ANGELS : At 46, Randle Is an Instant Replacement Hit

When it was over Sunday, Lenny Randle climbed into the stands to talk, sign autographs and pose for pictures. He would have been there for hours, but they wanted him for a postgame radio show and he wasn’t about to disappoint another audience.

Randle, 46, singled and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, winning over fans, Angel teammates and Manager Marcel Lachemann.

“He’s very outgoing,” Lachemann said, watching Randle sign autographs for children who weren’t born when he got his last hit in the major leagues for the Seattle Mariners in 1982. “He’s not really what you would call inhibited.”

Randle said he has been playing in Italy, knew the majors were looking for players and came to Arizona to find work. Saturday, the Angels signed him to a minor-league contract. Sunday, he looked like the best player on the field.

In the sixth inning of the replacement Angels’ 3-1 victory over Colorado, Randle flied to left field to score Jose Peguero. Next time up, Randle singled sharply to center field. Each time, a few in the crowd chanted “Lenny, Lenny.” A woman held up a sign that read: “We love Lenny Randle.”

Randle said his teammates, many of whom are more than 20 years younger, weren’t quite sure what to make of him.

“About 15 guys today said, ‘How old are you?’ ” said Randle, a .257 lifetime hitter in his 12 major league seasons with several teams. “It’s all diet and conditioning. This game is fun. I kept saying in the dugout, ‘We’re having fun now.’ ”

Could he still play in the majors? “Are you kidding?” he said. “There’s no question.”