Salmon Isn’t Lost in Shadow : Angels: Although Snow is getting most of the attention, fellow rookie is quietly making his mark.

Tim Salmon, raised in the desert heat of Phoenix, knows what it’s like to be lost in a Snow storm. At the moment, he’s waist-deep in the J.T. mania surrounding the Angels’ blazing start.

Not that it’s a bad thing, mind you. Surprises are always nice, and certainly Snow’s torrid April has been something to behold. With each night the attention thrust Snow’s way mounts to degrees not seen around Anaheim Stadium since some guy named Wally Joyner carved out a world of his own at first base.

Snow knocks out another long home run or makes another diving stab to rob a batter of a hit and people nod knowingly. Headline writers start toying with plays on the original monikers hung on Joyner in the late 1980s.

Snow World. Snow Land. Snow Palace.

Sure it’s only April, but this isn’t triple-A that Snow is tearing up. The rookie is shredding American League pitching to the tune of four home runs, 14 runs batted in and a blistering .372 average.

So where has this left fellow rookie Salmon?

Out in the cold, as it turns out.

“He’s definitely getting most of the attention,” Salmon said after Wednesday’s 7-6 victory over the Cleveland Indians at Anaheim Stadium. “It’s great for him. It means he’s playing well. If anybody has had the pressure to perform, it’s him. Joyner left and (Lee) Stevens couldn’t do it, plus he was the one they traded for (Jim) Abbott.”

Tuesday, Salmon lofted a bases-empty home run over the 370-foot sign on the left-field wall in the fourth inning. Snow followed with a three-run blast that broke open a close game in the sixth, leading the Angels to a 7-2 victory over the Indians.

Wednesday, Salmon hammered a three-run first-inning homer to almost the same spot as the night before. Snow followed with a two-run blast that curled around the right-field foul pole in the fifth. In the end, the Angels needed every run they could get in holding off the Indians.

There figured to be hot streaks like this for Snow and Salmon, but who knew it would happen so soon? Certainly, they had all the right credentials, what with Snow the International League’s most valuable player last year and Salmon selected as the minor league player of the year.

“Kinda wild,” Salmon said after upping his home run total to three and his RBIs to nine.

“We’re capable of doing that. Very capable. I’m not saying we can do it all the time.”

OK, so they aren’t Maris and Mantle and this isn’t 1961. But there’s no doubt Snow and Salmon are among the primary reasons the Angels find themselves in first place this morning.

First place? Can it be possible?

“Are we in first?” Salmon asked. “I didn’t realize that. Regardless of whether we’re in first or not, we’re playing decently as a team. It means we got off to a good start and we’re showing people we can battle.”

With Snow shouldering most of the attention and the accompanying pressure, Salmon has been free to concentrate on his game. That has made for a relaxing start to the season, he said. Besides, he knows things can turn quickly.

“There will be times when I’ll do well and the attention will swing back to me and he’ll get a break,” Salmon said.