POWER TRIO

The New York Yankees have perennial MVP candidate Gary Sheffield in right field and left fielder Hideki Matsui had a breakthrough 2004 season, but aging center fielder Bernie Williams’ production has tailed off considerably the last two years.

Boston left fielder Manny Ramirez has been one of baseball’s most dangerous hitters for 10 years, and center fielder Johnny Damon is one of the game’s most productive leadoff batters, but right fielder Trot Nixon, coming off an injury-plagued 2004 season, is not among baseball’s outfield elite.

The Angels feature 2004 American League MVP Vladimir Guerrero, one of baseball’s most dominant all-around players, in right field, two-time All-Star Garret Anderson, one of the game’s most consistent run-producers, in left, and four-time Gold Glove Award winner Steve Finley, a highly productive 16-year veteran, in center.

Which outfield is best?

“You get two-thirds in a lot of places,” Angel bench coach Joe Maddon said, “but it’s hard to get the full house. We have a full house, and not many teams can say that.”

Indeed, with a winter reshuffling of the deck -- the addition of Finley and Anderson’s transition from center field back to left, his natural position -- a strong case can be made that this Angel trio is baseball’s best all-around outfield in 2005, a season that begins with tonight’s game against the Texas Rangers in Angel Stadium.

The three will make up the heart of the Angel order -- Guerrero will bat third, Anderson fourth and Finley fifth -- and they are the primary reasons the Angels are considered heavy favorites to repeat as AL West champions this season.

“The Yankee outfield last season ... Sheffield, Matsui, Williams

“If you look around baseball, you’re not going to find a whole outfield like this one. They can throw and cover a lot of ground defensively. They can hit, they’re aggressive, and they can steal bases. Plus, they all have experience. They’re pretty much the complete package.”

And they have the track record to back it up. Guerrero, 29, has batted .331 over the last five seasons, averaging 102 runs, 34 doubles, 36 home runs and 109 RBIs. Anderson, 32, hit .299 over the same time frame, averaging 81 runs, 41 doubles, 27 homers and 111 RBIs.

Finley, 40, is one of baseball’s fittest players and has shown no signs of slowing, his averages over the last five seasons (.280, 84 runs, 26 doubles, 26 homers, 84 RBIs) every bit as good as his marks from age 30 to 35.

Combining all three over the last five years, Guerrero, Anderson and Finley have produced an aggregate season average of .303 with 89 runs, 34 doubles, 30 homers and 102 RBIs.

The Red Sox trio, by comparison, has a five-year aggregate average of .299 with 96 runs, 32 doubles, 24 homers and 87 RBIs, and the Yankee trio, with Matsui counting for only two big league seasons, has a five-year aggregate average of .302 with 101 runs, 32 doubles, 28 homers and 101 RBIs.

If Anderson, who missed 50 games last season because of an arthritic condition in his upper back, remains sound and regains his power stroke; if Finley can display the kind of power he did during a 36-homer 2004 season with the Diamondbacks and Dodgers, and if Guerrero puts up his typical power numbers, the Angels could become the third team in baseball history to have three outfielders each hit 30 homers.

Only the 1963 Minnesota Twins, with Harmon Killebrew (45 homers), Bob Allison (35) and Jimmie Hall (33), and the 1941 Yankees, with Charlie Keller (33), Tommy Henrich (31) and Joe DiMaggio (30), have accomplished the feat.

“I think we have that potential,” said Anderson, who has surpassed the 30-homer mark only once in his 10-year career. “Potential is a vague word, but I wouldn’t see why not, considering our track records. Any time you can add something to history, it would be cool to be a part of that.”

One American League scout who follows the Angels regularly said their outfield “has the potential to be one of the best of our generation.” That, however, might require career years from Guerrero, Anderson and Finley.

The most prolific outfields in recent baseball history were the 2003 Atlanta Braves’ trio of Sheffield, Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones, which combined to hit .304 with 330 runs, 98 doubles, 102 homers and 354 RBIs, and the 1996 Cleveland Indian trio of Ramirez, Albert Belle and Kenny Lofton, which combined to hit .313 with 350 runs, 118 doubles, 95 homers and 327 RBIs.

Among the most productive outfields in baseball history were the 1929 Chicago Cubs’ Hack Wilson, Riggs Stephenson and Kiki Cuyler, who combined to hit .355 with 337 runs, 95 doubles, 71 homers and 371 RBIs, and the 1961 Yankees’ Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra, who hit .286 with 326 runs, 43 doubles, 137 homers and 331 RBIs.

Great outfields are not defined by offense alone, though, and the Angels’ defensive ability is what may separate them from the current Yankees and Red Sox.

Finley is a rangy and sometimes acrobatic center fielder, with a decent arm and quick release, and he won his fourth Gold Glove last season at 39. Anderson takes longer to release the ball but has a strong and accurate arm, good instincts and experience.

Guerrero is prone to mistakes of aggression and occasional lapses in concentration, and he sometimes has an aversion to cut-off men. But he has above-average range and closing speed for a right fielder, and his cannon-like arm has deterred many a runner from taking the extra base.

And unlike 2004, when Jose Guillen, a natural right fielder, played left and Anderson, a superior left fielder, played center, all three Angels will be in their natural spots in 2005.

“There’s more of a sense of comfort, and that’s when good things happen,” Anderson said. “There have been some great offensive outfields, but they don’t play the other side of the ball. Guys who hit and play great defense ... that’s rare these days.”

As lethal an offensive weapon as Ramirez is, he can be toxic in left field, often butchering plays that cost the Red Sox. Sheffield has an outstanding throwing arm but does not have Guerrero’s range, and Matsui, though not a defensive liability, is not the most polished of outfielders.

Williams won four straight Gold Gloves from 1997-2000 but hasn’t won one since, and Damon has never won a Gold Glove.

“The Yankee outfield is not as athletic as ours,” Maddon said. “They’re pretty good, but defensively, we have the edge. ... And we definitely have a different perspective [on defense] than Boston. I like their on-base percentage, but why de-emphasize defense for the sake of offense?”

Of course, Boston’s superior on-base and slugging ability helped it sweep the Angels in last year’s AL division series, but over the course of a 162-game season, the Angels are convinced their defense -- they’re also very strong up the middle in the infield -- will make a difference.

“There are going to be a lot of balls caught in the outfield, and that’s very frustrating for the other team,” Finley said.

Added Anderson: “You can win a game by making a great throw or a great catch, and I think that hurts [other] teams more. It deflates the opponent real quick. They think they’ve got a clutch hit, you make the catch and they’re like, ‘Whoa, what have we got to do here to score?’ ”

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A Slice of Heaven

The 2004 statistics of the Angels’ outfield of Garret Anderson, Steve Finley and Vladimir Guerrero. Finley played last season with Arizona and the Dodgers.

*--* Avg Runs 2B HR RBIs Anderson 301 57 20 14 75 Finley 271 92 28 36 94 Guerrero 337 124 39 39 126

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Going, Going, Gone

A comparison of the top single-season offensive outfields in baseball history:

*--* Year Team Ave R 2B HR RBIs 1929 Chic 355 337 95 71 371 ago Cubs Hack Wilson, Riggs Stephenson, Kiki Cuyler 1961 N.Y. 286 326 43 137 331 Yank ees Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra 1941 N.Y. 311 230 94 94 332 Yank ees Joe DiMaggio, Tommy Henrich, Charlie Keller 2003 Atla 304 330 98 102 354 nta Brav es Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Gary Sheffield 1921 N.Y. 336 322 93 87 342 Yank ees Babe Ruth, Bob Meusel, Elmer Miller 1927 N.Y. 352 370 112 74 331 Yank ees Earle Combs, Babe Ruth, Bob Meusel 1996 Clev 313 350 118 95 327 e. Indi ans Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, Manny Ramirez 2001 Ariz 291 278 84 104 305 ona D’ba cks Luis Gonzalez, Steve Finley, Reggie Sanders 2000 Ange 312 321 115 94 314 ls Garret Anderson, Darin Erstad, Tim Salmon 1979 Bost 312 302 105 99 310 on Red Sox Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, Dwight Evans 1962 Dodg 311 303 70 79 357 ers Willie Davis, Tommy Davis, Frank Howard 1939 N.Y. 342 298 70 62 310 Yank ees George Selkirk, Joe DiMaggio, Charlie Keller 1990 Pitt 288 283 97 82 311 s. Pira tes Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Andy Van Slyke 2004 Ange 312 269 87 80 305 ls Jose Guillen, Garret Anderson, Vladimir Guerrero L.A. Times research

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