BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : He Makes Most of Rare Chance

By BOB NIGHTENGALE

May 31, 1993 12 AM PT

Angel catcher Ron Tingley wondered who the wise guy was who placed his name on the lineup card Sunday.

Then he was stopped by Manager Buck Rodgers.

“Hey Ting, slap a little color in your face,” Rodgers shouted.

Said Tingley, who had not started a game since Oct. 4, 1992: “This is hard to believe. Maybe I should have some balloons sent up in the air, or have a plane write a message into the sky.”

Tingley went two for three with a double, his first extra-base hit since July 24, 1992. His second-inning single also made him the last player on an opening day roster this season to obtain a hit.

Although the batting average doesn’t reveal it, Rodgers says that he believes rookie first baseman J.T. Snow slowly is working out of his dreadful hitting slump.

Snow, held out of Sunday’s lineup because left-hander Jamie Moyer was starting for the Orioles, is batting .111 since April 25, his season batting average plummeting from .407 to .216.

“He’s still frustrated,” Rodgers said, “but he’s getting better. I think he’s over the despair.”