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Anaheim Angels
Scouting Report
By the Numbers | Players To Watch | Projected Roster
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A good year from the expensive, but erratic, Hill would
help lift the Angels into the elite
class.
(V.J.
Lovero)
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Ask Chuck
Finley
about the fluorescent lemon-yellow 'do he was sporting
during spring training, and he'll joke,
"I lost a bet with my parole
officer." But ask the
35-year-old lefthander how it feels being the senior statesman
on a team that hasn't been to the playoffs since his rookie
year of 1986, and you can see why Finley might feel as if
he's been in
jail.
While he's been well-compensated for his stretch in
baseball prison, Finley has at times felt hopeless. He's
seen the Anaheim front office go from a quick-fix plan
(buying older, high-priced veterans), to a wait-and-see
approach with products of the
farm system, to the current combination of the two
strategies.
"Our system was so depleted because we'd go out and
get a Rick Burleson and give away three minor league
guys," Finley says. "Those three-for-one deals for older
players hurt us. But I'm glad to be where I am right now. A
couple of years ago, when they
got rid of everybody and started over with minor leaguers, I
thought, I don't know if
I can wait to see if these guys can play. But these guys have
turned out to be pretty
good."
Guys like outfielders Garret Anderson, Jim Edmonds and Tim
Salmon, shortstop Gary DiSarcina and first baseman Darin
Erstad. They're all homegrown and have all prospered under
vice president and general manager Bill Bavasi. His
appointment in January
1994 was a clear signal that the Angels were intent on
changing their
expensive—and ultimately futile—fix-it-all-now tactics of
the '80s, which were rooted in a
desire to win a world championship for their aging
owner.
The son of Buzzie Bavasi, a former G.M. of the Dodgers as
well as the Angels, Bill grew up believing passionately in
the farm system, thanks to his first job with the
Angels—in 1980, as a minor league administrator.
"With the financial realities of the
'80s, the Angels could afford to put together a marquee
team," Bavasi says. "It was a fun team to watch—and we made
money. But the dynamics have changed. Unless you're one of
the haves, it's necessary to develop your own talent, to
create a kind of
stability."
Bavasi's plan fits well with Disney's company
line: no foolish spending. But Disney okayed an increase of $15
million over the original $100 million budget for
remodeling Edison International Field, the ballpark
formerly known as the
Big A. And Bavasi was given permission to exceed the salary
budget of $40
million.
Erstad and righthander Ken Hill reaped immediate benefits.
Erstad signed a four-year, $7.25 million contract in
February; Hill got $16 million over three years in
November. The one-year free-agent signings of DH Cecil
Fielder
($2.8 million, down from
$9.2 million last year) and 1993 Cy Young Award winner Jack
McDowell
($1.1 million, down from an asking price of
$5 million) illustrate that, at heart, Disney is still
thrifty.
This provides a rare moment of corporate harmony,
considering that the Angels' front office believes money
spent does not necessarily translate into wins. "We
have a base of players who started with and were brought up
in this organization," says
second-year manager Terry Collins. "We've got them under
contract for a few years, so we know we've got a nucleus
that is going to be
here."
It's a young but veteran nucleus that's been on a
three-year roller coaster together. In '95 the Angels
opened a shocking 11-game divisional lead, only to lose 31
of their final 49 games, before dropping a one-game playoff
to the Mariners. Despite high
hopes for '96, Anaheim
didn't recover from that collapse, finishing 70-91,
191Ú2 games in back of the Rangers. Last year the Angels were in
first as late as Aug. 19, but within a 10-day period their
leadoff man, Tony Phillips, was arrested for cocaine
possession; Finley, in the midst of a 10-game winning
streak, fell while backing
up a play at the plate and broke his throwing wrist; and
catcher Todd Greene's season ended when a foul tip broke
his right wrist. Still, the club finished only six games
behind
Seattle.
Finley and Greene should be healthy to start this year. And
with a Not-So-Big Daddy (Fielder dropped 35 pounds in the
off-season) hitting behind Salmon, Bavasi and Collins
expect the Angels to contend for the AL West title.
"All an
organization can do
for a player is give him an opportunity to compete,"
Fielder says.
—by Paul
Gutierrez
Scouting Report | By the Numbers | Players To Watch | Projected Roster
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