All Spiezio Wants Is Opportunity to Play

If he would not go home encouraged, at least he would not go home discouraged. In the final days of a frustrating season, before he cleared out his locker for the winter, Scott Spiezio entered the manager’s office, shut the door and sat down.

Spiezio was convinced that no matter what he did, the Angels never would consider him an everyday player. He said it, Mike Scioscia read it, and the manager summoned Spiezio for a little chat.

“He said he knows I could play every day,” Spiezio said. “He didn’t say I would.”

In those final days last season, the Angels moved Darin Erstad to first base, as a possible alternative to playing Mo Vaughn there this season. That prompted Spiezio to sound off. He outlasted Wally Joyner and Larry Barnes for his chance at first base, hit .303 with 11 home runs in 10 weeks as the starter there, and yet the Angels pondered picking up an outfielder and shifting Erstad to first.

With Vaughn gone to the New York Mets and Erstad remaining in center, the path still is not clear for Spiezio. For now, he will share the position with Shawn Wooten.

“There’s definitely room for one of those guys to come out and win the job,” Scioscia said.

Said Spiezio: “It’s good knowing I’ve got a good chance to play more than last year.”

Spiezio is superior defensively, but Wooten’s forte is offense, and that’s what the Angels need most. The average American League team got 29 home runs and 100 runs batted in from first basemen last season; the Angels got 18 homers and 64 RBIs from theirs.

Even if Wooten wins the job, Spiezio said he is enthusiastic about playing for a contender and said he believes the acquisitions of pitchers Kevin Appier and Aaron Sele and designated hitter Brad Fullmer can propel the Angels toward October.

“I’ve never been to the playoffs,” Spiezio said. “I’m sick of watching them.”

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As Cactus League games start this week, spring training stadiums will implement security measures similar to those introduced at major league stadiums after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. All bags will be searched, and large bags, ice chests and coolers will not be allowed.

At Tempe Diablo Stadium, the Angels’ spring home, the cheapest seats in the house are $4 lawn seats, but fans will not be permitted to bring lawn chairs into the stadium. Daily workouts on adjacent fields remain free, and players remain available for autographs as they walk across the parking lot separating the stadium from the practice fields.