Hudler’s Enthusiasm Helps Angels Soar : Baseball: Utility player contributes to team with solid play, infectious attitude.

You’ve come to the Angel clubhouse at Anaheim Stadium to capture the spirit, the zaniness, the emotion of Rex Hudler, but quickly find it’s impossible.

You simply can’t keep pace. Your pen is out of ink, notebook out of paper, tape recorder out of tape. You’ve asked exactly three questions.

Later, you complain about a numb hand from taking all those notes. Somebody looks at you funny and you explain how you’ve just been talking with Hudler.

The man laughs and says, “You mean you just listened to him.”

Right.

Rex Allen Hudler was born in 1960, in Tempe, Ariz., but grew up in Fresno. He was the New York Yankees’ first-round pick in the 1978 draft, selected ahead of Cal Ripken. He is a career .256 hitter, a utility player by trade, a character by choice--yes, but also by necessity.

Hudler said he was in the minors when he realized he needed to play to his strengths if he was going to last as a ballplayer. It might have been at Oneonta, N.Y., but it could have been at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Greensboro, N.C.; Nashville, Tenn.; Columbus, Ohio; Rochester, N.Y., or Indianapolis--his minor league stops--just as easily.

Sure, he could play the game. The Yankees wouldn’t have drafted him so high if they hadn’t thought he would play in the majors some day. But Hudler decided he needed to let teammates, management and, perhaps most of all, fans witness his passion for the game.

“Seeing 100 people in the stands at a minor league ballpark, I decided maybe if I can make one of them go away laughing, having a good time . . . ,” Hudler said. “If I can make one person enjoy the game of baseball by the way I play, I’ve done my job.

“No one ever looked at my stats. People say, ‘Look how he runs to first base, like he hasn’t eaten in three days and there’s food waiting for him at first base.’ It’s helped me more than anything. The hustle, the win-at-all-cost attitude.

“As ballplayers, the only thing we have control of is the effort that we make every day.

“I can choose to have a big ego. Or I can hustle and show that kid in the stands that he can hustle and play hard and make it too.

“I don’t feel like anything special. I’m not blessed with a lot of talent. But the good Lord gave me some speed and that helped me become a major league player. Speed and defense.”

Hudler plays only occasionally for the Angels. He probably would play less if second baseman Damion Easley wasn’t mired in a prolonged batting slump. But Hudler’s impact on the Angels goes far beyond mere batting average, defense and baserunning.

A few comments from his teammates:

--Shortstop Gary DiSarcina: “He’s so exuberant every day.”

--Catcher Jorge Fabregas: “I don’t know where he gets his energy from, but I wish I had some.”

--Pitcher Chuck Finley: “Rex is non-stop and that means a whole lot.”

--Third baseman Tony Phillips: “He means as much to the team as Chili Davis or Tim Salmon or me or anyone else.”

--Infielder Spike Owen: “I’ll tell you, they broke the mold with that guy.”

One of Hudler’s pet projects this season has been getting Easley going. Instead of capitalizing on his teammate’s misfortunes, Hudler has encouraged him.

Easley, with plenty to worry about besides another player taking his job, is grateful for the support. “It’s easy to talk behind someone’s back,” he said. “For him to take his time to come to me and encourage me and help me out, he doesn’t have to do that. We both play the same position.

“It says a lot about him.”

Hudler would love to play every day but realizes he can’t. Raw enthusiasm simply can’t make up for his age. Also, he can’t match the skills of most of his teammates. So he is content to pick his spots, stomp the gas pedal, then head back to the bench for a few days’ rest.

If Easley needs a break, if Phillips or Salmon or left fielder Garret Anderson can’t play, Hudler is ready and willing to go all-out. He would probably pitch if Manager Marcel Lachemann asked.

“Rex goes so hard sometimes, you’ve got to get him out of there,” Lachemann said. “He’s not a pup. He acts like a pup, but he’s not.”

Hudler said he might have retired in the spring of 1994. He had returned from a yearlong stint with Yakult, batting .300 and leading the Swallows to the Japanese League championship. But the San Francisco Giants cut him during training camp, just as he and his wife, Jennifer, were expecting their first child.

Giant Manager Dusty Baker and General Manager Bob Quinn delivered the bad news, looking as if there had been a death in the family.

“They said, ‘We know the baby’s coming, but we’ve got to release you,’ ” Hudler said.

Quickly, Hudler began cheering up Baker and Quinn.

“I said, ‘I’m a better man for being in your camp. Thanks for having me,’ ” Hudler said. “I got to meet Willie Mays and Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda. They [Baker and Quinn] were blown away. I told [third baseman] Matt Williams, ‘Hey, buddy, thanks for the experience. What a joy it’s been to be with you guys.’ ”

Alyssa Hudler was born a few days later, and Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi found Hudler at a hospital near Phoenix the following day.

“The baby was born on a Friday, and on Saturday Bill Bavasi walked in with a major league contract,” Hudler said. “Bavasi and [former manager] Buck Rodgers gave me new life.”

The Angels haven’t been the same since.

To be sure, all was not bliss last season. The Angels had the worst record in the American League (47-68) and were in last place in the West when the strike ended the season in mid-August.

But this season has been far different, more pleasing for Hudler, as the Angels lead the AL West.

“To play with a young team and go through last year was a painful, painful experience,” Hudler said. “Then to come into this year and it’s the end of July and I feel like I’ve helped our team. . . . It’s neat, at this stage of my career, to pass along things to the young kids. Maybe I can light a fire under one or two of them. I love to encourage my teammates.

“I’ve spent more time with Damion Easley than anybody. I’ve worked on his confidence. I’ve told him, ‘These old bones can’t go out there every day. We need you.’

“He’s such a big part of this team. I almost feel like sometimes my job is just to encourage one guy who’s struggling.”

Hudler knows that’s a unique attitude, but he figures it’s all part of being a utility player. Infielder, outfielder, cheerleader--the roles carry the same weight to Hudler. If he comes off a little wacky, so be it. After all, it’s just a game.

“I’m off the wall,” Hudler said. “I do that on purpose, on and off the field. I’m not going to go without having fun. I don’t want to leave with any regrets. I want to say, ‘Hud, you played the game. You had fun. Now, go on with your life.’

“Playing baseball is so much fun. I should be locked up for having so much fun.”