Gruber Gets Used to New Team : Angels: Former Blue Jay third baseman wants to play through neck pain and improve on last season’s numbers.

Kelly Gruber stood in front of the array of cameras and reporters Thursday, carefully slipped an Angel jersey over his dress shirt, tugged a new cap over his eyebrows and posed for all of Southern California to see.

He loudly exhaled, broke into an expansive smile, and perhaps for the first time, accepted the reality that he had been traded.

Kelly Wayne Gruber is property of the Angels, and as traumatic as the Dec. 7 trade might have been to his psyche, he realizes it’s time to get used to the idea.

“There’s a certain amount of rejection when you’re traded,” Gruber said, “and the worst was going through my mind. I mean, it really didn’t register I was going to the California Angels. I couldn’t believe it was happening.

“I’m glad to be an Angel now, and I believe it’s going to be a good experience, but the day I was traded . . .that was pretty tough.”

Gruber refused comment when the trade was made and until Thursday had avoided reporters.

Devastated? Who wouldn’t be?

Gruber was leaving behind the Toronto Blue Jays. He was leaving behind one World Series championship, four American League East division titles, and his one-time status as a folk hero. He was leaving behind the fondest memories of his life.

Now, he isn’t even going to be around for the championship-ring ceremony on opening day.

“Kelly doesn’t say a whole lot, but it was tough for him,” said his mother, Gloria Gruber. “I remember him saying, ‘What did I do wrong? Why did they trade me? Why?’

“I think he was shocked more than anything, because it was really the first time he had been rejected.

“Kelly needs for people to believe in him, and when you give Kelly confidence, he’ll come through for you.”

While the Blue Jays dumped Gruber as if he were an old beanbag chair--sending along $1.5 million and receiving only utility infielder Luis Sojo in return--the Angels are gushing over him, as if he was the final piece to the pennant.

Apparently, it doesn’t matter that Gruber, 30, has two bulging discs in his neck; he conceded Thursday that he’s still only 75% healthy. It’s not a concern that he’s coming off his worst season in six years, batting .229 with 11 homers and 43 RBIs. The Angels don’t even mind paying $2.5 million of his $4-million salary.

“I think with Kelly, our infield defense will be as good as any in baseball,” said Manager Buck Rodgers, still giddy about playing golf Wednesday for the first time since the Angels’ May 21 bus crash. “He’s got the offensive skills, and you’ll see that this year.”

Said Dan O’Brien, Angel vice president of baseball operations: “When he’s on his game, he’s the best defensive third baseman in this league. Sure, he’s coming off a bad year, but if we get the Kelly Gruber of ’89 or ‘90, you’re talking about a damn good deal.”

Gruber, who’s eligible for free agency at the end of the season, contends that last season was an aberration. He sustained his neck injury the third week of the season, he said, but refused to divulge the severity of the pain.

“It was very frustrating,” Gruber said. “It was like a sword in my back the whole season. I couldn’t cough, sneeze, talk or breathe.

“I really couldn’t say anything, because if I did, I’d be making excuses.”

Instead, he incurred the wrath of the fans and several of his teammates, including former Angel outfielder Devon White. Gruber, who was voted by fans in one newspaper as the most popular athlete in Canada in 1990, suddenly was being booed virtually every time he stepped on the field.

“Kelly’s very sensitive,” Gloria Gruber said, “and it really hurt him when the fans reacted like they did. People were saying terrible things. I think this is going to be good for him, and I think now he’s starting to realize that.”

Said Alan Hendricks, Gruber’s agent: “Some guys get new energy at a new place, and I think that’s what’s going to happen to Kelly. I don’t want to say he was stagnant, but he’ll have a new mind-set.

“This just might be the best thing that ever happened to him.”

Angel Notes

Angel pitcher Chuck Finley, a friend of Gruber’s who shares the same agent, said Thursday that he, too, has recovered from The Trade. Only, he was talking about the Jim Abbott trade. “More than anybody, I hated to see Jim go,” Finley said. “We’ve been pretty close the last four years. But I think the Angels needed something else, and Jimmy was their ticket. To be honest with you, I haven’t agreed with a few things that have happened this winter, but I know the team is rebuilding and going in the right direction. Definitely, we’ll be a better team with Kelly here.” . . . The Angels announced Thursday that they will open their first merchandising store in an Orange County mall before opening day. . . . The Angels also unveiled their entire uniform, complete with wool-and-leather warm-up jackets, for the first time. The uniform design is similar to the style they wore from 1965-70, and is their first major alteration since 1973.