AMERICAN LEAGUE: AROUND THE HORN MILESTONE HITTING YEAR FOR ERSTAD.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - Darin Erstad enters today's final game of the season with a chance to reach one of the top-10 hit totals of all-time.

Despite the game's surge of offense in the past 10 years, hit totals have not increased like home-run totals. And that makes Erstad's potential milestone even more impressive. If Erstad can get two hits today, he will finish with 241, a total that has not been reached in 70 years.

Here's the top-10 list: 1. George Sisler, 257 (1920); 2. Lefty O'Doul, 254 (1929); 2. Bill Terry, 254 (1930); 4. Al Simmons, 253 (1925); 5. Rogers Hornsby, 250 (1922); 5. Chuck Klein, 250 (1930); 7. Ty Cobb, 248 (1911); 8. Sisler, 246 (1922); 9. Willie Keeler, 243 (1897); 10. Babe Herman, 241 (1930); 10. Heinie Manush, 241 (1928).

Regardless of whether Erstad reaches 241, he will finish with an incredible season, especially considering what he did in 1999 (.253, 13 homers, 53 RBI). Erstad goes into the final day of the season hitting .356 with 25 homers, 100 RBI, 120 runs and 28 stolen bases. He is the only player in Angels history to have 200 hits, 100 RBI and 100 runs scored in one season.

Erstad's dramatic turnaround can be attributed to the hard work he put in during the offseason, particularly his tireless study of videotape. So how will he approach this offseason?

``I'm going to do a majority of the same stuff,'' he said. ``My plan is to build on what I did last year. I already have a base built, now I want to add to it to become a better baseball player.''

--And the winner is: Two weeks ago in this space, we picked Toronto's Carlos Delgado as the American League MVP. Well, we've changed our vote.

Oakland's Jason Giambi is the new choice to win the award, based on his performance in September in helping the A's to the brink of a playoff berth.

Through Saturday's game, Giambi is hitting .400 with 13 homers and 32 RBI in September. Overall, he is hitting .334 with 43 homers 137 RBI and a league-leading 134 walks.

--Florie recovering: Boston pitcher Bryce Florie recently paid a visit to the Red Sox clubhouse less than two weeks after getting hit in the right eye by a line drive. He's had several surgeries on the eye and even with glasses, his vision is 20/200, making him legally blind.

``I'm definitely down a little,'' Florie said. ``I can't see out of one eye.''

Florie said his goal is to return to the mound, but ``I've also looked in the mirror and told myself I might not make it back.''

--Solo act: Ron Gant has hit 25 home runs this season, 20 with the Phillies and five with the Angels. But those 25 homers have driven in only 31 runs.

Twenty of his homers are solo, four have been with one runner on and one came with two runners on.

--Short hops: Tampa Bay's Fred McGriff last week became only the second player in major-league history to hit 200 home runs in each league. Frank Robinson is the other. . . . At age 37, David Wells became the second-oldest pitcher to win 20 games in a season for the first time. Allie Reynolds was the oldest. . . . If the A's and Mariners tie for the A.L. West title, they would play a one-game playoff Tuesday in Seattle.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.