BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Club Won’t Play in Triple-A Park

The Angels could have been part of major league history. They could have been brought back to their roots. They could have stepped back in time, playing in a small ballpark, with cramped clubhouses, playing all day games.

Instead, the Angel front office filed a letter of protest and the players complained loud and hard to the Major League Players Assn. that they didn’t want to play their three-game series against the Seattle Mariners at Cheney Park in Tacoma, Wash.

“Nobody wanted to go there,” Angel pitcher Phil Leftwich said. “It’s a dump. When we (triple-A Vancouver) played there last year, the outfield was a swamp.”

The players’ association listened and Thursday told the American League office that the Seattle Mariners would have to play their upcoming nine-game home stand in their opponents’ ballparks.

So the Angels gained three home games on their schedule and will play the Mariners on Tuesday through Thursday at Anaheim Stadium. The games will be played at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and at 5:30 Thursday.

All seats will be half price.

“We just weren’t going to play in a minor league facility,” said pitcher Mark Langston, Angel player-representative. “It’s never been done in the history of the game, and we weren’t looking for a precedent in this situation.

Said Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi: “I was vehemently opposed to major league players in minor league ballparks. It wasn’t just to get the games here, but any major league facility.”

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The Angels won’t allow the strike date to deter their plans to acquire a closer, Bavasi said.

The Angels have focused their attention on Minnesota Twin closer Rick Aguilera, who has a contract through the 1995 season with an option for 1996.

The Angels still have keen interest in Randy Myers of the Chicago Cubs, but they now appear to be giving up hope on acquiring John Wetteland of Montreal. Jeff Montgomery of Kansas City is no longer is available.

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The Angels not only will receive the 77% home-gate receipts during the three-game series but also save about $34,800 in expenses by not traveling to Seattle.

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Part of Angel owner Jackie Autry’s statement on the Aug. 12 strike date: “I am disappointed the players choose to strike a time when they are all making more money than ever before. Additionally, to deprive the fans of postseason play merely because they feel they will be hurting the owners the most is shortsighted on their part.”

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If the Angel players had approved playing their three games at Cheney Stadium, the players association said the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox also would have played at the triple-A stadium.

“I was shocked,” Ranger General Manager Tom Grieve said. “I figured we were going to Tacoma. I don’t know why they changed it, but I’m glad we’re playing here.”