Erstad’s Heavenly Season Helps Angels Take Wing

Darin Erstad is the perfect instrument to measure the difference between the 2000 Angels and the 1999 crew, which could only qualify for a postseason appearance on Jerry Springer’s television show.

At the 1999 All-Star break, Erstad was hitting .266 with seven home runs and 31 runs batted in. Erstad 2000 leads the major leagues in hits, is second in the American League with a .384 average and has 17 homers and 66 RBIs.

The Colorado Rockies got another look at the improved model Sunday, as Erstad had four hits, drove in two runs and scored three runs in a 10-4 victory. Each at-bat brought louder cheers from the crowd of 23,822 at Edison Field, including a standing ovation after his seventh-inning groundout scored Adam Kennedy with the Angels’ last run.

Last season, Erstad was pensive, sometimes defensive, and, finally, exasperated, publicly scolding his teammates for their bickering.

Today, he is Mr. Rogers by comparison.

“Winning creates a good atmosphere,” said Erstad, who was a no-brainer selection for Tuesday’s All-Star game. “I can’t imagine any clubhouse in baseball where losing would be fun.”

Erstad’s 144 hits are the most by any player before the All-Star break since 1974, when Ralph Garr of the Atlanta Braves had 149.

Not that Erstad has been the lone reason for the Angels’ better-than-expected season to date. Sunday was another example.

Erstad, Mo Vaughn, Kevin Stocker and Troy Glaus all drove in two runs. Garrett Anderson hit his 26th home run in the fourth, tying him with Ivan Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers for second in the league. All were part of an offensive display that not many pitchers could squander, although Kent Bottenfield tried.

Bottenfield (5-7), making his third start since returning from the disabled list, gave back 3-0 and 4-3 leads, then settled down. He retired 12 of 15 batters before leaving with one out in the eighth.

The victory gave the Angels a season-high four-game winning streak and a three-game sweep of the Rockies. They went 7-3 on the homestand and, at 47-41, are five games behind the division-leading Seattle Mariners in the American League West.

“They got us down and stepped all over us,” Colorado outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds said.

Still, if the Angels went into the break satisfied, Manager Mike Scioscia had some food for thought.

“If you eat a quarter of a pizza, it’s good, but you’re not finished yet,” he said. “You can’t sit back and be content and happy. Even if you were in first place by five games, what is there to be pleased about? You’re not there yet.”

It was a speech he didn’t have to sell to Erstad.

“I’ve said all along that we have yet to play our best ball,” Erstad said. “It looks like we’re headed in the right direction. Is this better than being 20 games under .500? Yes. But I know we haven’t reached our expectations yet.”

Maybe not, but try to find someone who expects more from Erstad at this point. He hit .253 last season with 13 homers and 53 RBIs--numbers he has already obliterated at this point.

“Heck, you can talk about looking for a handful of bad games Darin has had, try finding a handful of bad at-bats,” Scioscia said.

Erstad flared a double to left in the bottom of the first, the first of four consecutive hits, three of them doubles. Stocker doubled off the right-field wall to score Erstad. Vaughn slapped a double between third baseman Jeff Cirillo and the foul line to score Stocker. Glaus singled home Vaughn and the Angels led, 3-0.

Erstad doubled home Orlando Palmeiro in the fourth to break a 4-4 tie. He then singled and scored in the sixth.

“Last season was a fluke for Darin, we all know that,” Vaughn said. “It’s exciting to see him do all the things he does. We feed off him. You want to match his intensity out there and try to do something.

“I have been around a lot of great players but I have never been around anyone who has had the first half like this.”