Angels’ Eichhorn Returns to Form, Aims to Keep ‘Em Guessing : Baseball: Altering his preparation and pitching pattern have helped reliever achieve results he enjoyed early last season.

His impression of Popeye is uncanny, and Angel reliever Mark Eichhorn can imitate Julio Iglesias, John Wayne or the cowardly lion from “The Wizard of Oz” with a change of expression or the addition of an accent.

As good as those impersonations are, Eichhorn’s most convincing impression is that of an effective setup man. He’s doing it so well, it’s no longer an imitation--he has become one.

Eichhorn, a 30-year-old San Jose native, has changed his off-day workouts and his philosophy in an effort to recapture the success he enjoyed the first half of last season.

While Bryan Harvey struggled with his control, Eichhorn supplanted him as the Angels’ closer and earned 13 saves. But hitters learned to time the forkball and tantalizing off-speed pitches he launched with his peculiar sidearm delivery, and he didn’t record a save after June 19.

He had no save opportunities in his last 17 appearances and his earned-run average rose to 3.08, after hitting a low of 1.19 on June 21.

“My forkball is my best pitch when I have a good forkball going, but I can’t get in a pattern of throwing it three, four times in a row,” said Eichhorn, who signed with the Angels as a free agent in December, 1989, after being released by the Atlanta Braves. “It doesn’t matter if you throw 70 (m.p.h.) or 90. If a hitter sees the same velocity a few times in a row, he’s going to be able to hit it.

“You’re always learning. This is my 13th year professionally and I learn something every time out, whether it’s a good outing or a bad outing.”

He has had more good outings than bad in setup situations this season, including four scoreless innings against the A’s, the Angels’ opponent this weekend in a three-game series at the Oakland Coliseum. He’s tied with Harvey for the team lead with six appearances and also shares with Harvey a reliance on the fastball, although Eichhorn isn’t likely to overpower hitters as Harvey does.

In 9 2/3 innings, Eichhorn has stranded four of the six runners he has inherited and allowed one earned run, for an 0.93 ERA. Altering his preparation and his pitching pattern have helped him achieve the same results as last season, but in a different and more comfortable role.

“I’m not throwing as much in between games. I had the habit of throwing and throwing to deaden my arm so the ball has some sink on it, but now I’m thinking about keeping my arm fresh so my fastball has a little more on it,” said Eichhorn, who described his fastball as “very sneaky” but won’t reveal his recent clockings.

“I can get people out with my fastball. I can’t be stupid and challenge a fastball hitter with my fastball. What I’m trying to do is utilize it to where it’s going to make my other pitches better.”

Angel catcher Lance Parrish considers it vital that Eichhorn mix his pitches.

“He falls into a rut when he falls in love with his forkball. To me, his bread-and-butter pitch is his fastball,” Parrish said. “When he keeps it in the strike zone and establishes it, then his forkball becomes more effective. Until he has more faith in his fastball, I think he’s going to have problems off and on.

“He throws his forkball so much, guys can sit on it. So when he has to throw his fastball, he has to throw it for strikes, and to throw it for strikes he has to throw it higher in the strike zone than he wants to do. That makes it more vulnerable, easier to get it in the air and drive it. I think he’d want to throw his fastball a lot, down in the strike zone, and throw his forkball to offset it.”

Eichhorn has come to agree. “I want to stick with my forkball, but I want to utilize my fastball to offset my other pitches,” he said.

Eichhorn didn’t always utilize an unusual delivery. He was a typical overhand starting pitcher through his first six years in the Toronto Blue Jays’ organization and he made it to the majors for seven games in 1982. A shoulder injury the next season jeopardized his career and forced him to change his motion.

“In ‘84, it was either I was going to be released or hang ‘em up. It wasn’t until the last month of ’84 that Toronto suggested I try throwing sidearm. It took only a year and I made it to the big leagues,” he said. “Ever since I started throwing sidearm, I’ve had no problems with my arm.”

Eichhorn was 14-6 for the Blue Jays in 1986 and was named the American League’s rookie pitcher of the year. He led the AL in appearances in 1987 with 89, and was 10-6.

Things started to go sour in 1988, when he was optioned to triple-A Syracuse. A year later, the Braves purchased him from the Blue Jays, but he was sent to triple-A Richmond and struggled to a 5-5 record with Atlanta.

He seemed to have reversed his fortunes last season, only to fade in the second half. “I don’t like even talking about it,” he said. “I learned from it, that if I get in a situation of throwing every fourth or fifth day, I’ve got to do the job mentally. You can be defeated if you go out there and think, ‘I can’t do it.’ I have no doubt they’ve got confidence in me because they keep getting me up (to throw).”

Being the pitcher who earns all the saves and the glory isn’t his goal.

“I was with Toronto for three years and I was never the closer. The only time I got saves with Toronto is when Tom Henke was hurt,” Eichhorn said. “For the three years I was up in Toronto I was the setup man, and I really like the job because you can pitch often.”

While he isn’t seeking saves, he wouldn’t mind one token recognition of his success: having his last name spelled correctly on the nameplate above his locker at Anaheim Stadium. It has been spelled “Eichorn” since his arrival.

“If I keep pitching well,” he said, “maybe they’ll put the other ‘h’ up there.”