Abbott Cheered, Before <i> and </i> After : Despite Rocky First Outing, He’s Still Hero to Angel Fans

At 6:30 Saturday night, Jim Abbott strode down to the Angels’ bullpen to warm up for his major league debut, with a dozen television cameramen scurrying alongside and the roar of an adoring crowd in his ears.

Two hours later, he walked off the mound into the Angels’ dugout during the fifth inning with his team trailing, 6-0. The crowd reaction hadn’t changed. They stood and cheered. But maybe their expectations were altered.

Jim Abbott, the special human being, proved during Saturday night’s 7-0 loss to Seattle at Anaheim Stadium that he is indeed only human. And, as openings go, this one wasn’t going to elicit rave reviews.

But the numbers--in this case 4 2/3 innings, six hits, six runs, three walks and zero strikeouts--don’t always tell the whole story. So, just to make sure it doesn’t get lost in all the hoopla and hype, here’s a breakdown of the rookie left-hander’s performance:

First Inning--Leadoff hitter Harold Reynolds grounded a single through the hole into right field and took third when Henry Cotto followed with a line-drive single to right-center. Then Abbott made a mistake that cost him a run. He bounced a breaking pitch that eluded catcher Bill Schroeder and allowed Cotto to take second. The next three batters grounded to second. Had Cotto remained on first, the first grounder would have been an easy double play. As it was, the first two groundouts both resulted in Seattle runs.

“There was definitely some nervousness there,” Abbott said. “Maybe I wasn’t as clearly focused as I should have been. I wasn’t rattled by the first two hits, but it made me realize I was in a battle.”

Second Inning--The rookie got two outs on a pair of rockets--Mickey Brantley and Jim Presley lined out to shortstop and right field, respectively--and then got David Valle to roll out to first.

Third Inning--Omar Vizquel led off with a grounder to shortstop. Dick Schofield came up with the ball in the hole, but his throw to first was wide and hit Vizquel in the helmet for an error. Reynolds beat out a bunt and then Cotto bounced what appeared to be a double-play ball at first baseman Joyner. But the ball bounced off Joyner’s glove, and second baseman Mark McLemore recovered in time to get Cotto at first. Abbott walked Alvin Davis to load the bases and then got Darnell Coles to ground to shortstop and into an inning-ending double play.

“The ovation we got after the double play was tremendous,” Abbott said. “It really fired us up.”

Fourth Inning--This was Abbott’s easiest inning. He retired the Mariners in order on a pair of ground balls to shortstop and a short pop fly to right field.

Fifth Inning--Valle grounded sharply to third base, and things promptly fell apart after that. Vizquel singled to left, and then an Angel defensive lapse set Seattle up for a big inning. Reynolds hit a high bouncer to McLemore, who looked up at Vizquel and missed the ball. Vizquel ended up on third and Reynolds on second. Abbott walked Cotto intentionally, loading the bases. Then Davis came through on an 0-and-2 pitch with the kind of hit that plagued Abbott all spring--the broken-bat hit. Davis’ looper ended up in short right field and scored a pair of runs. The Mariners got their third run of the inning when Coles forced Davis, and Coles eventually scored the fourth run of the fifth on Leonard’s line-drive single to left.

Abbott: “I thought the pitch I made to Reynolds was the best pitch I made all night. But sometimes things don’t work out.

“And I did what I wanted to Davis. I got a fastball up and in, but he just fought it off. Those kinds of plays are the most frustrating, the toughest to live with. Those are the kinds of plays you second-guess yourself on.”

Abbott threw 83 pitches Saturday night, 47 of which were strikes. His fastball registered 94 m.p.h., even if his breaking ball was a little shaky.

He was hurt by some shabby fielding, but then he got some outs on balls that were hit very well, too. He did not allow an extra-base hit, however, and 13 of the 24 batters he faced hit the ball on the ground.

“He’s got a good arm and he was around the plate all night,” Seattle Manager Jim Lefebvre said. “Our big hit was a jam job. He can pitch at the big league level. I liked him. I liked him a lot.”

Reynolds, for one, thinks the 21-year-old media darling will have plenty of other chances . . . and other emotions.

“I was surprised how hard he threw,” the Seattle second baseman said. “Nobody got any great swings against him and nobody was teeing off on him.

“I think the man is going to be a big league pitcher for a long, long time.”