They Don’t Want to Be Caught Short Next Season

As the off-season approaches and the Angels look toward 2001, the question of what to do with the shortstop position could be perplexing.

Kevin Stocker and Benji Gil have done a reputable job filling in for the injured Gary DiSarcina defensively. While neither will win a Gold Glove, neither has been a liability.

But the Angels would like a little more offense out of the position and have to decide whether Stocker and/or Gil can provide it.

Gil, who has been sidelined by a rib-cage injury and may not be able to return this season, is batting .241 with six home runs and 23 runs batted in. Gil is batting .312 against left-handers but .200 against right-handers.

Stocker, a switch-hitter who has battled hip and knee injuries, entered Tuesday night’s game hitting .229 with two homers, 20 doubles and 24 RBIs.

“We know Kevin and Benji are better offensive players, but where the club is going, no one can say for sure,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “It’s obviously an essential position where you need high-caliber defense to be a championship-caliber club.”

Stocker is in the final year of a three-year, $7.5-million contract, but the Devil Rays are paying almost all of his $3.3-million salary this season. He will be a free agent, but he knows he can’t command the same kind of salary in his next contract, because he wasn’t an every-day player this year.

“I’m not gonna look for millions,” Stocker said. “I’m open to anything because of the year I’ve had.”

Stocker has done the little things well--he has a team-leading 10 sacrifice hits and has been a good situational hitter, executing hit-and-run plays and moving runners over.

“A lot of guys look at the big numbers, but if there are teams who want a veteran guy who knows how to play shortstop, they’ll call,” Stocker said. “If they want a shortstop who is a huge offensive threat, they won’t call.

“There are a lot of things about Anaheim I like. I just want to be in a good situation where I can help a team, whether it’s as a starting shortstop, a second baseman or utility player.”

It’s highly doubtful the Angels will pursue free-agent shortstop Alex Rodriguez this winter, so it’s very possible Stocker could return. If Stocker is deemed too expensive, the Angels could bring Gil and Justin Baughman back to compete with DiSarcina, who hopes to return after rotator-cuff surgery.

*

The Angels appear to be leaning toward Kent Mercker to start Thursday’s game against the A’s. . . . Darin Erstad singled and scored his 116th run of the season in the first inning Tuesday night. He needs four runs to tie the Angel franchise record of 120 runs, set by Jim Edmonds in 1995 and Don Baylor in 1979. . . . Mo Vaughn’s third-inning strikeout Tuesday night gave him 173 on the season, 13 shy of the American League record of 186, set by Milwaukee’s Rob Deer in 1987.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’

AL LEVINE

(3-4, 3.46 ERA)

vs.

ATHLETICS’

GIL HEREDIA

(15-11, 3.98 ERA)

Oakland Coliseum, 12:30 p.m.

Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

* Update--Levine will look to extend the Angels’ record in games started by a middle reliever to 7-0. The Angels have won all five of the games Levine has started this season, as well as games Lou Pote and Derrick Turnbow have started. Heredia is 11-2 with a 3.45 ERA in 15 road starts but 4-9 with a 4.44 ERA in 16 starts in Oakland. With their five-run first inning Tuesday, the A’s broke their franchise record of 893 runs, set in 1999. Their two-run second gave them 899 runs on the season.