ANGELS : Ex-Dodger Guerrero Wants to Show He Can Still Fit In

Pedro Guerrero looks a bit out of place in the clubhouse at Gene Autry Park, but it’s not because he’s a millionaire among Angel minor leaguers or because he was batting cleanup for the Dodgers when most of his current teammates were still in Little League.

It’s the shoes. Guerrero’s spikes are bright red, and they stick out like a pair of pumps in a closet full of work boots.

“Hey, I thought they wore red,” said Guerrero, 38. “I haven’t seen the Angels in awhile.”

The last time Guerrero played in the major leagues, the Angels did wear red shoes. That was in 1992, the year before the Angels redesigned their uniforms and switched to black spikes.

Forgive Guerrero for not noticing. The former Dodger and St. Louis Cardinal infielder spent the last two years in self-imposed exile, playing baseball at a Northern League outpost in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Most play in the independent league, where salaries range from $600 to $2,000 a month, because they weren’t drafted, or they were released and they don’t want to give up that big-league dream.

Guerrero had a fruitful 13-year major league career with the Dodgers (1980-88) and Cardinals (1988-92), winning a World Series championship (1981), enjoying several outstanding seasons and earning $15.6 million during his last nine seasons.

So playing in the Northern League was not a necessity for Guerrero when he failed to land an invitation to spring training in 1993.

“I was just out to have fun, that’s all,” said Guerrero, who hit .309 with 171 home runs and 585 runs batted in as a Dodger. “I made a lot of money. The game has given me everything I have, so if I can still perform, why not be out there having fun?”

Guerrero didn’t exactly rough it at Sioux Falls. While his Canary teammates took 18-hour bus rides to Thunder Bay, Canada, Guerrero flew on each trip, paying his own air fare.

“Those kids had to understand I wasn’t 22 anymore,” Guerrero said. “I can’t take no 20-hour bus rides.”

Guerrero, who had back-to-back 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons for the Dodgers in 1982-83, hit .278 for Sioux Falls in 1993 and .329 with eight homers and 47 RBIs in 75 games last season.

The Angels took notice, and with Bo Jackson opting for free agency, they figured Guerrero might provide some power off the bench with low overhead. They signed him to a triple-A contract worth $3,000 a month and are giving him what amounts to a spring-training tryout this month.

“We want to see what kind of playing condition he’s in,” said Tim Mead, Angel assistant general manager. “Nothing is really set with him. This is just an opportunity to see if he can get back to the major league level.”

Guerrero, a 6-foot, 197-pounder who reported to Mesa on Tuesday in excellent shape, thinks he can.

“I can still hit,” he said. “I saw so many guys last year hitting .190 or .210, stuff like that makes me upset. There are a lot of teams, especially in the American League, that I know I can help with my bat. All I’m asking for is a chance.”

Guerrero, who blew out his knee during a 1988 spring training slide and has suffered from chronic neck problems, said he would consider being a replacement player if the Angels guaranteed him $500,000.

But the maximum replacement salary is $275,000, and when Guerrero took that and other factors into account, he seemed to lean toward the union side of the picket line.

“Whenever I retire, the union will give me my pension, and someone from the union might want to hire me as a coach,” he said. “No, I’m not sure I’d be a replacement player.”