot of games was our offense, so in the winter of ’88 there was a lot of ‘What can we do to improve our pitching? The hitters are fine.’

“In ‘89, the pitching was great and things kind of swung the other way. If we can have a game like the Minnesota Twins had (a 13-1 rout of the Angels last Friday), our problems would be over. We need that little boost of confidence. I can hit, Johnny Ray is a career .300 hitter, Chili (Davis is) hitting, Dante (Bichette) is doing his part.

“It’s kind of funny. An actor, maybe had two good movies and a few bad, and people question if he’s a good actor. All he needs is one good role and he’s back on top. The same is true for our offense. We’ve got nine guys here able to change the momentum in any game. It’s just a matter of getting into a situation to do that.”

Angel Notes

Almost every player attended Monday’s optional workout at Fenway Park, where the mood was relaxed. Trainer Rick Smith and physical therapist Roger Williams joined in the fun by shagging fly balls in the outfield, and Smith practiced playing the carom off the Green Monster in left field.

Dante Bichette hit some tremendous shots off the Monster during batting practice, which he said was by accident. He added, “You can’t be aiming for that thing.” The right-handed hitting outfielder leads the Angels in batting average at .292, in home runs with three, RBIs with nine, and total bases with 26, and leads the regulars in slugging percentage at .542.

During the four-game losing streak that ended Sunday, the Angels had a team ERA of 6.87 and hit only .191. They averaged 1.8 runs a game, compared to opponents’ 7.8. . . . With five doubles, Jack Howell is tied for the American League lead. . . . Howell, who has had two 20-home run seasons and 68 homers in his career, has never hit one at Fenway Park.