Abbott Hopes His Stint in Minors Proves He’s No Lemon

Tonight is “Used Car Night” at Scottsdale Stadium, where, fittingly, Michigan native Jim Abbott will try to revive his stalled pitching career with his first start in the minor leagues.

Abbott, the left-hander who jumped from a complete-game victory in the 1988 Olympics final to the major leagues with the Angels, will take the mound at 7 p.m. for the Angels’ triple-A Vancouver Canadians against the Phoenix Firebirds.

He began working out with Vancouver on Wednesday after consenting to reassignment Tuesday. Abbott, 1-15 this season for the Angels, is expected to make four starts for Vancouver, beginning tonight, and then return to the Angels when the minor league season ends Sept. 2.

“It’s not necessarily an entirely bad thing,” said Abbott, talking to The Times earlier this week. “It’s a chance to go down and throw in a different pitching environment, under less of a spotlight, and do what I haven’t been able to accomplish here.

“Obviously, I’m not throwing the ball the way I know I can and [going to the minors] could be a chance to improve and earn my way back.”

Craig Pletenik, Firebird vice president and general manager, said he already was expecting nearly 6,000 fans in the 9,000-seat stadium tonight, when one used car will be given away each inning. But Abbott’s appearance should boost that total.

“Our biggest night was when Orel Hershiser was here in 1989,” Pletenik said, referring to the Dodger right-hander’s rehabilitation with Albuquerque after rotator-cuff surgery. “It was a Monday night at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, and we were turning people away. Normally we would draw 2,000 fans on a Monday night, and there were 9,000 in the stands.”

Darryl Strawberry’s three-game stint with Phoenix before joining the San Francisco Giants in 1994 also boosted attendance, Pletenik said.

So besides used cars, what else can Abbott expect tonight in Phoenix?

Well, not surprisingly, it will be hot.

“It’s expected to be 108 degrees at game time, and humid,” Pletenik said. “Also, Scottsdale Stadium is a big ballpark. It’s 360 feet down the left-field line, 430 to center and 340 to right. The power alleys are 410 to left and 395 to right. He should like that.

“And he’ll be facing a Phoenix club that’s been decimated by recent call-ups to the [San Francisco] Giants.”

Angel pitching coach Joe Coleman says Abbott’s time with Vancouver should be a learning experience.

“He has to learn to trust his pitches again,” Coleman said. “One day, he’ll realize that, it’ll all kick in, and he’ll be back [in Anaheim].”

Abbott gave up four walks and nine earned runs in 3 1/3 innings during his last start last Saturday against the Kansas City Royals. But his 15 losses don’t even place among the Angels’ top-10 worst seasons. Four Angel pitchers have lost a club-record 19 games in a single season--Kirk McCaskill (1991), Frank Tanana (1974), Clyde Wright (1973) and George Brunet (1967)--and Dean Chance (1963) and Nolan Ryan (1976) lost 18 in one season.

Last year, Abbott was 11-8 with a 3.70 earned-run average--ninth best in the American League--with the White Sox and Angels. He was 18-11 with a 2.89 ERA in 1991, his third season with the Angels, but fell to 7-15 despite a 2.77 ERA in 1992.

Media requests for tonight’s game have tripled from the usual three newspapers that cover the Firebirds, Pletenik said. And a local cable station, which planned to provide tonight’s game to its 400,000 subscribers, is delighted Abbott is pitching.

Times staff writer John Weyler contributed to this story.