Call of the Wild : Angels Sign Williams in Hopes That His Off-the-Wall Spirit Will Help Club On, Off the Field

He is forever the victor, leaping high off the mound, legs apart, left fist clenched overhead, having snuffed the Atlanta Braves’ last hopes in the sixth game of the 1993 National League playoffs.

Wild Thing, I think I love you.

He is forever the loser, delivering the ninth-inning gopher ball that made Joe Carter a Canadian hero and the Toronto Blue Jays ’93 World Series champs.

Mild Thing, I think I loathe you.

And with that Mitch Williams was soon gone, traded by Philadelphia to Houston and quickly released by the Astros in early 1994.

Now, Angel fans, he’s all yours.

What you see is what you get. From the tattoos on his shoulders and calves to his often erratic left arm, there is no trickery surrounding Williams. But pegging his daily performance on the mound can be a chore, driving managers, teammates and fans batty.

Is he a quality relief pitcher? Yes. Is he a horrible relief pitcher? Yes. Sometimes he’s both in the same inning, to the same hitter.

In three seasons in Philadelphia, capped by the unlikely run to the World Series in ‘93, he proved to be a maddening contradiction. Terrible, reliable, untrustworthy, overpowering, lousy and able to rattle the nerves of even the most down-to-earth followers of the Phillies, of which there are few.

The ’93 postseason offered a perfect capsule look at Williams. Against Atlanta, he was 2-0 with a 1.69 earned-run average, pitching a one-two-three ninth in the clinching sixth game. Against Toronto, he was 0-2 with a 20.25 ERA, blowing a ninth-inning lead in the deciding sixth game.

He once said he pitched like his hair was on fire. His pitching motion looks more like a man falling out of a pickup, and, yes, perhaps the man’s hair is ablaze.

What is certain is Williams hit bottom with his World Series failures and washout in Houston. He refuses to term this spring training a comeback, however comeback-like it may appear.

After a 10-month layoff on his ranch in Hico, Tex., he has a new uniform and a new role.

“I’ve got some things to prove after Houston,” Williams said. “I’ve put everything behind me. I want to come back and feel like a kid again.”

Next to Lee Smith, Williams is a kid.

Williams, 30 and left-handed, is ticketed for the set-up role. Smith, 37 and right-handed, will be the closer. Williams knew it would be that way when he signed a one-year deal worth $500,000, and he doesn’t particularly mind. After all, Smith is the all-time save leader with 434. Williams has 192.

“His comment to me was ‘I’ve handed the ball to lesser closers,’ ” Manager Marcel Lachemann said.

Why two established closers?

“We went after Mitch because of his record against left-handed hitters,” General Manager Bill Bavasi said. “He’s used to getting the ball late (in games). That’s valuable. The next part is throwing strikes with something on them.”

What else will Williams bring to the Angels?

“Probably the cops,” Chuck Finley said in a deadpan, mock-serious tone.

“Nah, Mitch is a good dude. He’s high-strung, but you have to have a few guys like that on the team to make it go. He’s a different personality. You never know what he’s going to say. It might not make any sense, but it’s going to be funny.”

Will that off-the-wall spirit really help the club?

“The majority of the guys (in any clubhouse) are quiet guys,” infielder Rex Hudler said. “You have to love guys like Mitch. You can’t take this too seriously. You have to have fun. You have to take the pressure off the young guys.

“I remember when I was a rookie and I’d see the veterans cutting up. I said, ‘Man, look at that. They can have fun too.’ ”

Sitting in the stands behind home plate, Buck Rodgers, former Angel manager who is a scout for Philadelphia, watched Williams throw an inning during a recent intrasquad game. Rodgers remembered Williams’ tenacious side, recalling a time he sent a young player to pinch-run with two outs in the ninth inning of a tight game.

“We were playing the Cubs,” said Rodgers, who was managing the Montreal Expos then. “I had Jeff Huson pinch-run, and damned if Williams didn’t pick him off. He got the save and didn’t throw a pitch.”

Rodgers laughed.

“I think it’s great to have a guy with that kind of persona,” Rodgers said. “But it has to be accompanied with a certain degree of success. The Mad Hungarian (Al Hrabosky) was great as long as he got people out.”

Therein lies the gamble the Angels are taking with the Wild Thing. Can he still get people out? Lachemann acknowledged that Williams’ 95-m.p.h.-fastball days are behind him.

“There’s a degree of value in wildness,” Lachemann said. “Years ago, Ryne Duren used to fire his first warmup pitch against the screen. It was an intimidation thing.

“You want to eliminate the walks as much as possible. I don’t think you can take away any of the violent, unorthodox delivery and have him be as effective.”

Williams said he has put the failures of the Series and last season behind him. But many figure one disappointment had a great deal to do with the other, otherwise he might still be playing for Philadelphia.

“After the World Series he had there was no way the Phillies could bring him back,” Rodgers said. “That was a self-preservation trade.”

Williams said he will fondly remember his three seasons, 102 saves and NL title with the Phillies. But his experience in Houston soured him. He said he was miscast and mismanaged in the Astro bullpen. He wanted to close, but the Astros had other ideas.

“I’d show up and not know what I was doing,” he said. “It was a good bunch, a good team. I didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing. I was feeling useless. The hardest part was that I was coming off a situation (with the Phillies) where they’d hand the ball to me and say, ‘Go get ‘em.’ ”

Houston was different in other ways too.

“The Phillie clubhouse was a lot of fun,” Williams said. “Houston was like walking into a church. It was real quiet. It was tough to get motivated. A noisy clubhouse makes it fun. I still believe in having fun.”

He remained an Astro until they released him May 31. Williams then withdrew to his 600-acre ranch, doing little more than tending to his cattle and pigs. He also played recreation league softball with buddies.

“I played everything, shortstop, outfield, first base . . . whatever,” he said. “I had a lot of fun.”

With the players’ strike looming, there was little need to hook on with another club last season, so Williams didn’t. Eventually, the Angels made an offer, making it clear they wanted him but also that they would pursue Smith.

“I knew what they wanted from me, especially before I signed,” Williams said. “We’ve got about 600 pounds down there (in the bullpen) with me and Smitty. I think it’ll work. Lee’s going to be saving games and I’ll be setting up. I can prepare for that role now. I’d like to close, but it’s not every day you get to set up for the all-time save leader.

“I have to wait till Lee gets tired. He can’t go three, four days in a row, just because he’s old.

“I might get a bone thrown my way.”