Now It’s Thumbs Up for Angels’ DiSarcina

Shortstop Gary DiSarcina stretched to his right and just reached Mike Cameron’s ground ball. He then planted and fired to first to end the eighth inning Sunday.

Nothing special.

“They hit the ball to shortstop, you don’t have to think about anything,” Manager Terry Collins said after the Angels’ 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Such is the worth of DiSarcina. It’s a price tag that can actually be judged in wins and losses.

Sunday was an anniversary for DiSarcina, one he doesn’t celebrate. Two years ago, he tore a ligament in his left thumb breaking up a double play. It began a collapse during which the Angels blew an 11-game lead.

DiSarcina missed 43 games and the Angels went 16-27.

“You don’t forget something like that,” DiSarcina said. “I dwelled on it the 43 days I was on the disabled list. But if the success or failure of a team depend that much on one player, then there is something wrong with the team.”

Maybe so, then again, DiSarcina certainly meant a lot Sunday. He made two spectacular plays, started two double plays and broke a scoreless tie with a run-scoring single in the fifth inning.

Sure, there were others. Pitcher Chuck Finley continued his winning streak. Tim Salmon and Dave Hollins hit home runs. DiSarcina, though, seemed to be the focal point in key moments.

In the third, he sprinted to his right and made a diving catch on a flare by Ron Karkovice. The White Sox put two runners on later in the inning.

In the fifth, he fought off a James Baldwin pitch and looped a single into left. It scored Jack Howell for a 1-0 lead.

“I picked up my knuckles on the way down to first,” DiSarcina said. “I try to fight the label that I’m a fielder and not a hitter. I think everyone takes pride in the hitting.”

DiSarcina is hitting .257, with 41 runs batted in. He hit .307 and drove in 45 RBIs in 1995.

Friday, Salmon was asked to compare the ’95 Angels with the ’97 version. “I think we’re playing as well at this point in the season as we were in 1995,” Salmon said. “We’ll see how we’re playing at the end of August.”

The Angels didn’t have DiSarcina at that point in 1995, but they do now.