BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Greene Called Up to Replace Myers

The Angels’ catcher of the future became the team’s reserve catcher of the present Saturday when Todd Greene, recently voted 1995 minor league player of the year by Baseball Weekly, was activated.

Greene, who hit 40 home runs while splitting the season between double-A Midland and triple-A Vancouver, was in Phoenix Saturday morning for his first Arizona Fall League workout.

But Greg Myers suffered a strained left rib cage Friday night and was put on the 60-day disabled list Saturday, ending his season, so the call went out for Greene, the first minor leaguer to hit 40 home runs since Danny Tartabull had 43 in 1985.

Greene is expected to challenge for the starting job next season.

“He’s the kind of kid whose bat can carry him to the big leagues,” Manager Marcel Lachemann said. “But he’s getting better and better defensively.”

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Chili Davis became the fifth Angel to hit 20 homers this season with a three-run shot in the fourth inning Saturday night, joining Tim Salmon (34), Jim Edmonds (32), Tony Phillips (26) and J.T. Snow (24) in the 20-homer club. It marked the third time in the Angels’ 35-year history that five players have hit at least 20 homers in a season.

Salmon received the Angels’ 1995 Owner’s Trophy, the team’s annual most-valuable-player award as selected by Angel players. Salmon, who shared the award with pitcher Mark Langston in 1993, led the Angels in average (.330), home runs (34), hits (173), total bases (314), doubles (33) and slugging percentage (.599) before Saturday night.