PLAY BALL, FINALLY: One thing you can...

PLAY BALL, FINALLY: One thing you can always count on for the Angels’ opening day at Anaheim Stadium: daylight. Until this year, that is. Instead of the usual afternoon opener--washed out by the strike--the Angels begin the season at Anaheim Stadium on Wednesday night--at 7:35 (C8), against the Detroit Tigers. They didn’t do so well under the lights last year (dead last, with a .419 winning percentage.) . . . The team’s bright spot: Chili Davis, who, at .314, was third best among designated hitters last year.

LET’S DO TWO: For the serious baseball fan, there’s nothing like a doubleheader--even if the games are in different cities. You can do it twice this season in Southern California. Wednesday, May 10, the Dodgers are in San Diego for a 1:05 p.m. game, and Texas visits Anaheim Stadium at 7:35. Then Wednesday, July 26, the Angels host Cleveland at 1 p.m., while Atlanta visits the Dodgers at 7:30 that evening.

THAT’S THE WAY IT IS: He’s most famous as a broadcaster, but Walter Cronkite is also known for his love of sailing and the sea. Today, the National Maritime Historical Society will present the Orange County Marine Institute with its inaugural Walter Cronkite Award, for excellence in maritime education. . . . The ceremony will take place aboard The Pilgrim in Dana Point Harbor. The institute has been using the tall ship as a place to host education programs about sea life for 14 years.

BACK TO NATURE: Delayed several months because of rainstorms and the county’s fiscal nightmares, the 900-acre Arroyo Trabuco park extension opens Saturday--which happens to be California Trails Day. . . . “It makes sense because that’s what the Arroyo is all about--trails,” says Tim Miller of Arroyo Trabuco, part of O’Neill Regional Park in Trabuco Canyon. County officials have nixed ribbon-cuttings during the bond crisis. But Miller says several outdoors groups plan to mark the opening with guided trail tours.

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Dark Nights

The Angels had the American League’s worst record in night games last year. How they compare to top four teams: New York: .662 Cleveland: .600 Chicago: .575 Baltimore: .550 Angels: .419 Source: 1995 American League Red Book