BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Brett Isn’t Playing the Numbers Game

By Tuesday’s up-to-the-moment projection, George Brett of the Kansas City Royals would need to hit .267 the rest of the season to reach 3,000 hits this year.

Brett, who had one hit in Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Angels and has a total of 2,939 hits, doesn’t pay much attention to the numbers.

“I don’t play that game, ‘You’ve got to hit .275 or .285,’ ” he said. “Say if I go 0 for 5 tonight, or say I go 0 for 7 in the doubleheader, then I’ve got to hit .310. If I go 4 for 5 the first game, then 1 for 3 the second game, then I’ve got to hit .230. You know, it changes every day. So I don’t want to set goals, ‘OK, I’ve got to hit .270, get 27 hits in my next 100 at-bats.’ That doesn’t work. I’ve got to try to get as many hits as I can, like I have been all year.”

Brett, batting .273, said he briefly considered retiring at the All-Star break after the Royals started the season 1-16 and he was hitting about .130. He said he stills enjoys playing--just not as much as he used to. He was married recently, and said there are “some other things I want to do in my life.”

“I’m going to think about (retiring) after the season’s over if I get 3,000 this year,” he said. “If I finish five short of 3,000, I don’t think I’ll retire.”

And what if he is six short, someone teased him.

“Six? I’ll definitely quit,” he said. “It took me a month to get six.”

Tuesday was the seventh anniversary of hitting instructor Rod Carew’s 3,000th hit. He reached the milestone with a single to left field against Frank Viola in a 6-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Anaheim Stadium. Carew, who went 1 for 5, became the 16th player to reach 3,000.

Bryan Harvey, who has a sore right elbow, took another step toward returning when he threw forkballs without pain during his workout. It marked the first time since he received a cortisone shot last week that he has thrown any forkballs, the pitch that was affected most by the injury. . . . Luis Sojo, who missed two games after being hit by a pitch on his right hand Friday in Texas, played second base in the first game Tuesday night. His injury was a bruised ring finger. . . . The doubleheader was the Angels’ first since last Sept. 19 against the Rangers.