Angels’ Jimmie Reese Eulogized : Baseball: The coach, who died Wednesday at 92, is remembered as a generous friend who went out of his way to help.

Former Angel Gary Pettis took a breath, smiled, then told his Jimmie Reese story.

“A guy hit a home run against us one day. I get back to the dugout and Jimmie said, ‘Mullion, how come you didn’t catch that one?’ I said, ‘Jimmie, it was 10 rows back.’ He said, ‘Come out early tomorrow, and we’ll work on it.’ ”

Reese, who died Wednesday at 92, was remembered Friday, not only with tears, but smiles. The service at Calvary Church in Santa Ana brought friends from across the nation, among them Nolan Ryan and Jim Abbott.

“We needn’t weep for Jimmie,” the Rev. John Werhas said. “We need to weep for baseball. We need to weep for life as a whole. He was the ultimate man.”

The service included eulogies by Pettis, Tim Mead, Angel assistant general manager, Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann and Bonnie Bish, Reese’s godchild. Each spoke of Reese’s generosity and kindness.

Ryan came in from Texas for the service. He and Reese were friends from the day they met. Ryan named his son Reese.

“When you name a son after someone, I think it’s pretty obvious how you feel about them,” Ryan said. “There are special people in your life, who make an impact on you. Jimmie was that to me. He helped me on and off the field.”

Reese, who had been an Angel coach since 1972, was in his 78th season in professional baseball, having started as a batboy with the Los Angeles Angels in 1917. He played in the major leagues with the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals.

Uniforms from the Yankees, Cardinals and Angels were displayed, as well as photographs of Reese. A procession of cars and three buses carrying Angel players and staff drove from Anaheim Stadium to the service.

“If everyone who wants to speak came up here, we’d be here forever,” said Werhas, who has presided over chapel service for the Angels the last 20 years.

“I would get to the ballpark early each Sunday, just so I could talk with Jimmie. If I was feeling down, it would take only about a minute with him to cheer me up.”

Former Angel players and three former Angel managers, as well as many others involved in baseball, attended. Each had a story.

“How many times did we see Jimmie walking in the outfield during batting practice with his back to the plate?” Lachemann said. “Line drives would be whizzing all around him, but he never got touched. He truly was an Angel.”

That spirit touched others outside of baseball as well.

Bish, whose father had been one of Reese’s close friends, had known him all her life.

“He gave me my first job, picking up nails with a magnet in his workshop,” Bish said. “He paid me six cents a day, which was good wages for a 5-year old. He kept on me to save that money for my future education.”

All said they would remember Reese for the way he treated others.

“When you think about Jimmie, you think of the respect he showed you and everyone,” former Angel pitcher Bert Blyleven said.

Said Werhas: “Jimmie always talked about rooming with Babe Ruth. I never knew Babe, but in my opinion he roomed with Jimmie Reese.”