Offerman Is Enjoying His Born-Again Career

The last time Jose Offerman was in Anaheim Stadium, the Royals were playing him at first base and he was making like Don Mattingly, digging out bad throws, diving to gobble up hard ground balls and leaping to snag a line drive and start a double play.

Friday night, he started at second base, so he was doing his Mattingly-with-a-bat impersonation.

Offerman, who has reached base safely in 16 of his last 30 plate appearances, greeted Angel starter Mark Langston with a prodigious home run to center in the first inning and then stung the left-hander with a shot off his knee that caromed down the left-field line for a double in the second.

“That’s the first time in my career, even in the minors, that I led off a game with a homer,” said Offerman after the Royals made the five runs they scored in the first two innings stand up for a 5-3 victory. “I was just guessing he would throw a changeup and he did and I was able to hit it hard.”

Offerman, who was batting in the leadoff spot for the 23rd consecutive game, has hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games, going 18 for 45 (.400) with two homers, three triples, three doubles, 12 runs and seven runs batted in.

“He’s just been playing tremendously,” Manager Bob Boone said. “He’s a terrific athlete.”

Offerman made his first appearance in the All-Star game as a Dodger last season, but he also led all major league shortstops with 35 errors, prompting the trade with Kansas City that sent left-hander Billy Brewer to Los Angeles.

Brewer is now with the Yankees, traded for a minor-league prospect.

Offerman is sparking the Royals’ lineup, hitting .292 and playing solid--and often spectacular--defense. He has made a team-leading 12 errors, but most of them came in the first few weeks when he was still playing shortstop. Since moving over to the right side of the infield, he’s added more than his share to the team’s 1996 highlight film.

Just ask Tim Salmon, who was robbed of a hit in the second inning when second baseman Offerman made a running, over-the-shoulder catch of a popup to shallow center. Or J.T. Snow, who was out in the ninth when Offerman, then playing first, charged Snow’s bouncer down the line and snagged the ball before it could veer foul.

“Offy has really helped us,” Boone said. “He’s playing great offensively and defensively and running the bases. I think he’s the best defensive first baseman in the league.”

That sort of praise--and the fact he no longer has to face “people who come just to boo me” at his home ballpark--has made the game fun again for Offerman.

“When people tell you you are doing a good job, it’s so much easier to play the way you know you can play,” Offerman said. “I’m enjoying myself more than any time since I was in the minors.”

And that was Boone’s intent from the first day of spring training when he began to rebuild Offerman’s tattered psyche.

“When he came here, his name was Jose Offerman The Guy Who Made More Errors Than Any Dodger Shortstop Since Pee Wee Reese in 1947,” Boone said. “So my tact was, ‘Wow, you made fewer errors than Pee Wee.’

“I wanted to reduce the stigma and the stress. Now, he’s having a blast and I’m having a blast watching him.”