LOOKING LIKE ANGELS OF OLD ANAHEIM ROUTS TEXAS FOR FIRST WIN ANGELS 10, TEXAS 0.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - Commissioner Bud Selig, whose office targeted the Angels for possible contraction two years ago, was bending over backward to praise the team Tuesday night. But his comments to a group of reporters kept getting drowned out by the crack of the Angels' bats and the roar of their sellout crowd.

Normalcy, as the modern Angels know it, returned to Edison Field with a flourish when the Angels accepted their 2002 championship rings from the commissioner and then methodically took apart the Texas Rangers 10-0 to register their first victory of the season before a crowd of 43,267.

The victory was a stark contrast to Sunday's lethargic opener. This time, the Angels banged out 13 hits and took advantage of Texas starter Chan Ho Park, who gave up six runs in 2 2/3 innings and did little to reassure the Rangers he'll bounce back from last season's 5.75 ERA debacle.

The Angels chased Park in the third inning, when they scored three runs to take a 6-0 lead. As Park walked off the mound, Selig was upstairs lauding the Angels for taking advantage of revenue sharing that will only increase with last August's labor agreement.

``I said then and I said now, they were the first club that won because of the change in our system with revenue sharing,'' Selig said. ``I know you get tired of my hope-and-faith speech, but they were the first dramatic manifestation of the system. They did the right things and kept things together.''

Selig called last August's labor agreement ``our moment in history.'' Designated hitter Brad Fullmer (Montclair Prep of Panorama City) might have a different opinion of that moment, given that it created market conditions that forced him to take a nearly 75 percent pay cut. But it did enable the Angels to bring him back at the bargain-basement salary of $1 million, and Tuesday he contributed a two-run homer and an RBI single to the cause.

Garret Anderson had four hits and three RBI, and Darin Erstad contributed three singles, a walk and three runs scored as every Angels starter except third baseman Troy Glaus reached base.

Meanwhile, starter Mickey Callaway righted himself after a shaky start to throw six shutout innings against the Rangers' always-imposing lineup.

Callaway won't start again until April 12 and his future with the team is murky because he's out of options and might be lost to waivers once Aaron Sele returns from shoulder rehabilitation. For a few moments Tuesday, Callaway looked like a worried pitcher.

He loaded the bases in the top of the first inning, throwing seven consecutive balls at one point, and was one pitch away from walking in a run when he ran up a full count on rookie Mark Teixeira. But he got Teixeira to ground out to second base. In the second, the Rangers put runners at the corners with two outs, but Callaway got Carl Everett to fly out to the warning track in center to end the threat.

Callaway needed 53 pitches to complete two innings, but he breezed after that, retiring the last 12 batters he faced.

By the fifth inning, Callaway made it look easy, needing just 10 pitches to retire the side. He struck out Carl Everett and Alex Rodriguez to end the inning, as the Rangers' shortstop was stifled in his bid to hit his 300th home run.

Callaway was backed by an offense that was in vintage form. Anderson's two-run single gave Callaway a 2-0 lead after one inning, and Fullmer's home run keyed the three-run third.

Bengie Molina, who hit into two double plays in his first five at-bats of the season, kept the pressure on with a double and he scored on former CSUN star Adam Kennedy's single.

The Rangers helped some, too, as Anderson twice jogged home on wild pitches, the final run sending the crowd into a frenzy because it guaranteed them free chicken wings at a local restaurant.

Scot Shields and Ben Weber combined for three innings of scoreless relief to complete the shutout.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Angels' Tim Salmon shows off the World Series ring he and his teammates received prior to Tuesday's 10-0 victory over Texas.

(2) Former Dodger Chan Ho Park gave up six runs in 2 2/3 innings for Texas at Edison Field.

Chris Carlson/Associated Press

Box:

ANGELS vs. TEXAS

- Gabe Lacques