Curtis Dealt to the Tigers for Phillips : Baseball: Angels acquire more offense with infielder who is one of AL’s top leadoff hitters.

Chad Curtis will be in the Anaheim Stadium outfield for the April 26 season opener . . . in a Detroit Tiger uniform.

Curtis, the self-made center fielder whose fiery temperament led to confrontations with Angel coaches and front-office executives, was traded to the Tigers Thursday for Tony Phillips, a utility player who will start in left field for the Angels.

The Angels, who will move left fielder Jim Edmonds to center, are exchanging youth--Curtis is 26, Phillips turns 36 on April 25--for age in the outfield, but in Phillips the Angels will have one of the American League’s top leadoff hitters.

Phillips, who also can play third and second base, had on-base percentages of .443 in 1993 and .409 in ‘94, compared to Curtis’ .361 in ’93 and .317 in ’94. Phillips has more strikeouts than Curtis (207-158) the past two seasons, but he also had more home runs (26-17) and far more walks (227-107) than Curtis.

Phillips hit .313 with seven homers and a league-leading 132 walks in 1993, and .281 with 19 homers and 61 runs batted in last season. Curtis had a career .268 average and 116 stolen bases in three Angel seasons but never seemed comfortable in the leadoff role.

“Defensively the deal is a push,” Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi said. “But it makes us a better offensive club this year and it puts us in a better financial position to get more pitching next year.”

The move won’t trim the Angels’ payroll this season. Phillips is entering the final year of a three-year contract that will pay $3.5 million, but $1.5 million is in deferred payments that the Tigers have agreed to pick up. Net cost to the Angels: $2 million.

Curtis was entering the second year of a three-year deal that pays $1.9 million this season and $2 million next season, so the Angels, if they don’t re-sign Phillips, have essentially trimmed their 1996 budget by $2 million.

“It’s no secret they’re trying to cut the budget, and even though it’s a (financial) wash this season, they look at me as someone who might demand more money in the future,” Curtis said.

Though Bavasi denied it was a factor, Curtis is also looked at as a player who seemed to have a chip on his shoulder. A 45th-round pick in 1989, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound Curtis spent his career trying to defy those who said he would never make it to the big leagues.

He’s an intense competitor whose aggressiveness sometimes led to mistakes on the field and the basepaths. He was moody in the clubhouse, and his strikeouts were often punctuated with a thrown bat and helmet.

Curtis had an argument with batting instructor Rod Carew last season, after which Carew said Curtis was selfish and “uncoachable.” Curtis’ response: He got to the major leagues by not listening to people; why should he start now?

This winter, Curtis got into a shouting match with Bavasi about his contract, a dispute that still hasn’t been resolved.

“As far as the run-in with the coaching staff, that wasn’t an issue for me--they took care of it,” Bavasi said. “As for our disagreement, I’ve always had an easy relationship with Chad. He’s never been afraid to tell me when he’s ticked off, and I liked that. It wasn’t a factor.”

Said Curtis, who worked out with the Angels Thursday morning before the trade was announced: “Bill told me that had nothing to do with it, and I’ll take him for his word. It doesn’t do any good to look back on why I was traded. I’d rather concentrate on why the Tigers want me.”

The move to Detroit will be a homecoming for Curtis, who grew up in Middleville, Mich., which is about two hours west of Detroit. He recently bought a home there.

“I’ll miss the guys here, but I’ll be in a situation where on an off day I can go home and see my family,” Curtis said.

Phillips, who was scratched from the Tigers’ lineup half an hour before their game against Cleveland in Winter Haven, Fla., said he was “stunned” by the trade but admitted he had a feeling something like this could happen. Detroit has been trying to dump some of its older players.

“They tried the free-agent market and it didn’t work, so it’s good for them to give the kids an opportunity to prove themselves,” Phillips said in a conference call.

The switch-hitting Phillips, who has averaged .281, 144 games played, 154 hits, 100 runs, 26 doubles, 12 homers, 62 RBIs, 104 walks and 10 stolen bases during the past five seasons, doesn’t think he’s tailing off.

“As I get older and more experienced, I get better,” Phillips said. “I know what I need to do to be successful.”

Said Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann: “Tony has had great numbers offensively in terms of on-base percentage, RBIs and stolen bases. There’s no doubt we gave up a good player. But we got a good player too.”

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Angels and Tigers Deal

A look at the career of outfielder Chad Curtis, traded Thursday by the Angels.

YEAR TEAM AVG. G AB H HR RBI SB 1989 Mesa .303 32 122 37 3 20 17 Quad City .244 23 78 19 2 11 7 1990 Quad City .307 135 492 151 14 65 64 1991 Edmonton .316 115 431 136 9 61 46 1992 Angels .259 139 441 114 10 46 43 1993 Angels .285 152 583 166 6 59 48 1994 Angels .256 114 453 116 11 50 25

A look at the major league career of new Angel Tony Phillips.

YEAR TEAM AVG. G AB H HR RBI SB 1982 Oakland .210 40 81 17 0 8 2 1983 Oakland .248 148 412 102 4 35 16 1984 Oakland .266 154 451 120 4 37 10 1985 Tacoma .130 20 69 9 0 5 3 Oakland .280 42 161 45 4 17 3 1986 Oakland .256 118 441 113 5 52 15 1987 Oakland .240 111 379 91 10 46 7 Tacoma .346 7 26 9 1 6 1 1988 Oakland .203 79 212 43 2 17 0 Tacoma .271 16 59 16 2 8 0 1989 Oakland .262 143 451 118 4 47 3 1990 Detroit .251 152 573 144 8 55 19 1991 Detroit .284 146 564 160 17 72 10 1992 Detroit .276 159 606 167 10 64 12 1993 Detroit .313 151 566 177 7 57 16 1994 Detroit .281 114 438 123 19 61 13