Coach Reese to Rejoin Angels

Angel coach Jimmie Reese, 92, who was too ill to be in uniform the second half of the 1993 season, is scheduled to leave today to rejoin the team for the opening of their spring training camp in Tempe, Ariz.

Reese, with the title of conditioning coach, will be entering his 78th season of professional baseball and 22nd with the Angels. He was hospitalized twice last season, and was unable even to attend games the second half.

“It’s going to be great to have him back,” Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said. “Jimmie Reese is an original. No one is loved more in all of baseball.”

In other news, the Angels hired former Angel infielder Rick Burleson, 42, to be their roving minor league baserunning coach. He replaces Tom Lawless, who will manage Class-A Cedar Rapids this season.