Easley Breaks Some Old Habits

A quick checklist on Damion Easley’s condition.

Pulled muscles?

Easley: “None.”

Shin splints?

“None.”

Collisions with teammates?

“I put my blinkers on when I make turns now.”

Those were some of the things that plagued Easley’s four-plus seasons with the Angels. Injuries kept him out of the lineup, kept him from developing and kept him frustrated.

All of that is in the past, Easley hopes.

On Friday, he came into Anaheim Stadium with the Detroit Tigers. He was completely healthy, somewhat wealthy (a $410,000 annual salary) and certainly wise.

“I don’t have any bad feelings about the Angels,” Easley said. “I’m very grateful to them. They gave me plenty of chances. They traded me to a team where I could show what I could do.”

Easley, the Tigers’ starting second baseman, has shown them plenty after being traded last July 31. He was hitting .284 with 14 runs scored and six stolen bases going into Friday’s game. Easley went hitless in four at-bats Friday, snapping a six-game hitting streak.

Angel officials are not surprised by his success. They had seen how well he could play--Easley led the team with a .313 batting average in 1993--but only when he could play--Easley played in only 73 games that season.

Easley was on the disabled list four times in four seasons with the Angels. The injury problems even followed Easley to Detroit. He hit .343 last season, but missed 28 of the team’s last 31 games with a hamstring injury.

He was determined to become less fragile. He sought out Tiger teammate Tony Clark, who recommended personal trainer Trent Suzuki.

“Tony had problems with injuries in the past, but he had 600 at-bats the last two seasons,” Easley said. “He had also been working with Trent the last two seasons. It wasn’t hard to figure out.”

Suzuki, who played baseball at UCLA, mainly changed Easley’s weight lifting technique. It was enough. Easley not only came into spring training in good shape, but left it pain free.

The Angels wished Easley would have solved those problems sooner. He won the second base job in 1993, but had two long stints on the disabled list with shin splints.

He also spent time on the disabled list with shoulder problems in 1994 and 1996. Easley looked jinxed last season when he collided with Rex Hudler in the runway after being told to get ready to go into the game. He received only a few stitches, but it didn’t help his injury-prone reputation.

Easley was hitting .156 when he was sent to Vancouver on July 20.

“For whatever reason, it just wasn’t happening for him here,” Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi said. “We still think a lot of him and we hope things work out great.”

They have--at least for Easley. The Angels received pitcher Greg Gohr in return. Gohr was 1-1 with a 7.50 earned-run average with the Angels last season and was shipped to Vancouver in spring training.

Easley, meanwhile, won the second base job with the Tigers and has hit safely in 13 of 19 starts.

Said Easley: “I think I have all those problems behind me . . . I hope.”