Back in Position

Last October, Randy Velarde knew exactly what he wanted from his 1999 season: To be the everyday second baseman for the Angels. At that time however, it looked as if Velarde was going to be an everyday second baseman, or an Angel, but probably not both.

Justin Baughman had made a good impression in his 63-game trial at second base last year while Velarde was out with an elbow injury. Baughman is 12 years younger than Velarde, who was a free agent and was going to be 36 on opening day 1999. Velarde looked as if he was on his way out of Anaheim after only his third season.

“I hadn’t heard anything from [the Angels] and I had a lot of offers from other teams,” Velarde said. “I was giving them every opportunity to re-sign me, but from what I was hearing, they wanted to go with the kids. So I said, ‘Well, it’s understandable. I’ll shop elsewhere.’ ”

The Angels’ plans changed quickly on Nov. 7. On that day, Baughman, playing second base for Los Mochis in the Mexican League, collided with the right fielder while chasing a fly ball and broke his left leg in five places, requiring surgery. That prompted a call to Velarde, who had previously been offered a job with the Angels as a utility infielder. Velarde hadn’t considered that a viable option.

“If Baughman hadn’t gone down, I wouldn’t have come back,” he said. “I felt like I could play every day, and I worked to get an everyday job.”

The hardest part for Velarde was the feeling that he had lost his starting job because of the elbow injury that plagued him for two years.

In 1997, he began the season on the disabled list after straining his right elbow during spring training. On April 8, he underwent surgery that would limit his season to one pinch-running appearance in September. Last season, he didn’t appear in a game until May 13, then made only two appearances before trouble with his elbow sidelined him again. When Velarde returned in early August, it looked as if Baughman was going to be the Angels’ second baseman for the present and future.

“I wasn’t going to lose it to injury,” Velarde said of the second base spot. “It would be different if I wasn’t productive. Then I would swallow some pride. But I still felt I was productive enough as an everyday player.”

According to Velarde, the Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees and Blue Jays were interested in him as a utility man, while the Orioles and Cardinals were looking at him as a starter.

Velarde said he felt he owed something to the Angels after playing in only 52 games the past two seasons. That, along with his desire to stay in the American League and his belief that the Angels would be a postseason contender, prompted Velarde to re-sign for one year at $800,000. That was a small pay cut from his 1998 salary of $850,000.

Still, there was the lingering question of how Velarde would come back at age 36 after being sidelined for most of the previous two seasons. It didn’t take long for the Angels to get their answer.

“We had him do everything possible to test him in spring training and he handled every situation,” Angel Manager Terry Collins said. “He’s such a hard worker on his swing and everything he does offensively. When we knew his arm was going to hold up, we knew he was going to be OK.”

Velarde has been one of the team’s bright spots this season. Playing injury-free, he has appeared in 70 of Anaheim’s 75 games and is hitting .300 with seven home runs, 34 runs batted in and a career-high 10 stolen bases. Not that Velarde is content with that.

“We’re all measured as players on how we produce, numbers do that,” he said. “If it’s fielding or hitting, you have to show them day in and day out, not only in April but in August and September, that you still have the tenacity and the discipline and the strength to play 162 games.”

Velarde’s steadiness is not only apparent on the field but in the clubhouse. Speaking in his Texas drawl, Velarde’s demeanor rarely changes, something that has helped him to be successful.

“It’s the right mentality to have,” Darin Erstad said. “You have to stay on an even keel. I stay on an even keel. I’m just in a bad mood all the time.”

Velarde shook his head as to how he is able to keep his steady attitude all of the time.

“I might not be showing it but internally it’s tough,” Velarde said. “[Last Thursday] I got five hits and today I might go 0 for 5. That’s the beauty of this game. You just have to be at the top of your game all the time and you have to cherish every moment you have out there.”

His daily approach to the game has made Velarde a quiet leader in the Angel clubhouse.

“Randy is definitely a cornerstone,” Erstad said. “He’s a dedicated player who goes about it the right way. He’s a great guy for the younger players to learn from because he takes the same approach every day, keeps his mouth shut and gets the job done.”

Velarde is pleased to be in the lineup every day at the same position. In nine seasons with the Yankees, he never got a chance to be anything but a utility man, despite hitting .272 or higher in each of his last four seasons with the team, including a .301 average in 1993. Although Velarde was averse to returning to a utility role, he realizes that his versatility is a big reason he’s still around.

“I look back on that, and it was by far the best thing that could have happened to Randy Velarde,” he said. “We all hate that label, that you can be a great utility player sometime for some team, and it seemed that when people said that, I was branded with that, and nine years later I still hadn’t had an opportunity to play every day.

“But when I look back, I wouldn’t change anything. I could have been the starting shortstop at triple-A, but who wants to do that?”

Baughman is still in Portland, finishing college while he rehabilitates his leg. His injury will be reevaluated in July, although the team doesn’t expect him back this year. Although the club expects Baughman to return for spring training next year, it’s too hard to predict if his leg will be healthy enough to withstand the wear and tear of a full season at second base.

“I’d be tickled pink if he ended up playing winter ball,” Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi said.

With Baughman’s situation unclear, the Angels will have to take a long look at re-signing Velarde, . Bavasi said it is “too early” to start thinking about whether Velarde will be in the Angels’ plans next season. Velarde said he would come back to the Angels, but not if it meant playing for a team that was in a rebuilding mode.

“I’m at the back side of my career and I want to win,” Velarde said. “I don’t want to be here if we’re going to get rid of the [Chuck] Finleys and [Ken] Hills and DiSars [Gary DiSarcina] and Jimmy [Edmonds] . . . we have a good chance of winning something special here.”

Velarde said one thing that won’t be a factor in re-signing with the Angels is the contract extension that Collins received last week. Velarde’s criticism of Collins on May 31 for taking away his green light to steal when Mo Vaughn was at the plate was one of the first signs of tension between the players and Collins, which was a source of controversy when the Angels were talking to Collins about extending his contract.

Velarde later apologized for airing out his complaints to reporters instead of going to Collins, and now he sounds like he wants to let the situation die.

“[The contract extension] is great for him,” Velarde said. “He’s got security for three years, and that’s one of the reasons you play the game, for security. We’re all happy for him.”

Velarde doesn’t even know how long he’ll continue to play. He still wants a chance to play in the World Series, something he missed out on by a year in New York. The season after Velarde left, the Yankees won their first World Series since 1978.

That bad timing seemed to follow Velarde with the Angels. While he only had two stints on the disabled list in nine seasons in New York, Velarde’s injury problems the last two years with the Angels helped him realize the end might be creeping up on him.

“You think about [retirement] every time you wake up and your body is aching and you’re like ‘It’s only June,’ ” he said. “It’s a challenge. But you’re playing a game you love and you’re getting paid well for it.”