DiSarcina Holds Up His End of the Order

Gary DiSarcina bats ninth in the Angel order. He also ranks ninth in the league in slugging percentage.

Are the other eight sluggers ahead of him the Angels’ Nos. 1-8 hitters?

Uh, no. Only Tim Salmon, with a league-leading five homers, is among the league’s big 10 and he’s 10th, behind the Angel shortstop.

DiSarcina is a fixture at short because of his glove--he’ll play every day as long as hits .200--but he came into the season carrying a big stick and has maintained a pace that has lifted him into an elite crowd of free swingers such as Albert Belle, Ruben Sierra and Eddie Murray.

But don’t expect to see him hitting clean-up . . . or even eighth, for that matter.

“He’s into a comfort spot there, he wants to hit ninth,” Manager Marcel Lachemann said. “And it’s a spot that means something, too. You come up with runners on. It’s not a wasted spot. You can do a lot of damage there.”

DiSarcina has spent the first 12 games of this season proving that. Entering Tuesday night’s game against Texas, he was tied for the American League lead with two triples, tied for second with six doubles, third in extra base hits with nine, seventh in total bases (27) and ninth in slugging percentage (.659).

He even has a homer this year, his first since June 12th of last year.

“I read the newspaper and it says ‘even the ninth hitter had three hits,’ and it makes me laugh,” DiSarcina said. “As long as you’re in the lineup, you have the chance to contribute, to get on base, to score runs, to drive in runs.”

DiSarcina quickly added to his power numbers Tuesday night with a run-scoring double down the left-field line in the second inning. He also singled to right in the fourth as the Angels beat Texas, 3-2.

The Angels, of course, would be more than happy with the DiSarcina’s batting average (.378) and the fact he has hit safely in 10 of 12 games this season even if all his hits were singles.

He committed his second error of the season in the third inning when he charged and bobbled a soft grounder by Mark McLemore, but he made up for it in the fifth when he robbed Billy Hatcher of a leadoff hit with a nice backhand stab deep in the hole and an off-balance throw to first.

“Gary’s been very consistent offensively and that’s great,” veteran Spike Owen said, “but it’s his defense that impresses me most. Some guys make the routine ground ball look flashy, but that’s not the way Gary plays. He’s not out there trying to put on a show and sometimes he makes the really great plays that go unnoticed.”

These days, it’s his consistency at the plate that’s drawing rave reviews. He’s 11 for 27 (.408) on the current home stand. But it didn’t come easy. DiSarcina is a tireless worker and a fixture at early batting practice.

“I don’t think I’m blessed with the best swing or the strongest hands that you would expect from a talented hitter, but I take a pride in working on my swing,” he said.