CALM. COOL. COLLECTED. SPIRITUAL APPROACH HELPS ANGELS' ANDERSON MAINTAIN STOIC DEMEANOR.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

TEMPE, Ariz. - For nearly a decade, Garret Anderson developed an almost superhuman reputation among Angels teammates for his consistency at the plate, his ability to contain his emotions and let go, so easily, of the things he couldn't control.

Nine years and no trips to the disabled list. Eight consecutive seasons of at least 150 games played. Five in a row driving in at least 117 runs.

``You'd look at Garret and think, 'He's so blessed. He doesn't seem human,''' says Tim Salmon, his teammate for a decade and longtime neighbor in the back corner of the Angels clubhouse.

``Last year, he seemed human. He'd been so bulletproof.''

On one level, Anderson's Teflon facade was sullied in 2004, when he was sidelined 43 games with an arthritic condition in his upper back. He also had leg problems and was limited to 112 games.

For one unsettling month, Anderson had no idea what ailed him, and many days were spent visiting specialists and ruling out scary subjects such as cancer and blood diseases. Medical scenarios ``way over my head,'' as he put it, were pondered.

His upper-back problems put him on the disabled list for six weeks. During that time, Anderson surprisingly found some serenity.

``I knew what wasn't wrong with me,'' he said. ``I had comfort in that.''

Outwardly, Anderson's stoic demeanor remains unchanged from 1994, when he first broke in with the Angels. But the former Kennedy High of Granada Hills standout acknowledges he is much more mature at 32, wiser for heeding the lessons taught by both fatherhood and baseball.

Spirituality has played a role in his granite-like foundation, too.

Anderson says he always has been religious but made a conscious decision a few years back to tap deeper into his spiritual side. It was an emotional investment, he said, that played no small role in helping him endure last season's physical problems.

``That's a choice you make,'' he said. ``I made it four or five years ago. It's something that's been there my whole life. I made a conscious decision about it. It keeps things in perspective. It lets you know you're not in control of what you thought you were in control of.''

Funny, but those around Anderson always assumed he controlled everything.

``You'd never know he was 0 for 25, or 25 for 25, healthy or hurt,'' first baseman Darin Erstad said. ``It's frustrating for us, because here I am whipping bats around, getting frustrated.

``It's a gift. He has a good head on his shoulders.''

Anderson is a lifetime .299 hitter with 207 home runs and 947 RBI. With 1,766 hits, he would need to average 160 for almost eight years to reach 3,000.

Hall of Fame? Anderson says he doesn't think about it, then muses whether 3,000 hits will even ensure induction. This is the first season of a four-year, $48 million extension - one that offered him security only in the financial sense.

``Time goes so fast. Just enjoy the time you have,'' he said. ``You never know when it's going to be over.''

That message has been in the background for years but was brought into reality last winter. He'd seen close teammates such as Chili Davis and Eddie Murray come and go, but the departures of longtime friends Troy Percival and Troy Glaus via free agency were harder to take.

Salmon, recovering from shoulder and knee surgeries, has an uncertain future.

``It's tough watching those guys go because they're friends. And business and friends don't mix,'' he said. ``I definitely miss those guys. Didn't see 'em this offseason. Too much rain, couldn't play golf.

``It's another indication that, one day, I'll be doing that same thing. Walking out that door. Age, you can't do anything about it.''

Anderson's slugging percentage dipped from .541 to .446 last season. Still, he hit .301, his third consecutive .300 season.

His eighth-inning RBI double against Oakland on Sept. 25 moved the Angels within two games of first place. A week later, his RBI single off A's closer Octavio Dotel drove in the division-clinching run.

``He was half of what he usually is and still was one of the best players in the game,'' second baseman Adam Kennedy said. ``The one thing I remember was the base hit he got in Oakland. After all he went through, he was still the guy we wanted at the plate to win the biggest game of the year.''

It remains to be seen if he'll regain the strength that produced an AL- best 56 doubles in 2002, 49 more in '03 and the 35 home runs he hit five years ago. The road back to what he was could be daunting.

``I get frustrated like everybody else,'' Anderson said. ``It's how you react to the situation. I just don't want the other side to know about it. People worry about things they can't control.

``I move on from it, to the next thing.''

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Photo:

(color) Former Kennedy High of Granada Hills standout Garret Anderson's granite-like facade has some teammates calling him `bulletproof.'

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images