IRVINE – Garret Anderson returns to Angel Stadium on Saturday night. He’ll be in and out before somebody puts him on a lineup card.
He’ll go into the Angels Hall of Fame, which he’s anticipating, and deliver a speech, which he’s not.
He played for the California, Anaheim and Los Angeles Angels. He is the franchise leader in hits, runs, doubles, total bases, games and runs batted in, and not by close margins.
He did it with a quiet independence that fans and media didn’t always understand. Unlike Tim Salmon, whose final Angel weekend was a celebration, Anderson was allowed to leave in 2009, and played a year for the Braves and then the Dodgers.