Special Day for Gil and Wooten

Shawn Wooten found an empty spot in the corner of the Angel dugout, far from all the screaming and laughing and high-fiving, and sat down for a moment of reflection with his father, Bob, who died last year.

Benji Gil screamed and laughed and high-fived until he was certain he had exorcised the demons lurking in his mind from Game 2 of the division series between the Angels and New York Yankees.

The scene in the Angel clubhouse at Edison Field after the team’s series-clinching 9-5 victory Saturday afternoon was one of unbridled joy. But nobody could have enjoyed it more than Gil and Wooten.

Gil, a right-handed hitting second baseman, has been platooned with Adam Kennedy, usually getting the start against left-handers.

Gil got the call in Yankee Stadium in Game 2. In the sixth inning, with the Angels holding on to a 4-3 lead, the Yankees had a man aboard with one out. Juan Rivera hit a potential double-play grounder to shortstop David Eckstein. Eckstein flipped to Gil, but the ball appeared to stick in Gil’s glove, causing him to make a bad throw to first. With the inning kept alive, Alfonso Soriano followed with a two-run homer to put the Yankees ahead.

The Angels came back to win, 8-6, but Gil couldn’t forget his error.

“That win was bittersweet,” Gil said, “because I made a mistake that was costly.”

With David Wells, a left-hander, starting Game 4, Gil figured to be in the lineup. Or did he?

Kennedy, after hitting .312 in the regular season to Gil’s .285, hit .571 (four for seven) through the first three games of this series. In Game 3, Kennedy went three for three, including a home run, and made a highlight-reel play at second base.

Add to that the fact Gil was one-for-17 lifetime against Wells (Kennedy was 0 for 6) and an argument could certainly be made for sticking with Kennedy. Several reporters made that argument with Angel Manager Mike Scioscia before the game.

As for Gil, he didn’t lose any sleep over the decision. Just the opposite.

“I wanted the opportunity to play,” said Gil, “but I knew it was no sure thing. Yet, even though normally I don’t sleep well the night before a game, this time, I slept like a baby.”

And he could have been excused if he cried like a baby when he entered the Angel clubhouse and saw his name in the No. 9 spot.

“I was so pumped up,” Gil said.

The Yankees soon felt the force of that emotion. Gil went three for three, including two singles in the fifth inning, the inning in which the Angel scored a division-series record eight runs.

It’s been a long road for Gil, from Castle Park High in Chula Vista to Butte, Mont., where he broke into professional baseball on a rookie-league team, to the Texas Rangers, and finally the Angels the last three seasons.

“If you had told me two or three years ago, I’d be standing here,” said Gil, as he paused in the Angel clubhouse after chasing teammates around with a bottle of tequila, “I might have told you, you must have just fallen out of a tree.”

Wooten, who platoons with Brad Fullmer at designated hitter, might have made the same statement. He seemed destined to be a career minor leaguer, having played everywhere from Bristol, Conn., to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, of the independent Prairie League.

That would pretty much be the end of the line in the minds of most players. But Wooten always had his father, Bob, whispering in his ear, giving him confidence, even when injuries got him down. “He told me that I could always go back to school,” Wooten said, “but if I still had a love for the game, I should play it out.”

Wooten finally made it to the Angels for seven games in 2000. A year later, his father, his biggest fan, died of cancer.

Wooten started Saturday and went three for four with a home run. After scoring in that wild fifth inning, he took time out for a private conversation with his father.

“I sat on the bench and thanked him,” Wooten said. “Without him, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Without Wooten, Gil and the other role players, the Angels wouldn’t be where they are today, preparing for the American League championship series.