BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : Lachemann Wants Velarde to Lead Way

By MIKE DiGIOVANNA

Feb. 22, 1996 12 AM PT

Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann has a leadoff hitter in mind.

“It will probably be Randy Velarde,” Lachemann said Wednesday in Tempe, Ariz.

Velarde played just about every position but pitcher and catcher during his eight-year New York Yankee career and has appeared in numerous batting-order slots, but rarely at the top.

Reliever Mike James, who went 3-0 with a 3.88 earned-run average last season, signed a one-year contract for $150,000.

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Mike DiGiovanna

Mike DiGiovanna has been covering Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Times since 1995 and spent 19 years as the Angels beat writer and two seasons on the Dodgers. He won Associated Press Sports Editors awards for game-story writing in 2001, feature-story writing in 2017 and breaking news in 2019. A native of East Lyme, Conn., and a graduate of Cal State Fullerton, he began writing for The Times in 1981.

BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : Lachemann Wants Velarde to Lead Way

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