Comments welcome by email. I don't care if you disagree with me but name-calling and cussing are not acceptable. Comments that are just rude and not relevant will not be posted.
The Anaheim Angels placed center fielder Darin Erstad on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday because of tendinitis in his right hamstring and called up outfielder Gary Johnson from Triple-A Salt Lake.
Johnson, coming up to the majors for the first time at age 27, batted .256 with two homers and 17 RBI in 20 games for Salt Lake.
After leaving Brigham Young, he began a two-year Mormon mission for his church and resumed his baseball career at 23.
"I'm pinching myself," said Johnson, who started in right field against the Boston Red Sox while Tim Salmon was the DH. "It's an exciting time in my life. Last year when I was hit by a pitch and broke my arm, I thought maybe my window had closed. But I just figured that I'd rehab that thing, get back into shape and give it a shot this year."
His (Erstad's) replacement, Gary Johnson, has been getting lots of advice from the veteran centerfielder since being called up from Triple-A Salt Lake city on Saturday.
"Gary's a guy that wants to learn and listen," Erstad said of his replacement. "He's 27, so it's not like he's a young pup. He's got a good head on his shoulders. If there's a guy he hasn't seen before he'll ask about him."
So far, the answers the rookie's been getting are paying dividends. Johnson is 3-for-6 with a double and a run scored in his only two Major League games.
"I'm just trying to really enjoy it, work hard and learn a little bit from these guys," Johnson said. "I'm just trying to get better so I have a shot at staying up here at some point. Darin has been really helpful, telling me about some of the pitchers. It's really helpful to have a veteran, who's also a lefty, telling you about some pitchers tendencies."
Johnson, a former BYU star, was hitting .256 in 20 games for Salt Lake and was leading the team in home runs and RBIs this year.
The 27-year old lefty made his first appearance with the Stingers last season, hitting .266 in 40 games while battling several injuries. He spent spring training 2003 in the Angel's major league camp and was one of five finalist for the fifth outfield spot on the big league roster.
Johnson, a native of Atheron, California, is in his 5th professional season. He was selected by the Angels in the 19th round of the 1999 draft.
§ Seattle Mariners tv broadcast: There were 74,000 people at the very first game at Yankee Stadium. Carol's Reaction: I gather they didn't have fire codes in those days!!!
§ Most Spam Contains False Claims And it took the FTChow long to figure this out?!
