After Firing by Angels, Hatcher Comes Home

Mickey Hatcher has never been the sour-grapes type.

Throughout his long baseball career, Hatcher has maintained the philosophy that games should be fun.

Evidence is plentiful.

	Friday Albuquerque 10, Round Rock 1 Today Round Rock at Albuquerque, 7:05 p.m. Radio: KNML-AM (610)

The former Los Angeles Dodger, Minnesota Twin – and Albuquerque Duke – twice was pictured on baseball cards sporting a gag glove as big as his chest.

“I needed all the help I could get,” Hatcher joked.

He also appeared in various video presentations to the tune of the “Mickey Mouse Club,” and sprinted to first base on walks throughout his playing career.

It comes as little surprise then that Hatcher is not at all bitter about being dumped as the Los Angeles Angels hitting coach in May, in his 13th season. Many observers considered Hatcher a scapegoat, fired because of the hitting struggles of superstar Albert Pujols in his first season with the Angels.

If there were hard feelings, the 57-year-old appeared entirely over them Friday, throwing batting practice to the Albuquerque Isotopes prior to their 10-1 win over Round Rock and getting acquainted with the players.

Recently hired by the Dodgers as a roving hitting instructor, Hatcher is spending the weekend in the Duke City.

“I feel like my time with the Angels ended on great terms,” Hatcher said. “I have great memories and I’m still good friends with a lot of people there. (Getting fired) is just one of those things that happens in baseball.”

Pujols and Hatcher reportedly clashed when the slugger got off to the slowest start of his career, but Hatcher says the situation was overblown.

“Albert was fine,” Hatcher said. “It would have been nice if he’d hit in the first part of the season, but that’s baseball. The sad thing is, the lineup the Angels have now is the one I’d hoped for. It’s a great lineup.”

Hatcher should know. As a player and coach, he’s been part of quite a few outstanding teams.

That includes the 1979 Dukes, who finished 86-62 with the likes of Pedro Guerrero, Dave Stewart, Mike Scioscia and Hatcher. The latter hit .371 that season with 10 home runs and 93 RBIs.

“We had a team where almost everybody had a chance to go to the big leagues,” Hatcher said, “and most of us did.”

Hatcher went up to the Dodgers, was traded to the Twins, and later returned to the Dodgers. He made an impact as a member of the 1988 club that defeated the Oakland Athletics in the World Series.

After hitting just one home run all season, Hatcher hit two in the Series. He raced around the bases after a two-run shot early in Game 1, prompting broadcaster Joe Garagiola to say, “He’s running like he’s afraid they’re going to take it off the board.”

Hatcher was upstaged by Kirk Gibson’s famous walk-off home run in Game 1.

“Yeah, I hit two (World Series homers) that no one remembers,” Hatcher said with a laugh.

Hatcher returned to Albuquerque three years later for a transitional season. He served as a player-coach for the 1991 Dukes, then became a full-time coach the following season.

Another return to Albuquerque came in 1999, when Hatcher served as a coach for then-Dukes manager Scioscia. The two would stay together with the Angels, winning the franchise’s only World Series in 2002.

Despite his long tenure with the Angels, Hatcher has retained a strong relationship with the Dodgers as well. The same is true for his wife, Patti, who helped facilitate Hatcher’s latest return to the Dodgers.

“It was about a month after I left the Angels,” Hatcher said, “and she wanted to go to a Dodger game. Tommy Lasorda was there and he brought me down to meet Magic Johnson. The excitement was back.”

Hatcher’s presence was announced, bringing a loud ovation from the fans.

“It made me feel great that people remembered me,” he said. “Pretty soon I got a call from (general manager) Ned Colletti, and he said, ‘Mick, I want to bring you back on board.’ ”

Hatcher says he enjoys his new role, working with young players and traveling back to his former minor league haunts. This is his first visit to Albuquerque since 1999.

“It was always a great baseball city,” he said, “but nothing like this. This is one of the best minor league parks I remember seeing.”

He said it’s nice being part of the Dodger family again.

“We’ve got Dodger stuff all over my house again,” he said. “It wasn’t there when I was with the Angels. I guess my wife must have kept it under the bed all those years.”