Brett Seeks Place in Baseball History With American League Batting Title : Baseball: He homers and remains at .330. Angels win, 7-6, on White’s hit in ninth.

He let the notion dance through his mind for a while before saying it aloud and giving it life. And once George Brett said he could win the American League batting title, it became almost inevitable.

“He told me a month ago, when he was 10 points behind, that he was going to do it,” said Brett’s brother, Ken, an Angel TV and radio broadcaster. “I believed him because he was hitting the ball real well, and all he had to do was keep up that pace. He wouldn’t have said it if he didn’t think he’d do it.”

The batting title George Brett is shooting for would be his third and his most fulfilling because it would be the reward for a season he called, “crazy but fun. It’s made me feel a lot younger than I am.”

There are historic elements to his mission: that he could become the first player to win a title in three decades and, at age 37, the third oldest to win. What would make this his most meaningful triumph is that he could become the AL batting champion after he was hitting .200 on May 7 and was being widely spoken of in the past tense.

“As far as coming back from adversity, this definitely would be the sweetest,” Brett said.

He was one for three with a three-run home run Thursday.

His batting average remains at .330, five points higher than Oakland’s Rickey Henderson and Texas’ Rafael Palmeiro, and his 14th homer of the season gave the Royals a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning. That lead was traded in the eighth and ninth innings until Devon White singled with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth to break a 6-6 tie and give the Angels a 7-6 victory.

“In 1976 I was in a race with Hal McRae and the late Lyman Bostock, and I ended up winning in my last at-bat in a controversial call (when Minnesota left fielder Steve Brye’s effort in letting a Brett fly ball fall for a hit was questioned by McRae), and that took some of the fun out of it,” Brett said in placing his batting titles in historical perspective. “The second one, in 1980, I won by 40 points. This one, I didn’t start hitting until the second half. It would be a great turnaround for me, unbelievable.”

He can recall no moment when his improbable resurgence began, no change in his batting stance or his approach. But once it began, his outlook changed dramatically after having been dimmed by the Royals’ dismal season.

“It was frustrating. Not only was I struggling, but the team was going through the worst stretch in franchise history,” said Brett, who hit .387 (46 for 119) over 31 games and .391 (107 for 274) with 57 RBIs since the All-Star break. “Shortly before the second half started I caught fire and the team started winning. I’m still in fire, but the team isn’t. . . . It was tough coming to the ballpark. It was, ‘What’s going to happen today? How are we going to lose and how am I going to screw up?’ Now, I look forward to coming to the ballpark and I’m in a great mood. . . .

“Four months ago people were saying, ‘It would be impossible for George Brett to win the batting title. He’s overmatched.’ I stuck with it. I’m a lot easier to get along with than I was four months ago. I’m doing my job. Before, it was forced and I wasn’t having fun.”

He was surprised to learn of the distinction of winning titles in three decades, and that increased his incentive.

“It didn’t hit me until two weeks, maybe three weeks ago,” he said. “My first thought was what about Rogers Hornsby? I found it hard to believe no one had done it before. I’m taking a lot of pride. I really want to do that, to be able to say, when my career is over, that I’m the only player ever to have done that. It would be fantastic.”

Brett could choose to cruise through the remainder of the season. Manager John Wathan told him he won’t start tonight against Angel left-hander Chuck Finley, a decision Brett won’t dispute.

“I’m like the leader in the clubhouse. I can say, ‘Come and get me,’ ” Brett said. “If I was real adamant I could say, ‘Hey, I’m playing.’ He moved me from third in the order to fifth and I did it. Last week I went four for four off (Jim) Abbott, and when Finley pitched I didn’t play and I said, ‘Fine.’ He put me in against (Oakland’s) Curt Young and it was fine. Dave Stewart and Bob Welch came in two days in a row and I played against them. Left-handed or right-handed, that’s not an easy task. . . .

“Every time I’ve won a batting title before, we ended up losing in the playoffs (1976) or the Series (1980). It’s tougher (with the Royals out of contention) because the game is less important than what you do to people. People are more concerned about you, so you feel more pressure. If we were one game out of first and I was one for five or 0 for 4, I’d still be happy.”