BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Easley Dreamed of Being a Yankee

Angel second baseman Damion Easley used to sneak out of his Mount Vernon, N.Y., neighborhood, jump on the subway, sit in the stands at Yankee Stadium and dream of the day he would be wearing pinstripes.

He was in awe of second baseman Willie Randolph and idolized third baseman Graig Nettles, wondering how they could make spectacular plays look so easy.

“I always wanted to be a Yankee,” Easley said. “It was the dream of everyone in our neighborhood. Even when we moved to California, I was hoping I’d be drafted by the Yankees, Angels or Dodgers.

“Now, considering the way everything has gone, it couldn’t have worked out better.”

While rookies J.T. Snow and Tim Salmon continue to get most of the publicity, Easley has been the steadiest position player on the club.

“I’m not glamorous, or do the things that draw attention,” said Easley, who was in the lineup Wednesday despite sustaining a deep bruise Tuesday. “I just want to be consistent, play like Randolph did all those years.

“I just love coming back here, but the only bad thing is getting all of these tickets for my family, have them sit behind our dugout, and then listening to them cheer for the Yankees.

“Now, that’s rough.”

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Angel Manager Buck Rodgers on his most vivid memory of Yankee Stadium: “We (Milwaukee Brewers) just lost the last game of the 1981 (East) playoffs against the Yankees, and one of (George) Steinbrenner’s yo-yos comes into my office and asks whether George can come in here and congratulate me.

“I said, ‘Sure, why not.’ So he steps in my office, and starts waving the cameramen in. He wanted to congratulate me all right, but only with the TV cameras on.

“That’s George. He may do things a little differently, but you can’t argue with his intensity. The man wants to win.”