BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Rodgers Admires Patterson’s Work

While the Angels are exhilarated with Tim Salmon’s rookie season, and are thrilled knowing center fielder Chad Curtis and shortstop Gary DiSarcina have proven themselves as major league players, guess who Manager Buck Rodgers calls the biggest surprise on the team.

Would you believe left-handed reliever Ken Patterson?

“If you would have told me that he would have been on this club the last week in August,” Rodgers said, “I’d have said, ‘You’re nuts.’

“I can’t tell you how many times he’s been on the bubble. I really thought he was just a temporary guy. When I first saw him, I thought we’d release him or be a guy we’d dump him off in 15 minutes when we found someone else.

“Now, I have as much confidence in him as anyone in the bullpen. I mean, I wouldn’t have even thought of putting him in a tie game two months ago. But he’s a guy right now that we’re going to keep in our plans and keep on our 40-man roster.”

Patterson (1-1, 4.38 earned-run average), who was acquired on waivers April 5 from the Chicago White Sox, has gone from being a mop-up man with a 7.89 ERA to Rodgers’ most dependable reliever the last two months. Patterson has a .087 ERA since June 29, and has allowed only nine of 45 inherited runners to score.

“He was sitting outside my office one day,” Rodgers said, “and I told him, “It’s a . . .shame. You have an above-average fastball, an above-average forkball and an above-average slider, and I’ve got to mop up with you because I don’t know where you’re going to throw the ball. It’s a shame.’

“Now, instead of throwing like a truck driver, he throws with an idea of what he wants to do, and it makes all of the difference in the world.”

Said Patterson: “I’ve been hot before, but never this confident. Believe me, I’m grateful for the confidence they’ve shown me.”

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Several Angels expected the worst when they brought up third baseman Eduardo Perez from the minors. Everyone said he could hit, but the reports on his defense were atrocious.

Perez has played only 26 games in the big leagues, but he has surprised, if not stunned, the club with his defense. He may look a little awkward at times, but he has committed only three errors.

“Maybe he doesn’t go about it like Brooks Robinson, and he’s a little unorthodox,” Rodgers said, “but the bottom line is that he’s getting the job done.

“I really didn’t know what to expect because we had a few mixed opinions. We took his hitting for granted, to a certain extent, but we had questions about his defense.

“Whitey (Herzog) told me after he saw him a second time, he made so much improvement that he could be a major league third baseman. The first time he saw him, he had some reservations. I really think he’ll be fine.”

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. . . . Brian Anderson, the Angels’ first pick in the 1993 June draft, had an inauspicious debut at double-A Midland. He yielded nine hits and three runs (two earned) in 4 2/3 innings. . . . Tim Salmon’s 28 homers are the fourth-highest total in club history by a player in his first full season, trailing Reggie Jackson with 39 homers in 1982, Doug DeCinces with 30 in 1982, and Frank Robinson with 30 in 1973.