Second Thoughts : After Failed Experiments, Angels Believe Easley Is Second Baseman of Future

Draw an imaginary line from first base to second, from second to shallow right-center field and from there back to first, and you have what has amounted to a Bermuda Triangle for the Angels.

Since Bobby Grich retired after the 1986 season, it seems every Angel who ventures into the second-base spot spends a little time there and vanishes.

The Angels have had five “starting” second basemen--Mark McLemore, Johnny Ray, Luis Sojo, Torey Lovullo and Harold Reynolds--in the past seven seasons. Numerous others--remember Ken Oberkfell, Rick Schu, Junior Noboa and Gus Polidor?--have come and gone.

In Gary DiSarcina’s three years as the Angels’ starting shortstop, he has played with 10 second basemen.

“Nobody has come in and said, ‘Darn it, I’m going to win this job and not be unseated,’ ” DiSarcina said.

Until now.

DiSarcina will have a new double-play partner this season, a young guy by the name of Damion Easley, who bounced around the Angel infield in recent years but has spent this spring exclusively at second.

Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann thinks Easley has all-star tools--a strong, accurate arm, excellent speed, quickness and agility, good hands and potential to be an above-average hitter. DiSarcina is just as impressed with Easley’s mind-set.

“He’s starting to realize there’s something to be said for your heart,” DiSarcina said. “He’s not as quiet as he used to be; he’s coming out of his shell. He’s more assertive, more vocal. He’s showing that he really wants the job.”

Easley had the second-base job entering the 1993 season but was limited for the first three months because of shin splints. When Kelly Gruber went on the disabled list in early July, Easley moved to third base.

Easley, a former standout at Lakewood High and Long Beach City College, hit .313 in 73 games, but by the end of July the shin splints were too painful. He went on the disabled list, had surgery in August and missed the rest of the season.

Told he would be the team’s third baseman in 1994, Easley bulked up during the off-season, adding 20 pounds to his 5-foot-11 frame. Normally a 175-pound infielder, Easley never felt totally comfortable at 195.

He struggled at the plate and was moved back to second in June. By August, Easley and his .215 average were on the bench.

His season was a disaster, but at least some good came of it. The Angels, realizing their experiments weren’t working, told Easley he would be a second baseman and nothing else. So Easley had the entire off-season to concentrate on only one position.

“That has been a tremendous help,” said Easley, who ascended quickly through the Angel farm system as a shortstop. “I never felt like a third baseman, and I didn’t hit like a third baseman should hit. You need to have a guy like (San Francisco’s) Matt Williams, who is going to knock in 80 runs.”

Easley also believed his agility was wasted at third base, which is more of a reaction position than second, which requires covering much more ground. He lost 20 pounds during the winter and said his quickness at 175 pounds “is like night and day” compared to 195.

You could describe his 1993 and ’94 seasons in the same vein. Though pain from the shin splints was excruciating at times, Easley fought through it and hit remarkably well in 1993.

With healthy legs and added strength, Easley figured he’d have a huge year in ’94. But after a .267 start in April, he sank to .202 in May, .189 in June and .167 in July.

“I hit a wall and didn’t see it coming,” Easley said. “I started out OK, hit a little rut and that turned into a big rut because I put too much pressure on myself to do statistically what I did in ’93.

“I wouldn’t get a hit my first at-bat in a game, and I’d try harder my second and third at-bats until it snowballed. Five at-bats would turn into 75 or 100 at-bats.”

Easley thought 1994 would be his breakthrough year. Angel coaches think he’ll have that kind of season in ’95 and could bat him in the No. 2 spot, but Easley has tempered his expectations.

“I’ve lowered my goals, so if I reach them, then I can raise them,” said Easley, who helped Lakewood win a Southern Section championship in 1987. “I don’t want to try to hit the pinnacle out of the chute, I want to work my way up.”

Bobby Knoop, an Angel coach who was one of baseball’s steadiest second basemen during the 1960s, is working to get Easley to decelerate a bit on defense too.

“His one problem is anxiety,” Knoop said. “He wants to turn the double play right now, get the grounder right now. Sometimes you have to do that, but doing things too quickly can also cause you to make mistakes.”

Easley thinks he’ll improve with experience.

“The more games I get, the more I’ll learn when I can take my time, when I can’t,” he said.