Touched by an Angel

Michael Miller

Josh Ring has never met Vladimir Guerrero. But Ring, a student at

College Park Elementary School in Costa Mesa, now has a rare

collector’s item from last year’s American League Most Valuable

Player.

He has an actual game bat, smothered in pine tar and splintered

along the handle, with the Anaheim outfielder’s uniform number -- 27

-- prominently penned on the knob.

“You can tell it’s his because he’s a big pine tar guy,” said Jeff

Ring, Josh’s father. “He doesn’t even wear batting gloves.”

Josh, a Little Leaguer himself, has collected his share of

baseball memorabilia.

“I go to games,” he said. “I got Curt Schilling’s autograph. I

have John Lackey’s, Bengie Molina’s, and I got a lot of the [Lake

Elsinore] Storms’ autographs. I got nine in one day.”

Now, however, Josh is the owner of a genuine museum piece -- and

he got it under the oddest circumstances.

Last December, for College Park’s holiday musical production, Josh

and a group of classmates sang the novelty song “Nuttin’ for

Christmas.” The opening lines of the song involve baseball -- “I

broke my bat on Johnny’s head/somebody snitched on me ... “ -- so

Josh offered to bring a family treasure of his to display in the

show: his first baseball bat, which he broke in half while hitting a

line drive.

“One day we were practicing, and he hit a line shot over

shortstop, and the barrel went flying,” Jeff recalled. “I just hit

the ground. Then he came up with the handle and said, ‘Are you mad at

me?’ And I said, ‘Are you kidding? You’ve broken your first bat!’”

The Rings kept the two halves of the bat on display in the house

-- a tribute to their son’s upper-body strength -- until the school

musical rolled around. Unfortunately, the bat was headed for a fate

worse than splintering.

During rehearsals, College Park Principal Patricia Insley and

parent volunteer Jennifer Piatti took it upon themselves to clean out

the backstage area. When they came to the remains of Josh’s bat, they

had no idea it was a prop in the show.

“She held up the bat and said, ‘This looks dangerous,’” Insley

said. “So we threw it out. Then, the next day, Josh came up to me and

said, ‘Dr. Insley, have you seen my bat?’”

Josh and his father searched the campus trash bins that night with

a flashlight, but the trash was already gone. Insley was crestfallen

over the gaffe, and even wrote Josh a mock letter from Santa when his

parents bought him a new bat for Christmas.

Piatti, however, suggested contacting the Angels to see if they

could find a replacement. The principal called Tim Mead, the Angels’

vice president of communications, and got a surprise call a month

later.

“He told me to drive down to Angel Stadium,” Insley said. “He just

told me he had something.”

When Insley arrived in the front office, an administrative

assistant presented her with a used bat, explaining that Vladimir

Guerrero had used it in a game. She didn’t know who Guerrero was, but

soon found out.

“I came home that day, and my son, who’s 17, had some friends

over,” she said. “I held up the bat and said it was from Vladimir

Guerrero, and they all said, ‘Oooooh!’”

Though the bat doesn’t bear the MVP’s name, Josh recognized the

number on the knob when Insley presented it to him Monday in music

class.

“The minute he saw 27,” Insley said. “His eyes just lit up.”

Although Insley didn’t name a specific player when she contacted

the Angels, Mead said the community relations department chose

Guerrero, in part because of his star status and in part because of

his character.

“He’s so good for us in the organization,” the vice president

said. “He’s so good to people and kids. This wasn’t just somebody off

the street asking for something. We get a lot of ‘can I have’

requests. We’ve never met the person involved, but if he was a

baseball fan, we wanted to give him something from one of the best in

the game.”

Furthermore, when Mead first received an e-mail from Insley, he

could identify with her plight.

“My wife’s a school teacher,” he said. “So I know how important it

is for any teacher to take care of a student.”

The Angels’ public relations office keeps bats and balls on hand

throughout the year to give to local charities, hospitals and

auctions. Players often sign or donate equipment during spring

training, although Mead says he isn’t quite sure about the origins of

the bat that went to Josh. By the looks of it, it may have cracked

after slapping a line drive, just like its new owner’s previous

timber.

For now, the Guerrero bat is resting on a trophy shelf in Josh’s

room. And the family won’t be taking it to school plays any time

soon.

“We’re trying to make a letter box for it,” Josh said.

“So it won’t end up in a Dumpster,” his father added.

* MICHAEL MILLER covers education and may be reached at (714)

966-4617 or by e-mail at michael.miller@latimes.com.