HOT PROPERTY: Like one of his touchdown...

HOT PROPERTY: Like one of his touchdown runs, the sales of O.J. Simpson’s new book, “I Want to Tell You,” have started fast. At least that’s what Orange County booksellers are reporting. . . . The $18 hardback and $10 audio tapes were selling briskly at Barnes & Noble in Costa Mesa Friday without special displays. . . . At Rizzoli Bookstore in South Coast Plaza, the book was in the window within an hour of delivery. “I expect it will have a short life--a big burst which will die off,” says manager Lisa Robinson. “But I could sell a hundred of these easily, which is a lot.”

EXTRA DUTY: Who have the California Angels chosen to pitch their new season-ticket package? Manager Marcel Lachemann has taken on the added duty. . . . Call their number for season tickets--(714) 937-7217--and you’ll hear the new manager pitching “our dynamic season-ticket action.” It includes a new “Gene Autry 26-Shooter Plan”--a mini-package of 26 games for $234 to $286. . . . And here’s some optimism: That package includes priority ticket selection should the Angels wind up in postseason play.

ONE FOR JIMMIE: The Angels season-ticket promotion comes in a brochure sent out to many Orange County residents this week, which touts the team’s 35th anniversary and a lot of enthusiasm that there will be baseball, regardless of the strike’s status. Among the give-away nights, a Jimmie Reese commemorative pin April 8, to honor the Angel coach who died last year at 92. For your calendar: The first home game is April 4, against Milwaukee.