Heavenly Combination : Angels Have Been on the Rise Since Rader Unleashed White’s Speed, Power

NEW YORK —  Another home run by Devon White tonight will give him five in five games, which would tie an Angel club record, a neat little feat.

But that’s not the real story.

This season’s real story about White lies in his 17 stolen bases in 20 attempts, his major league-leading seven triples and the recent game he won by beating out an infield hit, stealing second and third and scoring on a mid-range sacrifice fly.

The running is back in Devon White’s game.

At the first-quarter mark of the 1989 season, 17 stolen bases put White among some interesting company. Only Texas’ Cecil Espy with 19 steals, and perennial sprint champions Rickey Henderson with 19 and Vince Coleman with 18, have more.

And with 18 steals in the second quarter, White would be right on pace to match Mickey Rivers’ Angel single-season record of 70, set in 1975.

The 17 steals also match White’s total for all of 1988. A knee injury factored into that, but so did a constrictive, conservative Angel game plan that White claims only loosened with the arrival of Doug Rader as manager.

“It’s no big secret,” White said. “They’ve finally given me the opportunity to run. This is the first time I’ve been given the green light here. I run when I want to. It’s like it was when I was in the minor leagues.”

In the minor leagues, White stole as many as 58 bases, which he did while splitting time between double-A Midland and triple-A Edmonton in 1985. In 112 games with Edmonton in 1986, he stole another 42 bases.

But in 1987, as a rookie under Gene Mauch, White had his spots called for him. Now, Mauch was no Whitey Herzog when it came to basepath derring-do, preferring to play it close to the vest.

White preferred not be be vested at all--”I like to run,” he kept saying--but he had little leverage in this negotiation. A compromise was struck and White wound up with a decent 32 steals in 159 games.

White stole nearly half as many in 1988, for reasons that began with knee surgery and ended with Cookie Rojas. White missed a month after tearing cartilage in his right knee in early May and when he returned, Rojas ran him sparingly.

The run-o-rama Rojas promised when he replaced Mauch as Angel manager never materialized--along with most other Angel expectations--and Rojas was fired before the end of the season.

Rader, White’s third manager in as many years, is the first to truly send him off and running. No major brainstorm, Rader claims, just a convenient meshing of one man’s physical skills with another’s philosophy.

“A speed team is the easiest type of team to win with,” Rader said. “Whenever practical, I like to run.”

It took only a day or two of watching White at the Angels’ training camp in Mesa, Ariz., to convince Rader of the potential practicality.

“He’s a real aggressive guy,” Rader said. “When a guy’s that aggressive, it’s important to let him modify himself, as opposed to doing it for him. I’d much rather have an inexperienced guy who’s very aggressive than the opposite.

“I don’t think you should inhibit an aggressive nature. With a passive guy, you’re doing everything you can to generate aggressiveness. When you already have it, it doesn’t make much sense to squelch it.”

So, at the outset of the Angels’ exhibition schedule, Rader put White in charge of his own destiny on the bases.

“Now I’m on my own 100% of the time,” White said. “Any way you can bring out of the best in the speedy baserunner is for the better.”

Exhibit A was shown last Monday night at Anaheim Stadium in the 11th inning of a game against the New York Yankees. White opened the inning by legging out an infield roller to second base, then stole second and third, then scored on a sacrifice fly to give the Angels a 4-3 victory.

Rader still marvels at that inning.

“Devon was the reason why the whole inning was set up,” Rader said. “First, he beats out a grounder. Then, he puts so much pressure on everybody, they end up walking (Brian) Downing, and (White) steals third.

“Then, he scores on a fairly routine fly ball to center--and there wasn’t even a play at the plate.

“Really, that was the ballgame.”

After 43 games, White not only leads the Angels in stolen bases, but also in home runs with seven and runs batted in with 27, and is batting .306.

Where does, or can, White go from here?

He doesn’t speculate.

“Usually, ballplayers don’t reveal their personal goals to anybody,” White said with a grin. “Me, for instance, I keep it to myself and my immediate family.”

OK, OK, but what would you say about, oh, stealing 50 bases in 1989?

“I don’t see why not,” White said.

And how about joining Bobby Bonds as the second member of the Angels’ all-time 30-30 club?

“It’s a possibility,” White said. “The hardest part would be the 30 home runs. I think the 30 steals would be no problem.

“As far as the home runs are concerned, you just have to let your ability let it happen. I feel I have the ability to hit 30 home runs or more.”

Four in four days certainly don’t hurt his chances.

But don’t try to get Rader into such talk. He might have unbridled White on the bases, but he remains protective of the 26-year-old outfielder when is comes to projections and forecasts.

“I’m reluctant to talk about Devon’s future for one reason,” Rader said. “ There is such an expectation with Devon, people forget to be grateful for what he’s doing now.

“How great he’s going to be--and he’s going to get there, one way or another--depends on how he naturally progresses. I’d hate for him to be frustrated, trying to live up to such great expectations.”

For the time being, Rader said, it should be enough to just let Devon run.

And, for us to watch him.