Angels Dig Deep in Victory

The surest sign yet that the Angels are done arrived in the Edison Field clubhouse Thursday afternoon in the form of a minor league journeyman named Adam Riggs.

This is what the Angels’ season has come to: promoting a 30-year-old utility player with a career .196 batting average in 21 major league games in the hope that he could provide an offensive spark.

Nothing against Riggs, who was having a fine season with triple-A Salt Lake before being yanked out of the Pacific Coast League pennant race, but the Angels never thought they would have to dip this deep into their farm system one season after winning a World Series.

“When they called me here, I wasn’t expecting it at all,” said Riggs, who singled and made several sparkling defensive plays at first base Thursday during the Angels’ 5-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox before 35,056. “It was a complete shock.”

The Angels hung Riggs’ jersey in a corner of the clubhouse that also included the jerseys of Chone Figgins, Jeff DaVanon, Alfredo Amezaga and Robb Quinlan, all of whom started the season in Salt Lake and were promoted to Anaheim after injuries sidelined a number of regulars.

One Angel who may have cemented his name in the lineup for next season was Scot Shields, who held Chicago to four hits and one run over 7 2/3 innings Thursday in his finest outing since replacing the released Kevin Appier in the starting rotation. Shields struck out five, walked none and enhanced his chances of remaining in the rotation in 2004.

“Hopefully, that will give them a little incentive for next year,” said Shields (3-3), who left to a standing ovation in the eighth after pinch-hitter Paul Konerko drove in Brian Daubach on a fielder’s choice.

“You’re not going to get a guy pitching a better game than Scotty pitched tonight,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said. “He’s got great stuff. We’re going to see if he can maintain it.”

The Angels scored one run in each of the first three innings and added two in the seventh in winning for the third time in four games against the White Sox, their first series victory since the All-Star break. Four of the Angels’ five run-scoring hits came with two outs.

Riggs, making his first major league appearance since May 27, 2001, with the San Diego Padres, singled in the fourth and made two nice defensive plays in the fifth.

He dived to his right to glove a sharp grounder off the bat of Roberto Alomar before flipping the ball to Shields at first, then tagged Carlos Lee out at first after second baseman Adam Kennedy’s wide throw had pulled him off the bag.

Riggs’ story is one of perseverance. He was once a promising prospect in the Dodger organization before injuries sidetracked him. In 1997, Riggs hit .304 at triple-A Albuquerque but missed two months after breaking a bone in his left hand. One season later, he led the Pacific Coast League with a .371 average before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in May.

Riggs played briefly with the Dodgers in 1997 and with the Padres in 2001 but never made much of an impact and began to wonder whether he had a future in baseball.

“I used to dwell on that and think about it,” Riggs said. “It really does nothing for you but frustrate you.”

Said Scioscia: “There definitely comes a time in this game where you may have beat your head against the wall for a long time and you’re wondering what direction your career and your life is going. It’s very easy to choose a different path and give up a dream. But Adam never did and he’s hopefully getting rewarded for that.”

Scioscia said he liked Riggs’ hard-nosed attitude, which he noticed in 1999 when he managed the infielder in Albuquerque.

Riggs primarily was a designated hitter this season at Salt Lake, where he hit .294 with a team-high 14 home runs and 82 runs batted in, but he can also play first base, second base and left field.

“If I didn’t think I could play this game, I probably wouldn’t do it,” Riggs said. “I think I can play the game. It’s just about getting the opportunity and doing well.

“I have played the game a long time and I don’t doubt myself.”