Angels Switch to Game of Pepper

He’s a 5-foot-8, 160-pound pepper pot, Terry Collins is, a tightly wound bundle of energy who has been known for his shouting matches with players, explosive arguments with umpires and an in-your-face style that has rubbed many the wrong way.

Now he’s the man the Angels hope will lead them out of the ice ages, a fiery, gray-haired 47-year-old hired to ignite a spark under a team that too often was tepid in 1996.

One month after he was fired by the Houston Astros, Collins signed a three-year contract to manage the Angels on Monday, becoming the franchise’s 17th manager in 37 years.

Collins replaces Marcel Lachemann, who resigned Aug. 6 near the end of a disappointing season in which the Angels finished last in the American League West. But in a strange twist, Lachemann is pondering an offer from Collins to return as the pitching coach.

“Terry was the best fit for this team right now,” said Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi, who interviewed a dozen candidates before choosing Collins over former New York Met third base coach Mike Cubbage and former Cincinnati Red and Detroit Tiger manager Sparky Anderson.

“Given a choice between casual and intense, we chose intense. That was the big difference between Terry and the other candidates. That, and the fact that he has experience at the major league level.”

Collins, who guided the Astros to a 224-197 record in three years, is something of an anti-Lachemann. Both are noted for their workaholic schedules, but while Lachemann bottled most of his frustration inside, Collins is prone to Mt. St. Helens-like outbursts . . . many directed at his own players.

“It’s impossible to have all the players like you, because they have different personalities that may conflict with mine,” Collins said at an Anaheim Stadium news conference. “All I ask for is effort. . . . When fans leave this park, I want them to say, ‘That team plays hard.’

“If you can leave something in the fans’ minds, if your team is breaking up double plays and running balls out hard, that tells you the manager and coaches are getting it done. And if you’re good enough and play that hard, you’re going to win.”

Rick Sweet, the former Astro first base coach, says Collins isn’t the type to throw batting helmets, kick water coolers or tip training tables over in frustration.

“But he has an intensity that you will see,” Sweet said. “Everyone likes to win. Winning is an obsession with him.”

The Angels, it seems, would like to mold their team around Collins’ personality.

“The atmosphere here has, at times, lacked intensity,” Angel President Tony Tavares said. “I would walk out of some games thinking the effort wasn’t there. This is a better ballclub than what we showed last year.”

The Angels underachieved in all phases of the game in 1996 and a team many expected to win the division title went 70-91.

The Angels also suffered internal strife. A lack of communication and a lack of motivation were among the charges levied at Lachemann--by himself and Angel players.

“But you’re getting a guy who communicates well with players, whether it’s good or bad,” Sweet said of Collins. “If he’s unhappy with something he’s going to let you know.”

That’s fine with reliever Mike James. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing--playing for an intense manager,” he said. “He said he doesn’t want everybody to like him. That’s OK. He didn’t come here to make 25 new friends.”

Added infielder Rex Hudler: “I’m excited. I like what I’m reading about this guy. We need some fire. A guy like that pumps me up.”

Collins, who played 10 minor league seasons without reaching the big leagues, was a speedy infielder whose managing style reflects his playing style.

“I believe you have to be aggressive,” Collins said. “This [Angel] team has some speed and can run the bases well enough to set up scoring opportunities, so you don’t have to wait for the two-run homer to win games.

“I’m going to turn a lot of people loose on the bases, let them run on their own, because I think that makes players more aggressive. It doesn’t bother me to have a guy thrown out in certain situations.”

Pitcher Mark Langston said the Angels should thrive under such conditions.

“We were such a station-to-station team last season, we never put any pressure on the defense,” he said. “But with the National League style, everyone runs, and we certainly have some guys who can run.”

Collins’ Houston teams didn’t have an abundance of power, but Collins had them in contention every year, going 66-49 in strike-shortened 1994, 76-68 in 1995 and 82-80 in 1996, finishing second in the NL Central three times.

But a collapse last September cost him his job. The Astros led the St. Louis Cardinals by 2 1/2 games going into the final month of the season but lost 17 of their last 25, finishing six games back.

New Astro General Manager Gerry Hunsicker fired Collins and replaced him with Larry Dierker.

“Had we won the division,” Collins said, “I wouldn’t be standing here today.”

Some aren’t so sure. Several Astro players disliked Collins, and unlike Boston Red Sox players, who complained publicly about the firing of Kevin Kennedy, there was no such outcry in Houston after Collins got fired.

But Bavasi, who said he did not consult any Astro players, doesn’t believe players have to like a manager to perform for him.

“If you have a player who has to like a guy to respect him, you have an immature player,” Bavasi said. “And that player probably isn’t going to get that far.”

Collins spent 11 seasons as a minor league manager in the Dodger and Pittsburgh Pirate organizations, and spent the 1992 and ’93 seasons as Pittsburgh Manager Jim Leyland’s bullpen coach.

Leyland was the Angels’ first choice for the job, turning down an $8-million package in early October, but in Collins, whose salary is believed to be in the $300,000-a-year range, the Angels have a manager who was shaped in large part by Leyland.

“For those who have accused me of being too intense, they ought to hang around Jim Leyland for a while,” Collins said. “He’s about as intense as they come.

“He deals with players on a personal level, he’s honest and up front. There are no secrets with Jim, and it’s the same with me. One thing I may be guilty of is being too honest.”

Collins said he has “no intentions of firing the whole staff,” and he will meet with current Angel coaches before deciding on a staff.

The only person who has been offered a position is Lachemann, who spent nine years as the pitching coach before becoming manager.

Times staff writer Elliott Teaford contributed to this story.

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By the Numbers

Terry Collins’ career winning percentage: .532

Angels’ career winning percentage: .482

Number of Angel managers in 36-year history: 17

Number of division titles won by Collins: 0

Number of division titles won by the Angels: 3

Collins at a Glance

AGE: 47

PERSONAL: 5-8, 160. Born on May 27, 1949 in Midland, Mich.

EXPERIENCE: Managed in Dodger minor league organization from 1981-88. Managed in Pittsburgh minor league organization from 1991-93. Managed Houston Astros from 1994-96. Named minor league manager of the year in 1987. Won California League championship in 1981 with Lodi. Won Pacific Coast League championship in 1987 with Albuquerque.

COLLINS’ RECORD

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Year, Team W L Pct Finish 1994, Houston 66 49 .574 2nd 1995, Houston 76 68 .528 2nd 1996, Houston 82 80 .506 2nd Totals 224 197 .532

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