The 100 Greatest Angels - #54 Luis Polonia

Luis Polonia was one of those guys whose fun level in watching him was way out of whack with his actual value as a ballplayer.  He was this tiny little guy with a mass of curly black hair and a big gold chain around his neck, and he would just stand up at the plate and slap the ball the other way (to left field) and run like hell.  And this sucker was fast; in his prime, he might have been able to take Chone Figgins in a footrace.  He was like some weird mix of Figgins, David Eckstein, and the Roadrunner.

Every now and then he'd hook some ball down the right field line, and it was just on.  I remember once he came up with the bases loaded and hooked down one down the line.  The right fielder - whoever it was - was shocked, dove, and missed the ball, setting up the easiest inside-the-park grand slam ever.

My favorite Luis Polonia play came in this game against the Red Sox in Anaheim.  I think Roger Clemens was pitching, but I'm not sure.  Anyway, Polonia was on first and Chili Davis was at bat.  Davis singled to left - and this is a Chili Davis single, so it's not weak ground or blooper, he's ripped a single through the hole.

Now, you must know this:  Polonia was not going on the play.  It was not a hit-and-run.

So Chili rips this single to left, and Polonia motors to second - and he doesn't stop.  He just keeps going.  Mike Greenwell, shocked, picks up the ball and throws to third.

No chance; Little Luis is safe.

Now, just what the hell was Polonia doing going first-to-third on a hard single to left?  Who knows, but he made it work.

As I said, he wasn't quite as good as his exciting play would suggest.  He would barely draw a walk, and had no power to speak of, so he basically had to hit .330 to be of any real value.  Despite the speed, he wasn't all that good a defensive player, and he had no arm at all.  But he had just enough average and stolen bases to be an okay contributor for a couple of years, and a hell of an entertainer.

Polonia was my all-time favorite Angel, until Matt Wise and Eckstein came along. Here's my favorite quote about Polonia's defense, even though I cringed and laughed at the same time upon reading it years ago.

"With Luis Polonia, it's like 'Catch 22'... Hit him a hundred fly balls, and he'll catch 22" - Dennis Lamp

In 1991 at Angel home games that I went to Luis Polonia was either caught stealing or picked off in 5 out of 6 steal attempts.  The one time Polonia successfully stole second base he was promptly picked off.

These caught stealing/pick-offs were not in consecutive games played by the Angels.  They were in consecutive Angel games that I went to.  After that bad streak I wanted Polonia to keep his foot on the bag so that he could not be picked off!  

Bret Butler was the Dodgers stolen base version of Polonia in the early 90's.  Butler and Polonia had seasons where they were successful stealing less than two-thirds of the time.  That is the break-even point for base stealing.  If you cannot surpass that you should not steal at all.

Butler was a much better defensive outfielder than Polonia.  There is no comparison there.

In April 92 I stayed at the Polonia Hotel in Medan on Sumatra, Indonesia for two nights.  I chose that hotel because of Luis Polonia.