Gruber Adjusting to Routine : Baseball: Angel was a stranger to the trainer’s room. Now he battles pain and impatience as he tries to recapture his strength.

The binder containing every baseball card ever printed of him, compiled by a hard-core fan in Toronto, is safely in Kelly Gruber’s locker, right next to the envelope containing pictures of the news conference upon his return to Toronto last week.

Now, if he can only get used to those post-game trips to the trainer’s room.

One week into a comeback from rotator cuff surgery on his left shoulder, Gruber, one for three Saturday during the Angels’ 2-0 loss to Seattle, figures the most difficult part is behind him--his emotion-charged return trip to Toronto, where he had played since 1984.

What’s left is the grueling part--the continuing rehabilitation while trying to get back to his level of play in 1990, when he hit a career-high 31 home runs for the Blue Jays, or 1989, when he batted a career-high .290.

“After going through something like I went through in Toronto, everything from here on out should be a breeze,” Gruber said.

Sort of. Once, Gruber could simply show up and play. Sure, he worked out in the off season, but that was about it.

Now, he goes through a routine of lifting free weights after each game to strengthen his shoulder. Then there are the shoulder exercises.

And don’t forget about that huge brown ice wrap the wears after each game. Used to be, Gruber thought icing was just a call made against the Maple Leafs.

“I ain’t used to this, I tell you,” Gruber said. “I’m doing my weights, I’m icing. . . .

“I was very fortunate for a long time. I just came in and played the game. But major surgery changes your life. It’s very time consuming, no doubt. I don’t fully expect to be where I should be, in terms of my body, until probably opening day next year.”

His rehabilitation stint in the minors and the trip to Detroit last weekend went fine, but he said he had quite a reaction to Toronto’s artificial turf. His legs and lower back ached.

But measure that against the fact that Gruber is back on a baseball field, and it’s instant therapy. He said the biggest problem has been on defensive, where he is searching for his rhythm.

“It’s like you’re dancing, almost,” Gruber said. “It’s almost all rhythm. . . . Same with fielding. You’ve got to read the ball. If you’re not used to it, you have a tendency to charge the ball, then stop, and then you’re back on your heels.”

He was charged with a tough error Saturday on a screaming grounder off the bat of Greg Litton in the fifth. But on the flip side, Gruber is batting .333 (nine for 27) with one home run and one RBI.

“I don’t think he’s there yet, but he’s a lot further along than I thought he would be at this point,” Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said. “I didn’t think he’d be where he is now for three weeks or a month.”

Instead, Gruber was one of only three Angels who managed to get a hit Saturday off Mariner starter Dave Fleming. The Seattle pitcher baffled the Angels all evening, but Gruber singled up the middle in the second.

“He pitched a great game,” Gruber said. “He keeps you off balance. It’s almost like he lulls you to sleep. I didn’t hit a ball hard all night.”

But the way Gruber figures it, those days will come soon enough.