Velarde’s Elbow Feels Great, So Collins Will Stick With Him

Second baseman Randy Velarde stepped to the plate with one out in the eighth inning Saturday, but everyone in the stadium knew who was on deck. The Angels trailed Tampa Bay, 3-1, but had runners on first and third with Mo Vaughn waiting in the wings.

This had potential for the Angels. Instead, Velarde hit a sharp grounder that Devil Ray shortstop Kevin Stocker snagged and turned into an inning-ending double play.

A disappointing moment, but Manager Terry Collins wasn’t about to wallow in it.

“I had the guy on deck, but I also had a lot of confidence in the guy up there,” Collins said.

Velarde has earned that faith this season, having long ago put to rest concerns about his surgically repaired right elbow. He has become what the Angels envisioned when they signed him before the 1996 season--an everyday second baseman.

Velarde got off to a fast start and has kept rolling in May despite back problems that forced him to miss five games. He is second on the team with a .313 average. He doesn’t have Jim Edmonds’ power, but Velarde has solidified the second spot in the batting order.

He also only fields ground balls, not questions about his elbow. Those stopped after he made several off-balanced throws without even so much as a twinge.

“I’m going to take advantage of every chance I get for all the time I missed,” Velarde said. “I envisioned being out there the last two years and now I am. I don’t usually get off to a fast start, but that was because I didn’t play every day the nine years I was in New York.”

The Angels gave him that opportunity in 1996. He seemed the answer to their black hole at second base, instead he became another name on the list. The team has had nine opening-day second basemen since Bobby Grich retired after the 1986 season.

“We felt he was ready to be an everyday player,” General Manager Bill Bavasi said. “He showed he was that first season.”

Velarde hit .285 with 14 home runs and 54 RBIs in 1996, his only full season since signing with the Angels. He injured his elbow the following spring and missed the entire season. He played in 51 games last year, hitting .261, but was again eligible for free agency. The Angels re-signed him and he hasn’t disappointed, despite that at-bat Saturday.

“I thought we were going to get one run, maybe more, with Randy up there,” Collins said. “He is hitting as well as anyone on this team right now.”

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With two on and two outs in the ninth inning Sunday and the Angels trailing, 7-4, Tim Unroe grounded out. A pinch-hitter was not an option. If Todd Greene starts, as he did Sunday, the Angels have no power on the bench.

They do, however, have Steve Decker at triple-A Edmonton. Decker has 12 home runs; only three players in all the minor leagues have more. He is hitting .286 and ranks among Pacific Coast League leaders with 34 RBIs in 37 games.

With Velarde healthy, the Angels don’t need two backup middle infielders, so they could find a bench spot for Decker. However, the Angels aren’t sure where they could play him. With Edmonds and Tim Salmon injured, they could use an outfielder, but Decker plays catcher, first base and third base.

Decker, 33, promised his 5-year-old daughter he would persevere until the Angels promoted him to Anaheim.

“My goal is to take my kids to Disneyland,” said Decker, who also has a 1-year-old. “They’ve never been there.”

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The Angels face Baltimore starting today and will see third baseman Cal Ripken, who returned from his first stint on the disabled list Thursday. His injured back seems fine, as he has six hits in 18 at-bats and five RBIs since returning.

It was all mind over matter, or so he claimed.

“I feel I can speak to my body and my body will listen,” Ripken told reporters over the weekend.