Wally World is Taking Center Stage Again as Joyner Leads Hit Parade

Wally World hasn’t been a whole lot of fun this summer.

It has seemed strangely empty. The thrills, the chills, the 100-plus RBIs and the booming long balls that made the place so exciting for two consecutive years just haven’t been there.

But the big attractions may be coming back. It looks as if Wally World’s main attraction and namesake, Angels’ first baseman Wally Joyner, has reopened for business.

Joyner--the sensation of the California Angels for the past two seasons, the hero of the adoring crowds and who transformed Anaheim Stadium into Wally World to such an extent that the nickname is even mentioned in the team’s jingle--looked like his old self in the Angels’ 7-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians Friday night.

Joyner went 3 for 4, scoring two runs and driving in another. His three doubles tied a team record set most recently by Jimmy Anderson in July 1979 against Kansas City.

Jimmy who? you might ask. Anderson, a former Angels infielder who played half the season in 1978 and most of the next, totaled three home runs, 20 doubles and 20 RBIs during that time before he was traded to Seattle.

Joyner has already packed enough into his two years with the Angels to have earned a sacred spot in the memories of the team’s fans.

But for most of this season, his stats better matched Anderson’s than the high standards Joyner had set for himself.

In the first three months, Joyner had 4 home runs and 35 RBIs, in contrast to 18 home runs and 64 RBIs in the first three months last season.

“I’ve just been trying to find a better swing and a better approach,” Joyner said. “I hadn’t had either; I wasn’t consistent.”

But lately, Joyner (hitting .284) has been finding his groove, and against the Indians, he looked to be back in his old form.

“He’s hitting the ball very well right now,” Manager Cookie Rojas said. “He’s not as anxious as he was before.”

Part of Joyner’s anxiety had come from the Angels’ overall problems. The slumping team needed a big-play man to spark them, and Joyner, who had 100 and 117 RBIs and 22 and 34 home runs in his first two seasons, had always been that.

“I’ve done it before,” Joyner said. “Anyone who has ever had success in the past and is not doing as well as they should puts more pressure on themself.”

But now the Angels are out of their slump, the pressure is off, and--as Joyner said--hitting is becoming contagious.

“He’s been the big man of the last two years,” Rojas said. “But now everyone is contributing. There doesn’t have to be just one guy they’re depending on.”

And Joyner is finally feeling more consistent at the plate.

He was the picture of consistency on Friday with his doubles hat trick. And his only out was a long fly ball to the center field warning track in his second at-bat.

“That was my worst swing of the night,” he said. “And then I came back and had two good swings (for two doubles).”

Welcome back to Wally World.