Vaughn Suffers Momentary Betrayal

Mo Vaughn has worn the same first baseman’s glove for six years.

Resting on the bottom of his locker, it is dirty and oily and, well, friendly. Vaughn loves it, scuffs and all.

Sunday, it nearly helped the Dodgers win a game.

In the ninth inning, Shawn Green hit a sharp grounder that Vaughn deftly speared with a backhand. Vaughn’s trusty friend, however, would not let go of the ball.

Vaughn reached for the ball and tugged. He tugged again. The baseball had lodged in the webbing.

Pitcher Troy Percival stood on the bag. Green raced down the line.

“I didn’t know if Troy could tell it was stuck like that,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn took off toward the base. Percival, wisely, cleared out. Green’s foot beat Vaughn’s by a few inches, and they somehow avoided a messy collision.

“I didn’t want to hurt him,” Vaughn said, smiling. “I’m not going to run him over.”

Percival pitched around the oddity, getting Gary Sheffield on a double-play grounder. The Angels won with a run in the bottom of the ninth, 8-7.

And, Vaughn and his mitt remain close, a true glove story.

“I keep it up pretty good,” he said. “I restring it every year.”

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Vaughn has slumped since being red hot for most of May.

He was hitless in four at-bats Sunday, and has one home run and two runs batted in in his last 10 games. He is eight for 42 (.190) since his five-for-five game in Minnesota, causing his average to fall from .335 to .308.

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The three-game series drew 118,688. The Angels drew 127,482 for last season’s interleague series.

The Angels and Dodgers will play three games at Dodger Stadium immediately after the All-Star break, July 13-15, in an unusual Thursday-to-Saturday series.