Rodgers Keeps an Eye on Angels : Baseball: Former manager now works as a West Coast scout for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Baseball has always been defined by statistics, hot dogs--and ironies.

The latter paid a visit to Anaheim Stadium on Sunday, when former manager Buck Rodgers--now a scout with Philadelphia--sat among the spectators involved in evaluating and recommending talent.

Comfortably dressed in a rose-colored sport shirt, khaki pants and moccasins (no socks), Rodgers busily filled his note pad with observations, ideas and information. But even if he didn’t know the Angels as well as he does, the notebook would be full.

The Angels are one of six Western teams Rodgers keeps tabs on. He also follows Oakland, Seattle, San Diego, Colorado and the Dodgers. He tries to see more of California on the road. “I try not to come here too much,” Rodgers said. “It’s nice to see everybody, but when you’re trying to do things it can be tough to come here.”

It also can be tough to watch a team that, in some ways, Rodgers still thinks of as his. Most of the players on the current Angel roster came up when Rodgers managed the team, from the tail end of 1991 to May, 1994, when he was replaced by Marcel Lachemann.

Rodgers went through the growing pains of the Angels’ youth movement. He said he’s not surprised by how the team has matured.

“They’re doing great,” Rodgers said. “I know Damion [Easley] is better than he’s shown. He’s going through what J.T. [Snow] did a couple of years ago. You’ve got to feel like a major league player and J.T.’s over that hurdle. And Jimmy Edmonds is playing center field better than any of us thought he could. He’s become a quality center fielder.”

As he discusses the team, it’s apparent Rodgers still thinks like a manager. He still has hopes of one day putting on a uniform.

“I have enjoyed my time off, but I still miss being out there,” Rodgers said. “I miss the competition and the clubhouse.

“Scouting has kept me involved in baseball--I’m getting a new respect for scouts--but if I had my druthers . . . I’ll be back managing. I still feel there’s a spot for me. But the spots are getting fewer. The industry is going to very young GM’s and veteran managers don’t seem to match up too well with them.”

Rodgers also understands his health will always be a question. He was nearly killed in the team’s bus accident in New Jersey in 1992. He still has screws in his left knee and is expected to have an artificial kneecap within the next five to seven years. His surgically rebuilt right elbow has limited mobility, and the stiffness in his gait hasn’t completely gone away.

“I know I’ll never be 100 % again,” said Rodgers, “but I still feel I came out of the accident a better person.”

In the meantime, he will be looking for that particular player who can help the Phillies catch Atlanta in the NL East.

And should it happen to be an Angel he managed?

That would be an irony Rodgers could appreciate.