Buck Rodgers Arrives to Rescue Angels : Shake-up: The former Montreal manager takes over a team floundering under fired Doug Rader.

Promising no quick fixes, and no holding back in evaluating a team ensconced in last place in the American League West, Buck Rodgers became the 15th man to manage the Angels Monday when he replaced Doug Rader.

Rodgers, who played for the Angels from their inaugural season of 1961 through 1969 and was their catcher in the first game played at Anaheim Stadium, was given a contract through 1994. The contract of Dan O’Brien, the Angels’ senior vice president for baseball operations, was extended for that same span.

“It’s kind of a dream come true, coming back to the place where you were born, kind of,” Rodgers said at a news conference before the Angels played the Detroit Tigers. “There’s bittersweet to every managerial change. I got the bitter about three months ago. I know Doug Rader is a fine baseball man. I know he’ll pop up somewhere. . . . This is sweet for me today. It’s nice to be back.”

Rodgers began his managerial career in the Angel farm system in 1975 and went on to manage the Milwaukee Brewers and Montreal Expos. He was named manager of the year in 1987, when the Expos finished third in the National League East, but was dismissed after compiling a 20-29 record this season. His overall managerial record is 644-601.

Rodgers, a 53-year-old Ohio native who combined with pitcher Dean Chance to form the Angels’ “Buckeye Battery” in the early 1960s, has lived in Yorba Linda for more than 25 years. “It’s always been a dream of mine, before I quit having fun in this game and get burned out, to come back and manage the California Angels,” he said.

He will manage a team that is 14 games out of first place after Monday’s game and was described by club President Richard Brown as needing “a change, a new direction, whatever you like to call it.” Brown would not specify what faults he might have found with Rader.

Jackie Autry, the club’s executive vice president and wife of owner Gene Autry, said she and her husband would leave all comment to Brown and O’Brien.

The players, who have supported Rader since rumors of his imminent firing began circulating several weeks ago, again backed him emphatically.

“I will miss him. He’s a great friend. I learned a whole lot from him, and he’s a great man,” said first baseman Wally Joyner, who is eligible for free agency after this season. “My first reaction was disappointment. . . . Unfortunately in baseball, it’s easier to fire one man than 25.”

Designated hitter Dave Parker, whose acquisition from Milwaukee last spring was favored by Rader--and whose meager offensive production contributed to the woes that led to Rader’s firing--said the team’s failures weren’t Rader’s fault. “I thought he did a real good job,” Parker said. “I think he did the best he could.”

Rader’s popularity with the players, Brown said, “is a tribute to Doug Rader. It’s fabulous. I suspect a lot of players think they lost a friend. They’ll have a new friend in Buck Rodgers.”

Rader, who visited the Angels’ clubhouse before the game to bid farewell to players and coaches, said he would reserve comment until today. Less than a year ago, his contract was extended through 1992, and he was promised more influence in personnel decisions. But the Angels’ offensive stall and plunge to last place following the All-Star break put him in a tenuous position.

Their three consecutive losses at Oakland last week, ending a road trip that began with three victories in four games, spelled the end of his tenure. His record with the Angels was 232-216.

“Given all of the things he had to deal with, he did a most commendable job,” said Mike Port, the former club general manager who was fired on April 30. “Everything he did was for his players, perhaps even at his own expense. I say that as a positive. The man sincerely tried to do the best for all involved. I can’t recall anything he did in his own best self-interest.”

Said O’Brien: “Any time you make a change it’s extremely difficult. I won’t address (Rader’s shortcomings) point by point. I’m delighted Buck Rodgers is here. I’m delighted and excited, and I look forward to the next six, seven weeks.”

Rodgers’ priorities were to introduce himself to the few Angel players he hadn’t met--Mark Langston pitched for him in Montreal and outfielder Max Venable played for him in Montreal and Indianapolis--and speak to his coaches, upon whom he intends to rely heavily. His next task will be to judge the talent available and discern why the Angels have been at the bottom of the AL West for the past three weeks.

“This team is better than that, certainly, and I think everybody thinks that, too,” said Rodgers, who met with Rader in the manager’s office before speaking to his new team. “But we’ve all been in that position. It’s almost September. Nobody likes to be holding up the league and be considered an underachiever. On the other hand, we could have been overrated. It’s very important to come to some type of decision by the first week of October or even before as to which is which.”

Rodgers said signing Joyner is “very important” to the team’s future--and, perhaps, to harmony within his family, since one of his grandsons is named Riley Joyner, in honor of former Laker coach Pat Riley and Joyner.

“I’ve lived here for 26 years. I’ve had the same insurance man for 26 years. This is not just another job,” Rodgers said. “My locker was right over there against the wall, next to Jim Fregosi and Joe Adcock, Bobby Knoop. It brings back a lot of memories.””