BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Rodgers Defends Ventura’s Action

Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said that Chicago White Sox third baseman Robin Ventura had every right to charge the mound Wednesday against the Texas Rangers’ Nolan Ryan.

“Nolan Ryan is no angel, believe me,” Rodgers said. “When I managed against him in Houston, I had a few balls checked. But he’s also a bear-down, hard-nosed pitcher who’s considered a legend in this game. . .

“But being a legend has got nothing to with it. It doesn’t matter if the pitcher is Cy Young or Anthony Young, if you think a guy is throwing at you, you go after him. Something called pride has something to do with it.”

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Rodgers says he still remembers the time he charged the mound in 1962 against Boston Red Sox starter Arnold Earley.

“I knew it was coming,” Rodgers said, “because Russ Nixon was the catcher and he said, ‘Watch out!’ I started to walk down the first base line and I said, ‘Somebody is going to get killed,’ and went after him.

“I did to him what Ryan did to Ventura, put him in a headlock and started giving him noogies.”