Figgins Gives Angels a Running Start in Win

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Chone Figgins was minding his own business Saturday afternoon, enjoying a snack in the clubhouse. There wasn’t much else to do, really. In the nine days since the Angels promoted him from the minor leagues, he had batted once, in the ninth inning of a lopsided loss.

Angel Manager Mike Scioscia walked into the food room, told Figgins he would be starting in left field Saturday night and walked out.

This would be something new and, as it turned out, something exciting. In the first start of his career in the outfield, Figgins played flawless defense and sparked the Angels on offense, scoring three runs in the first four innings of a 6-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Kevin Appier nearly threw a shutout, making 110 pitches before the Devil Rays scored with two out in the ninth inning. Francisco Rodriguez got the final out, and Garret Anderson and Troy Glaus had two hits apiece, but the star of the evening was Figgins.

Figgins did wonders for the Devil Rays at the box office, and his several dozen friends and admirers awakened Tropicana Field with cheers.

He grew up about 20 minutes away, in a town called Brandon. His old high school teammates sat in the left-field bleachers Saturday, playfully heckling him. His relatives sat near the Angel dugout and hollered for their guy, his mother so loudly she could be heard on the field and everywhere else inside this echo chamber.

“I think sometimes she’s going to run down on the field and try to grab me,” he said.

She would miss, of course. He’s too fast. The Angels’ designated runner during last year’s playoffs displayed quite a bit of versatility Saturday, and not only by playing the outfield.

In the first inning, he tripled, smacking the ball deep into left-center and running so fast he admitted thinking about trying for an inside-the-park home run. Tim Salmon got him home, with a sacrifice fly.

In the third, Figgins walked, took second when Salmon was hit by a pitch, and sped home when left fielder Al Martin misplayed Anderson’s fly ball into a double. In the fourth, Figgins singled, then stole second and third on consecutive pitches. The latter pitch was wild, so he kept on running and scored.

“He did everything you could ask of a guy hitting in front of the core of the lineup,” Scioscia said.

Appier did everything the Angels could ask too. At 4-2, he’s the only Angel starter with a winning record.

He started the season 1-2 with a 7.36 earned-run average, in part because of a strained muscle in his pitching arm that he said kept him “out of sorts and looking stupid.” After a two-week stint on the disabled list, he’s 3-0 with a 3.10 ERA.

Scioscia, who attributes the Angels’ poor start to poor starting pitching, nonetheless met with the hitters before the game, telling them in part to stop swinging at bad balls. The Angels drew four walks, their most in a week, and got three hit batsmen on base too.

But Scioscia’s most valuable move Saturday was starting Figgins in left field, giving Anderson a half-day off as designated hitter. Anderson offered tips on how to play left field beneath the dome, and teammates encouraged Figgins to relax. He did, after the first three Tampa Bay batters hit the ball to him, without incident.

The Angels are grooming Figgins, a second baseman, as a utility player in the mold of Seattle’s Mark McLemore, a potential offensive catalyst from any number of positions. For now, Figgins does not play defense well enough to play second base or shortstop every day, but he might prosper on the Angels’ bench if he can add the outfield to his defensive resume.

“It’s fun out there. You can just run, and I like to run,” he said. “You never know. I might turn into an outfielder one day. I better take it seriously.”