Angels Sign Nine Players From Well-Attended Camp

After a three-day tryout camp that drew what one club official termed a “mind-boggling” turnout of about 1,300, the Angels signed nine players Sunday to help them deal with the impact of the players’ strike.

Assistant scouting director Jeff Parker said he would have been happy if the tryouts produced as many as three or four players deemed worth signing from the sessions at Cal State Fullerton.

“Not only are we pleased, but we’re overwhelmed,” said John Sevano, the Angels’ director of media relations. “The real surprise was Friday (when 987 athletes showed up). It was just mind-boggling. Our scouts had never worked with those kind of numbers.

“The turnout far exceeded any expectations we had. The tryouts were so successful, we’ve decided to regroup as an organization and probably hold these every year now.”

Among those signed were former USC right-hander Grant Vermillion, former Stanford first baseman Nate Olmstead, and Doug Robertson, a right-handed pitcher from Costa Mesa whose uncle, Dick Wantz, played for the Angels in 1965.

Also signed were right-handed pitchers Leo Ramirez of Downey, Tony Fetchel of Anaheim and Richard Doyle of La Mirada.

Phil Ouellette, a 33-year-old career minor league catcher who played in several organizations after being signed by the San Francisco Giants, was reportedly given a $4,000 signing bonus.

The Angels also signed left-handed pitchers Dion Beck of Laguna Niguel and Christopher Gunnett of Ramona.

All of the signees will be invited to minor league camp in Mesa, Ariz., and Sevano said that if replacement players are needed on the big-league level, at least a couple of those signed Sunday have the potential to play in Anaheim.