APPIER: ANGELS' CLASSY CLOWN VETERAN APPIER KEEPS HIS TEAM CALM, FOCUSED.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - Angels pitcher Kevin Appier, preparing for the biggest start of his career last Sunday afternoon, treated a typically solemn clubhouse like a fraternity house party.

Appier, 34, regularly and comfortably uses words such as ``cool'' and ``stoked.'' He's the oldest player on the Angels' World Series roster - but he doesn't act it, and that makes his teammates, well, stoked.

Appier started Game 5 of the American League Championship Series and kept the Angels in the game until the offense broke through in the seventh inning.

Now, Appier, a veteran of four teams over 14 seasons, is headed to the World Series for the first time.

``You know what Kevin Appier brings to this table that a lot of people don't realize?'' reliever Ben Weber said. ``You look at him in the clubhouse before a start, and he is so loose, so just goofy, man. It's like, `Oh, wow.' It's such a fun atmosphere with him around, an atmosphere that he creates because he's so goofy, and it's great.''

Everything about Appier, a 1985 graduate of Antelope Valley High in Lancaster, suggests an outsized personality, from the way he reaches way back in his long, looping delivery to his rounded face that almost always features a sly grin.

``Me?'' Appier said with mock surprise when asked about his role as jester of the pitching staff.

But it's clear he relishes the chance to be a fun, but helpful role model for the Angels' other postseason starters, none of whom are over 30 years old.

``When I was a younger guy,'' Appier said, ``I remember kind of looking at the older guys to see what they were acting like. So if somebody's going to emulate what I'm doing, I want them to be loose, but at the same time extremely intense.

``You're relaxed, and you screw around when it's OK, and when it comes time to be intense and serious, you're intense and serious.''

Mark Gubicza, now the baseball coach at Chaminade High of West Hills, was Appier's mentor in his early years in Kansas City. Gubicza said his onetime protege hasn't changed much over the years.

``We always joked about how he would just as soon build a Hovercraft or something as pitch,'' said Gubicza, who remains in touch with Appier. ``He was always teetering on the edge between brilliance and insanity, and we were never sure which way he was going to go.

``He's a perfect complement to those young pitchers, though, because on the field he's all business, but off the field he knows how to enjoy himself. You never know how long you're going to last in this game, so he's teaching those guys to enjoy every moment of it.''

Appier's record suggests he's a qualified mentor. His 161 career victories (against 127 losses) ranks him 11th among active pitchers .In this, his first season with the Angels, Appier went 14-12 with a 3.92 ERA, solid numbers for someone not counted on to be the staff ace.

Appier was acquired in the trade that sent disappointing first baseman Mo Vaughn to the New York Mets, and along with Aaron Sele, Appier was counted on to bring some stability to a young pitching staff.

``I knew the talent was here,'' Appier said. ``I could tell that before I even got here, and I was hoping that Aaron and I could add a little something.''

What Appier added was a steady hand. He's what baseball people call a ``grinder,'' a pitcher who won't blow batters away with his stuff but will fight for every pitch and doesn't concern himself with high pitch counts.

``It's impressive, the way he competes, the way he goes about his business,'' Angels catcher Bengie Molina said. ``He wants to pitch, he wants to win and he's never going to give up against anybody, whether it's 3-0 or 3-1 or whatever count it is.

``He battles all the time. That's what the younger guys see, and they feed off that. They say, `Hey, I want to be like him, I want to do my job just the way he does his.' ''

Appier thrived in his first 11 seasons with a Kansas City Royals franchise that was going nowhere. A trade to the Oakland Athletics brought him to the playoffs for the first time in 2000, making him the only Angel with previous postseason experience.

But until last weekend, his resume was not complete, and Appier had started to wonder whether he would finish his career without a chance to play for a championship.

``You worry about that, obviously, and that was one of the big reasons I signed with the Mets (in 2001),'' Appier said. ``They had just been in the World Series so I thought my chances of getting to the postseason and the World Series were pretty good with them.

``But they made a ton of changes, and I ended up here, so I'd say things worked out for the better. I'm very grateful for the way things have worked out.''

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Antelope Valley product Kevin Appier has been a calming factor during the Angels' run to first World Series.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer