August 21, 1997

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- During pre-game warmup sessions, Wade Boggs toys with his Yankee teammates and stuns onlookers by fluttering knuckleballs to loosen up his arm. The funky pitches dive and dart, delighting Boggs as eyes widen over the nifty scene.

When Boggs finally got the opportunity to transfer his 16 years of sideline fun into a real game Tuesday night, the knuckleball show was even niftier. Manager Joe Torre wanted to save his bullpen because the Anaheim Angels were coasting to an eventual 12-4 rout of the sluggish David Wells and because of the doubleheader Wednesday.

After initially considering third baseman Charlie Hayes to pitch in relief, Torre was told by several Yankee players that Boggs had a splendid knuckleball. Torre approached the future Hall of Famer cautiously, since he did not know if Boggs would be comfortable with the assignment. What was Boggs' reaction?

"He ran down to the bullpen," Torre said.

Boggs said, "I didn't give him the opportunity to say no."

On a forgettable night when Wells was brutal in allowing 11 earned runs in three innings as the Yanks started their nine-game road trip inauspiciously, Boggs put a funny spin on the evening with a pitch that does not spin.

Boggs jumped ahead 0-2 on all four Angels he faced in the eighth inning and retired three while walking one. He got Tim Salmon on a grounder and whiffed Todd Greene to end the inning, which is noteworthy since both had bashed two-run homers off Wells.

"It's something I've always wanted to do in my career and I never really had the opportunity," said Boggs, who threw 16 knuckleballs and one fastball that inched to the plate at 74 mph. "Then I started feeling like Phil Niekro. I was Phil Niekro and Charlie Hough all rolled into one. It was great. I was glad it worked out."

Win Boggs, a renowned softball pitcher, taught his son the knuckleball and Wade Boggs tossed it as a high school pitcher in Tampa, Fla. But that was the last time he threw it in a game as he spent the last 16 years winning five batting titles and amassing 2,776 hits.

After his pitching debut, he received a standing ovation and emerged from the dugout for a curtain call when fans chanted, "Wade, Wade, Wade."

"That was fabulous," Boggs said. "It's not too often that happens in an opposing ballpark."

Torre said Boggs "opened my eyes" with his knuckleball and claimed he would consider using him again. Boggs, who joined Mike Aldrete, Alvaro Espinoza and Gene Michael as position players who have pitched for the Yankees, is receptive to fluttering the knuckler again.

"I've got my feet wet now," Boggs said. "I'm not saying I'd like to do this for the rest of my career. When you get in a situation where you don't want to use arms, it's nice to do."

INSIDE PITCH

-- Torre chastised Wells for not making adjustments and, instead, getting frustrated when teams rake him for hits, as the Angels did Tuesday night. "He gets hit and he gets frustrated," Torre said. "He's got to try to fix that. He hasn't done it."

-- David Cone, who is undergoing physical therapy for tendinitis in his right shoulder in New York, could join the Yankees in Seattle this weekend. "If it's past the weekend, I doubt he'll show on the trip," Torre said.

-- Designated hitter Darryl Strawberry started his first game since April 6 in the first game of the doubleheader against the Anaheim right-hander Ken Hill as Torre loaded his lineup with seven left-handed or switch-hitters. "Am I ready? We'll see," Strawberry said.

-- Brian Boehringer, who had bone chips removed from his right elbow June 6, admitted he was surprised by how quickly the Yankees summoned him from his rehabilitation stint.

-- Bench coach Don Zimmer underwent tests Tuesday night after experiencing a negative reaction to medication he takes for gout. The tests were negative and Zimmer returned to Anaheim Stadium after the game.

Copyright 1997 The New York Times Company