Fullmer Aims High After Low of 2003

TEMPE, Ariz. —  Reflecting on his two-year stay with the Angels, Brad Fullmer on Saturday recalled the high of a World Series title and the low of what he perceived as management’s failure to allow him to fully showcase his talents.

“There was some stuff in regard to me that was set in stone,” said Fullmer, the Texas Ranger designated hitter who singled and hit a run-scoring double in a 13-2 victory over the Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium. “No matter what I did, no matter how well I swung the bat or how well I played, nothing was going to change.... It’s good for me to get out of there and come somewhere where my situation will be a little different.”

Fullmer had nine home runs and 35 runs batted in on June 26, when he was lost for the season because of a ruptured patella tendon in his right knee. He hit .306 in 63 games but was benched versus left-handers, against whom he hit .267, and released in October.

“As things turned out,” General Manager Bill Stoneman said, “we were going to make some changes and the opportunity to stay and be the DH wasn’t going to be there if we were going to bring in an outfielder that would move [Tim] Salmon to DH. That’s really the only thing that happened in terms of our thinking with Brad.”

Stoneman rejected the notion that Fullmer wasn’t given a fair opportunity.

“He was a regular as far as I’m concerned,” Stoneman said. “All you have to do is look at the at-bats he had.”

Fullmer said his 2003 performance was hampered by tendinitis and a partial rupture of his knee before his season-ending injury, and said that he played with a broken big left toe after being struck by a foul ball in May.

Fullmer, who signed a $1-million, one-year contract with Texas in December, said, “It’s a little bit of a change, but I’m enjoying it so far.”

-- Ben Bolch