BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Edmonds Still Playing It Tough

Center fielder Jim Edmonds could barely walk out of Anaheim Stadium on Tuesday night. His sore right foot, which has been bothering him for weeks, had flared up again, and his right calf, bruised when he fouled a ball off it in the fifth inning against the Blue Jays, was stiff.

But there was Edmonds in the starting lineup Wednesday night, batting second, playing hurt, once again showing he is not as soft as some in the Angel organization thought he was.

“I just want to prove my worth to the team, that I’m a hard-nosed player, instead of them thinking I’m out to have a good time, and whatever happens, happens,” Edmonds said. “I think I got a bad rap in the minor leagues, and I’ve done everything I could to prove them wrong.”

And then some. Edmonds, whose carefree, seemingly unemotional approach to the game led some to believe he is lackadaisical, began Wednesday night’s game against Toronto with a .300 average, 12 home runs and 47 runs batted in.

The second-year player was named to the American League All-Star team Sunday and, just as important to him, Edmonds seems to have earned the respect of veteran teammates, some of whom may have wondered about his character in the past.

“Jimmy has just come into his own,” Chili Davis said. “He’s tough to describe. You could call him a nasty name, a hotdog, and he’ll just look at you and smile and say, ‘So what, I can play.’ He’s like Will Clark in a way. Some guys don’t like Will, some don’t understand him, but he can play.”

*

And you thought the Cleveland Indians had baseball’s most potent offense? The Angels began Wednesday night’s game with a major league-leading 373 runs, which projects to 839 runs over a 144-game season.

The team record for runs is 866, set in 1979. The Angels have scored 14 or more runs in five games this season, more than any other Angel team in club history, and they lead the major leagues in walks (285) and on- base percentage (.361).

*

Spike Owen, who was in the starting lineup at third base Wednesday night, was a late scratch because of a slightly strained left shoulder. Left fielder Tony Phillips moved to third, and Rex Hudler was inserted in left. . . . Garret Anderson was held out of the starting lineup because of a tight right hamstring and is day to day. . . . With crew chief Jim McKean out because of a staph infection on his hand, Wednesday night’s game was played with only three umpires.