BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Gaetti Nervous About Facing Twins

Gary Gaetti admitted to having some trepidation about playing the Twins tonight for the first time since he ended his 14-year association with Minnesota to sign with the Angels last winter. Coming back with a .077 batting average doesn’t help him feel any better.

“Maybe it’ll put more pressure on me, but maybe not,” said Gaetti, who has one hit, a double, in 13 Angel at-bats and has grounded into five double plays. “This is a first for me. I don’t really know what to expect.

“I loved playing with the Twins. I love those guys. . . . It was a hard decision (to leave). I don’t know how to gauge these things but it’s definitely the toughest career decision I’ve ever made.”

He acknowledged that he’s experiencing tough times at the plate, but said he’s not discouraged.

“I’m just going through a stage, I guess,” he said. “It’s frustrating, but it’s only three games into the season. It would be different if I wasn’t making contact. A fraction of an inch (on the bat) makes a big difference one way or another.”

Gaetti will be reunited with his wife, Debby, and their two sons, who will remain at the family’s suburban Twin Cities home until the school year ends.

Instead of getting Dave Parker’s autograph Thursday morning, a couple of young fans got a lecture.

The youngsters ventured down by the dugout during batting practice and asked the Angels’ designated hitter for his signature. Parker was willing, but he first asked, “Why aren’t you in school?”

When they told him they had skipped classes to watch the game, Parker shook his head.

“That’s not the ticket,” he said. “That’s not the ticket.”

They didn’t get their autographs.

Parker said he and Dave Winfield are planning to market T-shirts with the phrase, “Momma said there’d be Daves like this.” Winfield coined it to describe how opposing pitchers would fear the two.

“My agent’s going to talk to his agent and we’re going to go into business,” Parker said.

Manager Doug Rader rested second baseman Luis Sojo and catcher Lance Parrish, replacing them with Donnie Hill and John Orton, respectively. He used the same lineup in the Angels’ first two games but has never used a lineup three times in a row. According to Tim Mead, media relations director, Rader used 154 different lineups last season.

Angel relievers have inherited eight runners and stranded seven. . . . The Angels have scored first in each of their three games. They were 57-29 when they scored first last season.