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Salmon rejoices after years of frustration Posted: Monday October 14, 2002 12:32 AMUpdated: Monday October 14, 2002 1:13 AM
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Reeking of champagne and beer, Tim Salmon couldn't stop grinning. Just down the road from the amusement park known as the happiest place on earth, the Anaheim right fielder was the happiest person in the Angels' clubhouse Sunday night. That's because the player nicknamed "King Fish" had finally reached the World Series after 10 years of futility in Anaheim. "My mouth is hurting because I've been smiling so much," he said. "You know what? It's just joy. I'm so excited." The 34-year-old Salmon has the most years in an Angels' uniform among his teammates. He had nothing to show for it until they rallied to beat Minnesota 13-5 for the AL championship. Salmon held the AL trophy high over his head, running around the infield like a kid. And no wonder, since the Angels advanced to their first World Series in the team's 42-year history. "To be with this organization as long as I have and to feel the emptiness of the fans all these years, and the pain and frustration, the history is long," Salmon said. Anaheim will play either San Francisco or St. Louis, two teams with ex-Angels on them. "Whether it's the Cardinals with Jim Edmonds and Chuck Finley, or the Giants and J.T. Snow, it's going to be kind of like a family reunion," Salmon said. A year ago, Salmon couldn't have been more discouraged, both for his team and himself. The Angels finished 41 games behind AL West champion Seattle, never contending. Salmon bottomed out with a .227 batting average, 17 homers and 49 RBIs -- all career lows. Another season like that, he told his wife, and he might retire. His off-year came out of nowhere. Except for 1999, when he was limited to 98 games by injuries, Salmon had averaged more than 30 homers and 97 RBIs in seven seasons with the Angels and had a lifetime batting average of .291. Making things worse, Salmon had signed a four-year, $40 million contract extension during spring training, locking him up with the Angels through 2005. "I wanted to make good on it," he said in July. "I got off to my typical slow start, it never came around. I never slept last year, I felt like I barely survived." But everything has gone right for Salmon and the Angels this season, despite slow starts by both. He hit .182 in April and the Angels got off to a franchise-worst 6-14 start. Salmon's RBI single at Texas on Sept. 26 helped the Angels clinch a wild-card berth. "I think there is a small portion of relief with some of the guys that have been through the wars here," Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia said. "We won the championship. What a source of pride for these guys that have played for such a long time." Salmon was especially thrilled to see Edison Field packed with 44,835 red-clad fans, cheering and whacking inflatable plastic tubes that sounded a celebratory backbeat. "This crowd's just been awesome and it really gets behind us," he said. "I think it has to have an effect on what the other club's doing and how they're trying to pitch you and maybe it causes them to make mistakes." Salmon washed his feelings of humiliation and embarrassment about last season away in a spray of champagne.
"It's like we're paving a new road here," he said. "I think this has put to rest a lot of that pain in the past."
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