Guerrero Seems Hale and Hearty at Practice

All hail broke loose when Vladimir Guerrero stepped into the batter’s box Tuesday, a sudden hailstorm pelting the Angel right fielder as he took his cuts during the team’s first full-squad workout in Tempe Diablo Stadium.

The reigning American League most valuable player wasn’t the least bit fazed -- he remained in the cage, spraying line drives around the park and ripping a few balls over the fence, giving every indication that the right thumb he sprained in a Dominican winter league game Dec. 26 was fully healed.

“It’s better, I’m fine,” Guerrero said through an interpreter. “I’ve had two days of taking swings, and it feels great. I knew I had two months [after the injury] to get ready, so I wasn’t concerned.”

The Angels were. They were not pleased to learn Guerrero had chosen to play winter ball without informing them. But when asked whether he would play winter ball again, Guerrero, who is beginning the second year of a five-year, $70-million contract, said, “I don’t know yet.”

Guerrero, who hit .337 with 39 home runs and 126 runs batted in last season, said he had no intentions of playing this winter, but when he was traded to his favorite team, Licey, he decided to play four games for the Santo Domingo-based club.

“That’s when the mishap happened,” Guerrero said, referring to the headfirst dive into second base that caused the injury.

“You have to balance the civic pride of playing for your country and possibly losing time with the team you’re under contract to,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “You’re risking tens of millions of dollars in investment. We held our breath until we got the details [of the injury], but we’re past that. He’s ready to go.”

In one year, Guerrero went from the relative obscurity of playing in Montreal to winning the MVP in the second-largest media market in the country, but the 29-year-old right fielder said that, outside of filming a Pepsi commercial in Miami over the winter, his life hadn’t changed.

“I still live in the same place; I really haven’t done anything different,” Guerrero said. “I just hope God gives me the health to continue to play this way.”

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No current Angel has spent more spring days in Tempe Diablo Stadium than Tim Salmon, the 12-year veteran outfielder, yet no Angel felt more out of place as the team prepared for practice.

While his teammates dressed, Salmon, who is expected to sit out most of the season while recovering from shoulder and knee surgery, sat at his locker in his street clothes.

“It’s good to be here, but it’s weird,” said Salmon, who because of injury played only 60 games last season. “When am I going to put a uniform on? It’s strange to see guys in the cage and think I’m not going to pick up a bat for a while. It’s almost like I’m an outsider. I say ‘they’re’ going to be good instead of ‘we’re’ going be good.”

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The Angels’ evaluation of Kendry Morales, their international man of mystery, probably won’t begin until this weekend. The Cuban defector is still waiting for a passport in the Dominican Republic, his new country of residence, and he is not expected in camp until the end of the week.

Little is known about Morales, a switch-hitter with power from both sides of the plate, because he played sparingly in the Dominican winter league and has not faced much big league pitching.

There have been anonymous quotes in several publications attributed to scouts who have questioned Morales’ credentials and whether the 21-year old was worth the six-year contract the Angels gave him.

“Those opinions don’t count,” General Manager Bill Stoneman said. “From what our scouts say, the guy’s a good hitter, a good player. We’re happy with him.”

Outfielder Juan Rivera’s arrival also was delayed by visa problems in his native Venezuela. Rivera is expected to travel to the U.S. today and join workouts Thursday.

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A stressful time for new Angel center fielder Steve Finley grew more tumultuous Monday night when his father-in-law, 87-year-old Gene Jantzen, died in Illinois. Finley will leave camp for two or three days to attend the funeral.

Jantzen is the father of Finley’s wife, Amy, who had just begun her ninth month of pregnancy when she was hit in the face by a foul ball at their son’s Little League game Jan. 23, suffering a broken nose.

When doctors had trouble stemming Amy’s bleeding, they were forced to induce labor. She gave birth to the couple’s fifth child, Sophia, on Jan. 26, the same day Finley’s father, Howard, underwent quadruple-bypass surgery in Kentucky.

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As Assemblyman Tom Umberg formally introduced legislation Tuesday that would require the Angels to include a disclaimer on tickets and advertisements, a veteran political analyst said the bill had little chance of passing the state legislature.

The bill, a response to the Angels’ adoption of the Los Angeles name, would require the team to inform customers the team plays home games in Anaheim, not Los Angeles.

“It would be a longshot,” said Jack Pitney, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College, “because there’s not that much call for this legislation outside the Anaheim city limits.”

Times staff writer Bill Shaikin contributed to this report from Los Angeles.