Grudge Matches Appeal to Gant

Ron Gant, the newest Angel, is the self-motivated type. But there are times when an extra nudge comes in handy.

Playing Atlanta? The Braves tore up Gant’s contract before the 1994 season, after he broke his leg in a motorcycle accident.

Two seasons later, while with St. Louis, Gant hit two home runs against the Braves in a 3-2 victory during the 1996 National League championship series.

“I wanted to make sure they pay,” he said.

Playing Houston? The Astros considered signing Gant in 1994 but passed after they looked at X-rays of his leg.

So Gant went to Cincinnati and batted .419 with eight home runs against Houston, helping the Reds defeat the Astros 12 times in 13 games and edge them out for the NL Central title.

“I felt like I had something to prove,” Gant said.

Playing St. Louis? Gant’s three seasons with the Cardinals ended with strong accusations about Manager Tony La Russa, suggesting racism.

So Gant went to Philadelphia and homered twice against the Cardinals in one game.

“What feud?” he said after that game.

Maybe Angel officials should remind Gant that La Russa once managed Oakland. Or that Seattle also could have signed him in 1994.

“If I could have that same level of concentration against every team, I would probably be the best player in the game,” Gant said, laughing. “Those are extra feelings there. Not that I’m trying to do it, but I think my concentration and determination against those teams are higher than it is against other teams.”

Of course, Gant doesn’t need a chip on his shoulder. Only a bat. He hit 26 or more home runs in seven of his last nine seasons. He had 20 home runs when the Angels acquired him Sunday for pitcher Kent Bottenfield.

The Angels can only hope Gant will be as productive in the American League, where he holds no grudges.

“I’ll have to wait to see all the uniforms and then I can tell which team I’ll feel better against,” Gant said.

Angel relief pitcher Mark Petkovsek, who played with Gant in St. Louis, had an idea.

“Maybe I’ll have to tell him how the Cleveland players have been talking about him,” Petkovsek said.

The Angels open a three-game series with the Indians today at Cleveland.

Gant has spent 11-plus seasons in the major leagues and survived what could have been a career-ending injury from the motorcycle accident. He has been through the controversy with La Russa. He also played an important role for three teams--Atlanta, Cincinnati and St. Louis--that made the playoffs in the ‘90s.

“There isn’t a guy who wants it more,” said Angel pitcher Kent Mercker, who played with Gant in Atlanta and St. Louis. “He takes every at-bat personally. He’s a great fit in [this clubhouse] because he knows why he’s here.”

Which is what has troubled Gant the last few days.

His debut with the Angels hasn’t been a bang. He is hitless in eight at-bats, with a walk and a run scored, in his first three games, all against Detroit.

But, then, maybe he doesn’t have anything against the Tigers?

“I’ve been trying to do too much since I’ve been here,” Gant said. “I got to just clamp down and settle down. If I do that, then I’m going to help these guys a great deal.”

That confidence is what General Manager Bill Stoneman sought.

Gant had six home runs in the first 11 games after the All-Star break. The Angels, who needed a productive right-handed designated hitter, faced a stampede of left-handed pitchers in July.

Stoneman hopes Gant, who is batting .365 against left-handers, is the answer.

“He can produce as a right-handed hitter at designated hitter, which was an area where we were lacking,” Stoneman said. “That was Item One. Item Two was this is a very competitive guy. He is intense as a player and goes about business the way you want a player to go about business.”

Gant was a cornerstone when the Braves were building their dynasty. Pitching may have been the Atlanta blueprint, but the team needed a few runs as well.

He averaged 26 home runs and 29 stolen bases from 1990-93 and the Braves won three division titles.

“In my opinion, there wasn’t anyone more dangerous,” Mercker said.

The Braves thought enough of him to sign him to a $5.5-million deal in February 1994. Then Gant slammed his motorcycle into a tree. After first saying they would stick by him, the Braves bought out his contract for $917,000.

Gant long ago sold his motorcycles--”They’re dangerous,” he said--but the memory lingered.

His career was in doubt when the Braves cut him loose, and he missed the 1994 season. But the following year he was chosen as the NL’s comeback player of the year after hitting 29 home runs and driving in 88 runs to help the Reds win the NL Central.

“There are going to be times when people write you off,” Gant said. “Every successful person goes through tough times, whether you’re a baseball player, a politician, a lawyer, a doctor. Those are just tests that make you positive.”

Gant’s toughest time, though, came after the 1998 season. He told reporters that he knew several black players who said they either hated or were mistreated by La Russa. A verbal battle ensued.

Gant: “I don’t know too many people who like him.”

La Russa on Gant’s time with the Cardinals: “It was whiff, whiff, whiff . . . “

And so on.

Gant later apologized to the Cardinal fans and claimed that he and La Russa patched things up last season.

“That’s probably the only thing I won’t talk about because it is a personal thing,” Gant said. “That, with Tony and I, is in the past. All is said and done. We’ve both moved on.”

Gant’s path led to Philadelphia--where he hit three home runs against the Cardinals last season--and then to the Angels.

“These guys here are so good at the plate, it makes the next guy’s job a lot easier,” Gant said. “You don’t depend on one guy. That makes it easier as a ball club to be able to have that confidence in each player.

“When I went to the playoffs and World Series all those years, it wasn’t just one player. It was the whole group. It was a different guy every day. It seems like since I’ve been here, that’s the way it is with these guys.”

Gant is ready to take his turn.

And, who knows, if the Angels make the World Series, he might get a little extra nudge against Atlanta . . . or St. Louis.

“We’ll see what happens,” Gant said. “Right now, we’re just concentrating on getting ourselves in the position to do that.”