BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : A Trip to Detroit Ends in Ontario

The two empty buses pulled into the Anaheim Stadium parking lot at 9:40 Thursday night, and the Angel clubhouse attendants began loading all of the equipment and uniforms.

Everything was loaded, the Angels were set to go, and they began to board.

There was Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann, the six-man coaching staff, the two trainers, the traveling secretary, the equipment manager and the public relations man.

But there was not a single player.

It didn’t matter. The itinerary called for the bus to pull out at 10:30 p.m. and go to Ontario Airport for an 11:30 p.m. charter flight to Detroit and a three-game series against the Tigers.

The Angels followed the timetable . . . until they realized it was not necessary to board, watching the charter leave without them.

“We were just following our itinerary,” General Manager Bill Bavasi said. “We figured if they didn’t show up for the plane, the strike was on. But we wanted them to establish that.

“We knew it was academic, but if there was a last-second postponement, we didn’t want the Tigers to say, ‘Where are you guys?’ “We told (everyone) not to pack a lot. Bobby Knoop was the only one to pack a full suitcase, but that’s because he’s going home to Arizona.”