BASEBALL : Flexibility Helps Aguilera Succeed

Coping with postseason pressure seems modest compared to two career adjustments Rick Aguilera has already confronted.

Consider:

--Drafted as a third baseman by the St. Louis Cardinals out of Edgewood High in West Covina in 1983, Aguilera decided to attend Brigham Young, where he was converted to pitching as a sophomore and drafted by the New York Mets a year later.

--Traded to the Minnesota Twins in July of 1989, Aguilera was converted to bullpen closer before the 1990 season, replacing Jeff Reardon, who went to the Boston Red Sox as a free agent.

“My only reaction was that I knew it would take mental toughness to handle the pressure of the role, and I didn’t know if I had it,” Aguilera said Monday. “I don’t think anyone can be sure until put to the test.”

There’s no doubt now.

Aguilera converted 32 of 39 regular-season save opportunities last season and 42 of 51 this season, tying Reardon’s club record for saves in a season and a major league record for saves in a month with 10 in June.

The 6-foot-5, 205-pound right-hander has since:

--Saved three of the Twins’ four victories against the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League playoffs, giving up one hit in 3 2/3 shutout innings.

--Saved each of the two World Series victories against the Atlanta Braves, pitching another 2 1/3 shutout innings to become the first since Goose Gossage in 1981 to earn saves in each of the first two Series games.

That’s 74 regular-season saves in two seasons as the Minnesota closer and five saves in Minnesota’s six postseason victories.

It amounts to a day at the office for Aguilera. The Twins call him unflappable and unassuming. There is none of the eccentricity often associated with closers--aside from a beard that is new this season.

“Just saving some money on blades,” Aguilera said. “If I wanted to intimidate the hitters, I’d buy a mask.”

Catcher Brian Harper said Aguilera doesn’t require a gimmick.

“He’s not your Rob Dibble crazy flame thrower,” Harper said. “He’s a low-key guy who doesn’t rattle or get emotional out there.

“The thing that distinguishes Aggie is that he can flat out pitch. He can start or relieve.He can finesse you or blow you away.

“I hated to see Jeff (Reardon) leave, but I knew we’d be OK because I knew Aggie could do the job, even though we’d never seen him do it.

“I was home in Arizona that winter when someone called to tell me we were making a short reliever out of him, and I remember saying, ‘Yeah, that’s what I thought they’d do.’ ”

Aguilera had seven saves in seven seasons in the Mets’ system, all in 1989 before he was traded. That gave the Twins a feeling he might be able to be their closer, but their decision was based more on necessity.

“We thought that a couple of people from our system had a chance to take the spot, but it didn’t work out,” Twin Manager Tom Kelly said.

“We were programming Rick to be a regular starter, and he was giving us seven innings almost every time, doing a heck of a job, but then Reardon left and we felt that Rick had the physical and mental makeup to do it.

“I called him that winter and he said, ‘Whatever you need.’ I mean, he spit it right out and I knew then we’d be OK. Now, I don’t think twice about it. I don’t worry about it anymore. You can see it in his eyes. He’s ready. He’s prepared. He gives everyone an air of confidence.”

Of that confidence, Aguilera said: “When TK goes to the mound to bring me in, I want them (his teammates) to say, ‘We’re OK, it’s Aggie.’ I never want them to say, ‘Jeez, what now?’

“I know I’m not going to be out there long, so all I’m basically doing is airing it out. I don’t characterize it as mano a mano. I’m just looking to get one out at a time.”

By airing it, Aguilera means throwing hard with fastballs and forkballs, occasionally finessing with a change-up.

The successful pattern--exemplified Sunday night when he struck out Sid Bream, Greg Olson and Tommy Gregg in the ninth inning--has produced the confidence that wasn’t always there. Aguilera remembered blowing one of his first save opportunities in April of 1990 when Dante Bichette, then with the Angels, hit a three-run homer on an 0-and-2 pitch in the 12th inning.

“I came into the clubhouse and everyone was throwing their gloves and uniforms into their lockers,” Aguilera said. “I had lost my own games before but never for someone else, and I had never felt as bad. I was sitting at my locker with my head down when (pitching coach) Dick Such came over and said, ‘We’ll talk about your pitch selection later, but pick your head up. Don’t let these guys ever see you with your head down.’

“The next day the sun came up and I went to the park thinking that I wanted the ball again as soon as I could get it. I wanted a chance to redeem myself. That’s what relief pitching is about. You can’t let the highs and lows affect you.”

The Minnesota bullpen has not given up an earned run in 26 1/3 consecutive postseason innings, dating to Game 6 of the 1987 World Series.

Aguilera has taken a circuitous route to this role. At one point, he was a BYU teammate of Wally Joyner and Cory Snyder, envisioning a career at third base then, but not getting much playing time as a freshman. A Brigham Young coach had seen him pitch in a summer American Legion game and pointed him toward the mound during his sophomore season.

“We had more hitting than pitching, I wasn’t playing that much and I figured there was nothing to lose,” Aguilera said. “I wasn’t the ace of the staff, but the scouts liked my fastball. I was throwing 92 miles per hour.”

He was the Mets’ third selection in the 1983 draft, moved up to the major leagues in 1985, went 31-17 over parts of three seasons, pitched in the ’86 and ’88 playoffs and the ’86 World Series, but never felt he had a secure role on a staff that included Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, Bob Ojeda and David Cone.

The relationship soured when Aguilera began experiencing elbow problems in 1987 and believed the Mets put out the word that he was faking it.

“My elbow was so crooked that I couldn’t lift a can of soda, but the tabloids were saying it was in my head,” Aguilera said. “I finally had an obstruction shaved off in 1988 and haven’t had any problems since, but I don’t know if the Mets were convinced even then.”

In the trade that significantly rebuilt the Minnesota pitching staff, Frank Viola went to New York for Kevin Tapani, David West and Aguilera, who remembered joining his new club in the fourth inning of a game at Yankee Stadium.

“Kirby Puckett had just made an out and was slamming bats and helmets around, but when I walked into the dugout, he stopped, looked up and said, ‘Hey, Aggie, how you doing, glad to see you.’ I’d never met Kirby in my life, and right then I knew I was going to enjoy being with the Twins.”

Aguilera and his wife, Sherry, enjoy it so much that they recently sold their home in Dana Point and moved to the Twin Cities area. He smiled at the thought of how things can change.

“I was very excited about the trade because I wanted to re-establish myself as a starter and felt it would be a good career move,” he said.

“The downside was that I was leaving a team that was a contender almost every year for a team that was rebuilding. Now the Mets are a mess, I may never start again and the Twins are in the World Series.

“I could never have believed it would happen that fast or that I would be in the role Iam.”