Joyner Returns to Angels, but Will He Stick Around?

Wally World is back, but not for long. Wally Joyner signed with the Angels on Thursday, then declared he would retire this year and vowed to play his last season as the Angels’ starting first baseman.

“I can’t think of a better place to finish out my career,” he said.

Joyner agreed to a minor league contract that pays him the major league minimum of $200,000 if he makes the team and a maximum of $1.8 million if he makes 550 plate appearances. While the Angels guaranteed him nothing more than the chance to compete with Scott Spiezio and rookie Larry Barnes to replace injured first baseman Mo Vaughn, Joyner said he would retire before the season rather than after if he fails to win the starting job.

“If I can’t play up to my capabilities in spring training, I’ll address it then and hang it up,” he said. “I’m not trying to hang on.”

Joyner, 38, said he was “tickled to death” to return to Anaheim, where he played the first six seasons of his career and where fans adored him. Joyner played regularly for 14 seasons before backing up Andres Galarraga for the Atlanta Braves last season. He considered retiring at one point, and he said he would not sit on the bench again.

“This is it for me, and I want to do something more than I did last year,” he said. “I had a wonderful front-row seat watching Andres Galarraga have a tremendous season and come back from an incredible bout with cancer. My hope and wish is to get back to a starting position and finish out my career on a high note.”

Joyner hit .281 in a career-low 224 at-bats last season, batting .350 after the All-Star break. The Angels need a No. 2 hitter, a vacancy Joyner could fill by virtue of his .365 on-base percentage last year (same as Vaughn) and ability to make contact (more walks than strikeouts in his career). Neither Spiezio nor Barnes can match Joyner’s combination of experience and defensive skill, although Joyner has been hampered by foot, knee, shoulder and collarbone injuries over the last three seasons.

“My job in spring training is to show the Angels I can play and I can be counted on,” Joyner said.

His agent, Barry Axelrod, tried three times this winter to interest the Angels in signing Joyner. The Angels only pursued Joyner after learning last week that Vaughn would sit out most and possibly all of this season because of surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in his left arm.

“I don’t think anybody’s ever excited to see a team lose a tremendous player like Mo Vaughn,” Joyner said. “I’d like to make sure we don’t miss a beat. When Mo Vaughn is healthy, he can come back and play first.”

Joyner replaced Hall of Famer Rod Carew as the Angels’ first baseman in 1986, the year the Angels last appeared in the playoffs, when Anaheim Stadium became “Wally World” and fans voted him into the starting lineup for the All-Star Game. Joyner, pitcher Chuck Finley and outfielder Devon White are the only players still active from that team, which came within one strike--and one Dave Henderson home run--of defeating the Boston Red Sox to advance to the World Series.

One of the most popular players in franchise history, Joyner broke down in tears at the 1991 news conference in which he announced he had rejected a four-year, $15.75-million offer from the Angels and accepted a one-year contract from the Kansas City Royals.

“It was very emotional for me,” he said. “I had a home in Southern California. I loved playing for the Angels. It just didn’t work out.”

Joyner got his chance to play in a World Series, in 1998 with the San Diego Padres, but he is painfully aware the Angels have yet to make it.

“There’s some unfinished business,” Joyner said. “I think we all remember our owner and friend, Gene Autry. Gene and Jackie have been tremendous fans, and we would all like to win one for Gene and Jackie.”

Also Thursday, the Angels signed first baseman Chris Pritchett to a minor league contract but did not invite him to spring training. Pritchett, 31, who hit .232 in 56 games for the Angels from 1996-99, would probably play first base at triple-A Salt Lake if Barnes makes the major league roster.

Baseball Notes

Reliever Jesse Orosco, baseball’s all-time leader in appearances, worked out for the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. The left-hander, coming off elbow surgery, pitched for General Manager Kevin Malone, Manager Jim Tracy and pitching coach Jim Colborn. The Dodgers have not determined whether they will sign Orosco, who previously pitched for the club in 1988. Orosco is believed to be seeking a one-year contract plus an option.

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Wally Joyner’s Regular-Season Statistics

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Year Club G AB R H HR RBI AVG 1986 Angels 154 593 82 172 22 100 .290 1987 Angels 149 564 100 161 34 117 .285 1988 Angels 158 597 81 176 31 85 .295 1989 Angels 159 593 78 167 16 79 .282 1990 Angels 83 310 35 83 8 41 .268 1991 Angels 143 551 79 166 21 96 .301 1992 Kansas City 149 572 66 154 9 66 .269 1993 Kansas City 141 497 83 145 15 65 .292 1994 Kansas City 97 363 52 113 8 57 .311 1995 Kansas City 131 465 69 144 12 83 .310 1996 San Diego 121 433 59 120 8 65 .277 1997 San Diego 135 455 59 149 13 83 .327 1998 San Diego 131 439 58 131 12 80 .298 1999 San Diego 110 323 34 80 5 43 .248 2000 Atlanta 119 224 24 63 5 32 .281 Totals 1,980 6,979 959 2,024 201 1,092 .290

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