Scene in Anaheim Looks Real Familiar

All that Mighty Duck Coach Mike Babcock knows about baseball is he likes the hot dogs at Edison Field and that when he took his 8-year-old son Michael to an Angel game last summer, the boy immediately identified with infielder David Eckstein.

“My kid said, ‘The guy playing shortstop is just like me,’” Babcock said. “I asked him why and he said, ‘Because he works so hard.’”

The gulf between baseball and hockey is wider than the expanse of Katella Avenue. But as Babcock’s son recognized, many aspects translate from one sport to the other, creating intriguing parallels between the Angels’ World Series triumph and the improbable first-round playoff sweep the Ducks completed Wednesday with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings before a rollicking, roiling, towel-waving, Red Wing-hating crowd at the Pond.

“Absolutely, we can take something from what they did,” said Duck forward Paul Kariya, like Angel outfielder Darin Erstad an intense leader who played on teams with little talent and persevered through a series of coaching and front-office follies.

“Everybody there had some struggles and they came through and won it all. It was just amazing,” added Kariya, who attended Game 2 of the World Series and tapes games to listen to the analysis and absorb the sport’s finer points. “They had the worst start in franchise history and became the World Series champions. It gave everybody here hope.”

Steve Rucchin’s goal 6:53 into overtime, a wrist shot from the right circle after a feed from Keith Carney, completed the first first-round sweep of a defending Cup champion in 51 years and propelled the Ducks past the first round of a possible four-round marathon. The Dallas Stars or St. Louis Blues are the likely roadblocks they will face next week, but on Wednesday, no one in the crowd was thinking that far ahead. They were enjoying the stunning sight they had just seen, a victory as significant as the Angels’ elimination of the New York Yankees and equally stunning to Eastern-based media that slighted both Anaheim teams until both ensured they could no longer be ignored.

The obvious parallel between the Ducks and Angels is their common Disney ownership and Disney’s miscalculations in its first years operating both franchises. However, in both cases Disney eventually learned to hire good people and leave them alone to transform their respective organizations.

Both clubs were put up for sale, although the Angels appear closer to being sold than do the Ducks since Phoenix businessman Arturo Moreno reportedly reached an agreement to buy the baseball team. Disney Chairman Michael Eisner hasn’t yet jumped on the Ducks’ bandwagon, although his son Eric was among the well-wishers crowding the locker room after their Game 3 victory Monday.

Both the Angels and Ducks began the playoffs as unknowns and underdogs against the defending champions of their respective leagues. Yet, the Angels overcame series-opening losses to the Yankees in the Division Series, Minnesota in the American League Championship Series and the Giants in the World Series, and the Ducks rallied to win the first two games at Detroit and the clincher Wednesday.

Both are led by men who exude an air of calm certainty. Prominent among the papers and books in Babcock’s office at the Pond are newspaper clippings in which Angel Manager Mike Scioscia discussed his managerial philosophy; those words are highlighted on paper and burned into Babcock’s mind.

“I like the way the man thought,” said Babcock, who has the same dry, cutting wit as Scioscia. “I like how he made people feel important. It’s a simple approach, but important.”

According to Tim Mead, the Angels’ vice president of communication, the Angels have become Duck fans. Mead said Scioscia sent the Ducks a congratulatory note after their Game 1 triumph and said players are talking about the Ducks and musing about the parallels between the teams. “There’s respect and support,” he said.

Carney, the stalwart defenseman who helped set up the biggest goal in franchise history, identified the most important common ground between the Angels and Ducks: a spirit born of teamwork and selflessness and hope.

“What they did was unbelievable,” he said, “and when you think about teams like that, that come from nowhere to win, in the back of your mind you think about it and realize that if you get in that situation you have to take advantage of it. This is an opportunity for us that might never come again.

“I’ve played in this league 12 years. My first nine I made the playoffs every year and you start to take it for granted that you’re going to get back every year. It’s never guaranteed. I’ve learned that. We have to take advantage of every opportunity and see what happens. Look at the Angels and you’ll see that’s what they did. It takes total team effort. That’s what they got and that’s what we need to keep getting.”