BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Davis Blasts Early Practice

Chili Davis was in a bit of a foul mood when he got to Kauffman Stadium Friday. The target of his ire?

The American League, which approved requests by the Royals and Chicago White Sox to have visiting teams take batting practice first, so early arriving fans can watch the home team hit before games.

That means visiting teams must arrive about 3 hours before games, instead of the usual 2 hours, for batting practice.

“I’m all for letting the fans watch their team hit, but they should just open the gates earlier. They don’t want to do that because they’d have to pay stadium workers more. But those people lost a lot during the strike, how about giving them some overtime?”

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Left-handed pitcher Joe Magrane, released by the Angels in late April, signed with the Chicago Cubs Friday and was sent to the team’s extended spring training camp in Mesa, Ariz.

The Cubs will pay Magrane the major league minimum $109,000, and the Angels will pick up the balance of his $1.5-million contract.