Percival is back where he belongs

TAMPA, Fla. -- The last time Troy Percival faced the Angels, he needed only one pitch to get the job done. Then he walked off the mound and into retirement.

That was 13 months ago, when the franchise leader in saves and appearances threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the season opener at Angel Stadium, a day after signing a one-day contract that allowed him to retire an Angel.

But a funny thing happened to Percival on the way to the rest of his life. His arm, the one that saved the Angels’ only World Series championship, suddenly got better. So in midsummer he signed another contract, this one with the St. Louis Cardinals, for whom he was 3-0 with a career-best 1.80 earned-run average in 34 games.

And that’s when he decided the rocking chair would have to wait, choosing instead to anchor the bullpen and the clubhouse for the Tampa Bay Rays. So far neither side has been disappointed, with Percival holding opponents scoreless in 11 of his 12 appearances and notching seven saves to keep the surprising Rays in the thick of the American League East race heading into this weekend’s three-game series with the Angels.

“It’s really been an unbelievable turn of events for Troy. And we couldn’t be happier for him,” said Angels Manager Mike Scioscia, who is looking forward to seeing Percival -- as long as he’s not seeing him on the mound in the ninth inning protecting a one-run lead.

“That’s the same thing he said when I was there,” Percival said with a laugh. “He didn’t want to see me on the mound in the ninth inning with a lead.”

Self-deprecating humor aside, there are few closers any manager would choose over Percival, who has converted 86% of his save chances, the seventh-highest percentage since the statistic was adopted in 1969.

And with seven saves in eight tries this season, he has moved to 10th on the all-time list with 331. Just imagine where he’d be if he hadn’t sat out nearly two full seasons after tearing a muscle in his elbow in 2005, shortly after signing a free-agent deal with Detroit after 10 seasons in Anaheim.

He pitched in 26 games for the Tigers, posting a career-worst 5.76 ERA and losing three of four decisions -- not to mention a good 10 mph off his fastball. That’s when it was obvious something was wrong.

“I was lifting and throwing every day and doing everything I could to get back,” said Percival, who also earned his keep by working as an advance scout for the Tigers. “And it probably would have been a lot better if I had done nothing and just let it rest.”

Which is eventually what happened. After a simulated game in February 2006 left him in severe pain, Percival went months without throwing up a baseball. And the rest healed what therapy and hard work couldn’t.

By the time the Angels invited him to spring training as an instructor last year, the pain was gone and the competitive juices were starting to flow again.

“You could see he still had the desire,” Angels reliever Scot Shields said. “You could still see the competitive nature.”

But no one could see that it might translate into a career year for the 38-year-old reliever.

Tampa pitching coach Jim Hickey said it’s rare for a pitcher to come back stronger from an arm problem without surgery, especially at Percival’s age. Yet he insists his closer is a better, smarter pitcher now because he has to rely on guile and two good off-speed pitches rather than only an overpowering fastball.

“That’s something that was probably kind of foreign to him when he was just blowing guys away,” Hickey said of Percival, who had allowed only three baserunners in his first 11 innings before getting nicked for three runs in the ninth Thursday in Toronto.

“I’m throwing the kitchen sink out there,” Percival said. “It’s a necessary adjustment. If I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t be out there pitching. Pitching with your brain is somewhat easier on your body.”

Yet Percival’s most important contribution to the young Rays might be in the clubhouse. Which is why Tampa Bay Manager Joe Maddon, the bench coach in Anaheim for 10 years, asked management to take a chance on him when it became obvious the Angels wouldn’t be able to make him their closer again.

“The bigger contribution has been the stabilization of the bullpen and the clubhouse. I don’t think you can overstate that,” Hickey said, lumping Percival in with veterans Dan Wheeler, Trever Miller and Cliff Floyd, all of whom have come over from other organizations within the last nine months. “I don’t think we can take the next step without those guys. Especially Percy. He relishes the role.”

All of which figures to make it that much harder for the Angels to ever get comfortable seeing him on the other side.

“You’ve got guys that are adders, you’ve got guys that are subtractors,” said Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher. “He’s definitely an adder. He adds to everybody around him.

“Yeah, it’s going to be a little different seeing him over there. [But] when you have a career like he has had, you want to go out on your own terms. And he’s giving himself a chance to do that.”

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kevin.baxter@latimes.com