Corner Stone

It’s not the powerhouse college program most big leaguers come from -- in fact, the Citadel has produced only four major leaguers in 80 years -- but rookie Dallas McPherson will draw heavily on his experiences at the Charleston, S.C., military institute as he tackles his next challenge: succeeding Troy Glaus as the Angels’ third baseman.

“It gives you a structured lifestyle, it makes you grow up faster, it forces you to deal with adversity and people getting up under your skin,” McPherson said of his time at the Citadel, where he played from 1999 to 2001. “You learn how to keep your cool in pressure situations. ... It definitely will help me. If anything else, it gives me the ability to block out some things I don’t want to hear.”

Thick skin -- a condition McPherson had no choice but to develop at the Citadel -- is a requirement for a big league rookie, especially a young power hitter who is sure to take a few lumps while replacing a veteran slugger and fan favorite who won most-valuable-player honors in the 2002 World Series.

Though he hit .317 with 40 home runs and 126 runs batted in last season, split between double-A Arkansas and triple-A Salt Lake, McPherson also struck out 169 times.

But the Angels wouldn’t have let Glaus leave as a free agent without a firm belief that the 24-year-old McPherson was ready to step in, and he seems to have the combination of physical skills and intangible assets to handle the pressure that comes with such an assignment.

“Dallas is bringing an air of confidence onto the field, which is good to see,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “A lot of times, expectations can swallow a kid up. Dallas is confident, he wants to achieve, and he’s not intimidated by anything on the field.”

That much was clear in September, when a season-ending injury to second baseman Adam Kennedy on Sept. 20 pushed Chone Figgins from third base to second and thrust McPherson, who was called up to the major leagues on Sept. 6, into the starting third-base job, in the middle of a pennant race.

His numbers weren’t overwhelming; McPherson hit .225 with three homers and six RBIs in 16 games, striking out 17 times in 40 at-bats. But McPherson didn’t seem overwhelmed, especially during the American League division series against the Boston Red Sox.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound McPherson fielded his position cleanly and committed no errors. He got some clutch hits. He had some good at-bats. He didn’t hurt the team. The Angels believe he’ll be better for the experience.

“Being in that situation, that’s the most pressure you can take as a rookie,” first base coach Alfredo Griffin said. “He’s not afraid.”

What McPherson didn’t know didn’t hurt him.

“The whole month I was here was a blur -- I remember it, but not really,” McPherson said. “I had to get through the nerves, the mind-set that it’s still baseball, just at a different level.

“Seeing everyone I’d seen on ‘SportsCenter’ and ‘Baseball Tonight’

In fact, it was Glaus, whose job McPherson would eventually take, who helped ease McPherson’s transition to the big leagues the most.

“The best piece of advice he gave me was if you learn to take the third deck off the stadium, it’s the same game,” McPherson said. “Block out all the people, the bigger stadium, and you can get into a comfort zone. I was able to do that some nights. Others, I wasn’t.”

Glaus worked with McPherson every day during batting practice, teaching him the proper footwork, how to field grounders and get his big body moving toward first base before he threw. On the advice of Angel coaches, McPherson switched to a slightly bigger glove, which helped.

“I didn’t know Troy a lot before I got here, but he won a lot of points with me,” McPherson said. “He’s a class act. I will owe a lot to him that he won’t even know.”

Glaus, who signed a four-year, $45-million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, says the position is in good hands.

“I think he’ll be fine,” Glaus said of McPherson. “He’s extremely talented. He just needs time, big-league at-bats. I went through the same thing seven years ago. You’ve got to learn.”

The hard way, sometimes. Before Glaus developed into an All-Star and a 40-homer threat, he hit .218 with one homer and 51 strikeouts in 165 at-bats in 1998, his first taste of the big leagues, and .240 with 29 homers and 143 strikeouts in 551 at-bats in 1999, his first full major league season.

Glaus looked overmatched at times, lost at others, and there was speculation he would be sent back to the minors. But the Angels didn’t have any other viable options at third, so Glaus endured his struggles before eventually emerging as a star.

McPherson, at least, has a safety net. With Robb Quinlan on the bench, Scioscia will be able to sit the left-handed-hitting McPherson against the league’s tough left-handers such as Randy Johnson, Barry Zito and Johan Santana, and if McPherson struggles, Quinlan can step in.

McPherson also doesn’t have the pressure of hitting in a key lineup spot -- he’ll probably bat seventh or ninth -- or of having to put up huge numbers for the Angels to repeat as American League West champions. And he’ll have one of baseball’s best shortstops, Orlando Cabrera, to his left, somewhat easing his defensive burden.

“He doesn’t have to protect Vladimir [Guerrero] or hit in the middle of the lineup,” Scioscia said. “You can’t hide a guy. Even if you hit eighth, there will be guys on base and you have to produce. There’s a certain amount of pressure inherent to the major leagues, but as a team, we can absorb some non-production [from McPherson] at times. It gives you a longer leash if you’re struggling.”

When tough times hit, McPherson will have a clubhouse full of veterans to tap for advice.

“You look at guys like Garret [Anderson] and see how they handle slumps, and they’re so professional,” McPherson said. “That’s something I’m going to have to work on. They realize it’s a long season, they believe in themselves, that they’re good hitters and they’ll come out of it. I want people to not know whether I’m 0 for 25 or 25 for 25. And no one is better at that than Garret.”

McPherson, who grew up in tiny Randleman, N.C., already has impressed the Angels with his work ethic and approach. He suffered a slight setback last week when back spasms prevented him from participating in baseball activities for three days, but he was able to play catch Monday. He should have plenty of time to win the starting job when he returns, but he’s not taking anything for granted.

“People think you have it made, you have the job won -- that’s when you fall flat on your face,” McPherson said. “I haven’t won anything, and that’s not just something I’m saying. There’s some stiff competition from guys who can swing the bat.”

The toughest thing about replacing Glaus, McPherson says, will be “trying to fill his power, his defense, his veteran brain. I have to realize we’re two different players, and I can’t play the way he plays. Don’t try to change to be like him.”

Batting instructor Mickey Hatcher said McPherson already is developing the kind of even-keeled mind-set that will help him deal with adversity.

“It doesn’t seem like pressure gets to him,” Hatcher said. “He gets frustrated, but he doesn’t get mad in a bad way. He has the potential to strike out a lot, but you also want that power in there.”

That’s what the Angels love about McPherson, a second-round pick in 2001 -- his ability to launch baseballs 425 feet, to drive the ball into gaps, to knock in runs.

But with power comes strikeouts, and when those whiffs begin to mount, so will the questions and criticism, from fans and the media.

McPherson, though, is not the cowering type. He’s a Citadel man, and although college may not have been as grueling as Pat Conroy’s depiction of military school life in “The Lords of Discipline,” it was still a rigorous schedule, what with academics, sports and military commitments.

“I’m harder on myself than anybody,” McPherson said. “Anything anyone can write or say about me, I’ve already said to myself. I’m my own worst critic.”

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Times staff writer Ben Bolch contributed to this report.