ANGELS : Pitcher Trades Far East for AL West

He’s the closest thing to a legitimate major leaguer in the Angel clubhouse, a guy who spent one full season with the Philadelphia Phillies and parts of four others in the big leagues.

So you’d think in a room full of Crash Davis clones that Darrel Akerfelds, who has appeared in more major league games (125) than the 47 other Angel hopefuls combined (59), would be treated with some respect, perhaps even reverence.

Not so.

“I don’t think half of these guys even know who I am,” said Akerfelds, a 32-year-old pitcher.

Nothing personal, Darrel. But when you spend eight years bouncing between triple-A and the major leagues and then drop out of sight, playing last season in the Taiwanese Professional Baseball League, people tend to forget you.

At least one organization didn’t, though, and that’s why Akerfelds, who went 5-2 with a 3.77 earned-run average for the Phillies in 1990, is back in the United States.

Signed by the Angels last November--long before the team started stockpiling replacement players--Akerfelds is a non-roster invitee to spring training and is one of a few players in camp who actually have a good chance of remaining in the organization after the strike is settled.

“It feels great to be back,” said Akerfelds, a right-hander who also played for Oakland, Cleveland and Texas. “Not that there was anything bad about Taiwan, but it was just such a culture shock. The language and communication was so difficult.”

So was the baseball. The six-team Taiwanese league is only five years old and is not nearly as competitive as Japan’s pro leagues.

“They do some things that would drive managers here crazy,” said the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Akerfelds. “They’ll be trailing in the ninth, swing at a 3-0 pitch and pop up, get caught stealing late in a game when they’re down by a run, play the infield in with a three-run lead in the eighth.”

There were trying times away from the field, too.

“Ordering food or getting in a cab and telling the driver where to go weren’t easy,” said Akerfelds, who went 8-10 with two saves for the Wei-Chaun Dragons. “They get leery when you get in the cab--they think you’re a monster because of your size.”

Akerfelds’ 4-year-old son, who visited him for a week during the season, seemed to adjust a lot quicker than his father.

“He learned Chinese faster than I did,” Akerfelds said. “After two days there, he was telling the cabbies where to go.”

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On the air: The Angels’ first baseman--their real first baseman--J.T. Snow will make his acting debut, if you want to call it that, on Thursday night’s episode of “ER”, NBC’s hit drama about a Chicago hospital emergency room.

Snow will be an extra, playing a doctor in the background of a scene involving George Clooney. Tim Mead, Angel assistant general manager, and Kevin Uhlich, vice president of stadium operations, were extras on the Feb. 9 episode of “ER.”

The connection? Media relations director John Sevano has a friend (Rick Tuber) who is a film editor for the show.

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Energizers: Marcel Lachemann took a little timeout from his managerial duties Saturday to throw some batting practice with his older brother, Bill, the Angels’ new bullpen and catching coach, in full gear behind the plate.

“That’s one old battery,” said Marcel Lachemann, 53. “We’re like the Sears Diehard.”

Age seems to be playing tricks with Lachemann’s memory, too. He has joined the growing list of managers who carry small tape recorders during spring training to log their thoughts.

“The older I get, it seems like I’ll walk from one field to another and forget what I was thinking,” Lachemann said. “This thing comes in handy. Things come up during the course of the day, and unless you write everything down, you can’t remember it all.”

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Notes

A dozen or so regular Angel players, including pitcher Mark Langston and designated hitter Chili Davis, attended the players’ union meeting at the Phoenix Hilton Saturday afternoon, and several seemed eager to return to action. “I want to smell the grass and leather,” Angel pitcher Mike Butcher said. “We all want to play, that’s the bottom line.” Infielder Damion Easley, asked if he would check out any games with replacement players, said, “No, I won’t waste my time.”