BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : This Was a Pick They Had to Take

The Angels have been ridiculed for drafting high school center fielder McKay Christensen as the sixth pick in the country, but Thursday night, they had one simple explanation for selecting him.

“We thought if we didn’t pick him then, we’d lose him,” said Bob Fontaine, assistant vice president for scouting and player personnel. “And we weren’t going to take that chance.”

The Angels originally planned to draft Christensen in the second round until they heard on the eve of the draft that another club would draft him later in the first round. The Angels decided it wasn’t worth the gamble to wait.

“This man can play ball,” said Fontaine, who signed Christensen to a $700,000 bonus. “This was the right move for the Angels. This was the right player for us. You’re going to be hearing about this man for a long time.”

The criticism of the Angels’ selection stems primarily because of Christensen’s immediate plans. He is going on a two-year mission for the Mormon Church in August and won’t be playing baseball again until he returns in 1996.

“Some people thought McKay would use the mission as a bargaining chip,” said Steve Christensen, McKay’s father. “The mission was not for sale.

“It’s funny, we had one team who asked if they could talk to the church and have him play for their team in Australia. He said, ‘We’ll make sure he can preach to the guys in the dugout each week. Would he go for that?’

“I said, ‘I don’t think so.’ ”

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The Seattle Mariners have informed the Angels that they are interested in acquiring catcher Greg Myers when he returns from the disabled list.

Myers, who’s in the first year of a two-year, $1.5-million contract, has become expendable because of the play of rookie catcher Jorge Fabregas.

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Pitcher John Farrell cleared waivers and became a free agent.