You’d Never Know This Is How He Pictured It

The other day Peter Gammons wrote a very nice portrait of Milton Bradley for ESPN.com, which read just like the very nice portrait of Milton Bradley that Steve Henson had written in The Times earlier.

Gammons made no mention of Henson or The Times in his Bradley story, and had he won an award later, I remain confident he’d have given credit to the guy who had really written the story in his acceptance speech.

Someone, though, seemed to recognize the similarities in the stories right away and contacted Gammons’ bosses.

A short time later Gammons wrote an apology memo on ESPN.com, the headline calling it an “inexplicable oversight” that he had failed to give Henson credit for initially reporting the story.

“I inadvertently and mistakenly omitted” it, Gammons wrote, and let me tell you, I’m not one to criticize him here, because the very same thing happened to me recently.

That’s right, “I inadvertently and mistakenly omitted” a beautiful sentence from Page 2 after the Dodgers’ first game, indicating the Dodgers would most likely go on now to post an 11-2 record to start the season -- before going into the dumper.

Like Gammons, it’s just one of those inexplicable oversights, but I’m sure you understand.

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I LIKE Angel first baseman Darin Erstad. Now you can see the kind of problem he’s going to have to live with the rest of his career here. For the record, he didn’t buy me off or threaten to give his old Nebraska pals my home address.

The guy is just like Jeff Kent on the baseball field. I’m not saying I like Kent, of course, because Kent still remains a little condescending, and certainly removed from any small talk that might be interpreted as having a good time.

Erstad, though, is all business and boring baseball quotes as Kent is, and intent on winning with no regard to his own statistics -- as Kent appears so far.

“I don’t think I have ever been around more of a team-oriented person in my life than Ersty, and I’m talking about all the teams I played on too,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said. “He couldn’t even begin to tell you what his batting average is, because he doesn’t know, or care. In Texas he came up twice with a runner on second, hit the ball to the second baseman to advance the runner and came to the dugout like he had just hit a grand slam. It’s all about what he can do for the team.”

Erstad is an outfielder who plays first base because that’s what the Angels need. He bats leadoff for the same reason. He’s all business, maybe a little short on the smiles, which deceptively suggests he’s a little too serious -- which he was, he acknowledged, but no longer to extreme.

“I was struggling with baseball, taking the game home with me and then going through a divorce in 2001,” he said. “And I felt the perception in here was that I was unapproachable. I’m not that way. I’m just quiet by nature. But I wanted to make people feel more comfortable, so I made adjustments.”

He’s remarried now, and hitting coach Mickey Hatcher gives Erstad’s new wife credit for smoothing over some of the rough edges in the intense competitor.

“He was turbo man here in the past,” Hatcher said. “He was like a wild animal in a cage, taking a million swings and not leaving until he tired himself out. Sometimes he expected so much out of himself, but his life has changed and I think a lot of it has to do with his wife.”

Erstad and his wife, Jessica, who both went to the University of Nebraska, recently donated $1 million to improve the school’s athletic facilities. (Too bad he didn’t give it to the football team so they could’ve bought some better players). Erstad asked school officials to refrain from marking his contribution in stone or any other permanent way “because I really believe in the school and that’s enough.”

OK, so we don’t share the same taste in schools, but then how can you knock a guy who has contributed $50,000 to three communities around here to develop Little League fields? You know I’d give it a try if I could ...

“I come from North Dakota,” he said, having the guts to admit it. “We never had a shortage of baseball fields, so we had the opportunity to play ball. But around here there’s no land for such things, and opportunity is what every kid needs in life.”

As I said, I like the guy, even making allowances for the fact that he was a punter for Nebraska, which by football standards makes him kind of a nerd.

“I was a linebacker at heart until I tried to tackle a guy and got crushed,” he said, which makes it even funnier when you hear Hatcher and Scioscia talk about Erstad’s football mentality.

“I’m telling you,” Hatcher insisted, “this guy has got that football mentality working all the time. He’s football-tough.”

So what position did Hatcher play in football?

“I was a punter,” he said, “but let’s keep that a secret.”

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ON PAGE A11 of The Times on Tuesday, the “99¢ Only Stores” ran a full-page ad, indicating among other things that a five-pound bag of Jonny Cat litter was available for 99 cents along with “2005 Lakers Playoff Tickets!”

There was “no limit” on the Laker playoff tickets, and in small print this notation: “Unfortunately, the Lakers did not make the playoffs. Actual Lakers 2005 playoff tickets are not available.”

Channel 2’s Jim Hill, who obviously never misses a 99-cent deal, spotted the ad and had a camera crew interview the manager of one of the local stores, who said several people had stopped in to buy Laker playoff tickets. These folks must get their sports news on TV from Jack Haley.

T.J. Simers can be reached at [email protected]. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.