DaVanon Homer Saves Day

In a weird way, Bill Bavasi had the last word Friday.

On the day he resigned as Angel general manager, after a season in which rock bottom kept being rediscovered, his last trade made a major impact.

Jeff DaVanon slammed his first major league home run to lead off the ninth inning, giving the Angels a 7-6 come-from-behind victory over the Texas Rangers in front of 25,515 at Edison Field. As Bavasi exited, the player who came through was one of the ones he picked up on the day he ran up the white flag.

It was a fact not lost on DaVanon, one of three players acquired from the Oakland Athletics for second baseman Randy Velarde and pitcher Omar Olivares on July 29.

“Bill brought me over and he is the reason I’m in the major leagues right now,” DaVanon said. “I was in shock when I heard. Maybe this was a nice memento for him on his last day.”

Those looking ahead--way ahead--might have viewed the Angels’ final series as a season maker. Three games against the Rangers on the last weekend.

Instead, the first day of this series was marked by the end of Bavasi’s sixth season as general manager. All the Angels could salvage from it was a victory, as they did Sept. 3 when Terry Collins resigned as manager.

The victory extracted some revenge from the Rangers, who are looking to finish with the American League’s best record and home-field advantage.

Still, they are better off than the Angels, who are looking for a new manager, a new general manager and possibly several positions to be determined.

“It doesn’t mean anything more to me that we’re playing Texas,” shortstop Gary DiSarcina said.

The evening meant a lot to DaVanon, whose father played with the Angels in 1973. Before the game, he sat in the corner of the clubhouse with Mo Vaughn, Garret Anderson, Tim Salmon and Jim Edmonds--all the Angels’ big hitters.

“They were giving me tips and I was being a sponge,” DaVanon said. “

Then he delivered as they rarely have this season. DaVanon had his first major league hit in the fifth and then slammed Mike Morgan’s 1-0 pitch over the 408-foot sign in center field.

“I still have chills,” DaVanon said. “This is what you dream about as a kid.”

The victory left the Angels 17-10 since Collins resigned.

The Rangers jumped to a 5-0 lead and led, 6-3, after seven innings. In the eighth, Salmon doubled home one run and Troy Glaus followed with a two-run single to tie the score.

“The guys have come together in the last month and after what we’ve been through, that’s a plus,” DiSarcina said. “We’ve won a few games, come from behind in the ninth and just played good baseball.

“Our focus has been better. With what we’ve been through, I think we realize we need each other.”