WILLITS KNOWS NO LIMITS ANGELS SCRAPPY OUTFIELDER WORKS HIS WAY INTO LINEUP THROUGH DETERMINATION, SOMETHING LEARNED FROM HIS HERO - SISTER WENDI.

Byline: DOUG PADILLA 

Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - As Reggie Willits' hero flashed back and forth across the television screen in a futile attempt to fend off the inevitable, he was so inspired that he made a promise.

When the end is near and all hope looks lost, Willits vowed that he too would fight to the finish and give it every last ounce of energy he had.

That was six years ago in a moment that ended up giving Willits the final piece he needed in his improbable goal of becoming a major leaguer. He added dogged determination to the package.

Willits picked up the phone and called his hero to tell her how inspired he was.

Wendi Willits, the older sister of the Angels rookie by 2(bul) years, was in her senior season playing basketball at Arkansas at the time. The Razorbacks were in the process of being eliminated in the NCAA Tournament by powerhouse Duke and all Reggie Willits could see was his sister's determination.

"They were getting beat by like 15 with a minute to go, and at the time she has no idea that her career could be over right there," Reggie Willits said. "I remember watching her as (Duke) is basically running out the clock.

"Everybody on her team is standing around but she is running around everywhere playing as hard as she could play. I remember sitting there thinking to myself 'If I'm facing my last game, that's how I want to go out too."'

Since watching his sister's final NCAA game, Willits has been living a cliche. He plays each of his own games and takes each at-bat as if it's his last. It got him through the rough times in the minor leagues when it seemed like his goal of playing in the major leagues would certainly die.

It got him through this spring as he looked across the locker room and saw that his teammates were Garret Anderson, Gary Matthews Jr. and Vladimir Guerrero. No way somebody in that trio of portly paychecks would be sent to the bench in order to give Willits time to play.

But a hip injury to Anderson last week put Willits in the starting lineup, giving him a broader stage to offer his fundamental brand of baseball. Willits has hit safely in 12 of his past 13 games with a 10-game hit streak that was snapped Friday.

In 22 of the 27 games he has started for the Angels, he has gotten a hit. He has batted ninth, second and third this season, most recently hitting leadoff, where he has been the past three games.

Willits works deep into counts, goes first to third as good as anybody on the team and has all but mastered the always tricky contact play when he is on third base. He knew the little things would be necessary to find his way to a major-league roster.

"I think every level I've been at I haven't been the biggest guy or the strongest guy or the fastest guy," Willits said. "I'm kind of used to that."

He learned a long time ago about not having the most talent. It came at an early age when playing basketball against his sister.

"We'd play and I'd say let's play again," Willits said. "She'd beat me again and I say let's play again. We'd play and play. She, by far, was the better basketball player of the two of us, let's put it that way."

He couldn't beat her until he was in high school when he finally gained a strength advantage.

Wendi Willits ended up playing one season (2001) with the WNBA's Sparks as a 3-point shooting specialist. The following season, she was cut near the end of camp, leaving too little time to catch on with somebody else.

Despite invites from three teams to camp the following season, she declined and moved to the next stage of her life.

She was a coach of a Division II team in Georgia, had a baby, moved back to Oklahoma to be near family and now is a coach of a high school team. Wendy Willits still takes time to inspire her little brother, not by example this time but with inspirational phone calls.

"In one sense, I don't think she regretted not continuing to play, but there was something unfinished there," Reggie Willits said. "She has always reiterated to me that you will not quit. You will play it out to the end. That's the one thing she has been hard on me with."

So he uses that never-quit mentality in every game, every at-bat, every pitch, every batting-practice and batting-cage session.

"I have a lot of respect for her because of everything she did," Willits said. "Our parents were a big part of my success and her success. We were fortunate to have a dad that had an insight that we had talent and helped us develop it. He basically gave us a work ethic. I know that work ethic that he instilled in us helped us get to where we are."

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CAPTION(S):

5 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1) The Angels' Reggie Willits was put into the starting lineup after Garret Anderson was injured.

Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

(2) The Angels' Reggie Willits has hit safely in 12 of his past 13 games, including a 10-game streak that was snapped Friday.

Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images

(3 -- color) no caption (Reggie Willits)

(4 -- color) no caption (Wendi Willits)

(5 -- color) no caption (Reggie Willits)

Box:

(1) ANGELS vs. CLEVELAND

- Doug Padilla

(2) THE REGGIE WILLITS FILE