Van Burkleo’s Timing Is Perfect for His First Hit

ANAHEIM —  Ty Van Burkleo played in Beloit, Wis., Stockton, Peoria, Ill., Palm Springs, Midland, Tex., Edmonton and Hiroshima, Japan.

He played roughly 1,000 professional baseball games in those cities and others without ever playing in the major leagues. When he finally made it to Anaheim Stadium to play first base for the Angels, it took him five games to record his first major league hit.

It was a long time coming, to be sure, but his timing was impeccable as far as the Angels were concerned.

Leading off the eighth inning Tuesday night, Van Burkleo doubled into the right field corner off Kansas City reliever Stan Belinda, igniting a rally that gave the Angels a 3-2 victory.

Van Burkleo raced into second base, stood for a moment, then heard second base umpire Rocky Roe ask him if he wanted the ball.

“It didn’t really register until I got to second base and I said, ‘Wow, that’s my first major league hit,” Van Burkleo said. “(Roe) knew it. I don’t know how. Maybe he heard somebody yelling from the dugout.”

Van Burkleo’s moment in the spotlight didn’t last long; Manager Buck Rodgers had Rod Correia pinch-run for him. But the Angels wouldn’t have won without Van Burkleo’s double and Greg Myers’ pinch-hit, two-run home run that followed.

Gary DiSarcina sacrificed Correia to third and Myers delivered his first pinch-hit homer in the majors and only the second by an Angel this season.

Asked later how long he had been dreaming about his first big league hit, Van Burkleo, 29, said, “About 24 years. It’s pretty sweet. It’s a special feeling for anybody. Hey, I’m still a kid.”

The circumstances--the Angels trailing, 2-1, in the eighth--only made his first hit more memorable.

“That makes it special because I ended up being the tying run with nobody out,” he said.