Looking for a Few Good Players : Baseball: At Angels’ open tryouts, major league hopefuls are put through their paces running and throwing.

FULLERTON —  Dreamers came in all shapes and sizes Friday night at Cal State Fullerton.

Almost 1,000 hopeful young men had almost 1,000 stories to tell as the Angels held open tryouts in an attempt to stock their minor league system with new blood as the Major League Baseball players’ strike drags on.

Friday was the first of a three-day series of Angel tryouts, and amateur players 20 to 24 tried to impress scouts. Position players had to run 60 yards in less than seven seconds in order to qualify for the throwing skills portion of the tryout. Pitchers and catchers had it easier: They merely had to show a strong arm and good hands.

Today, recently released or retired players will show their stuff. The best from both days will be invited back, weather permitting, for batting practice and a game on Sunday.

After a few hours, Angel scout Tom Davis--given the chore of overseeing the tryout--had found three or four “excellent” catching prospects.

“My guess is that we’ll find the most productive players in catchers and pitchers,” Davis said. “You can’t find catchers. Any scout will tell you catchers are the hardest commodities to find. (Today), that’s when we’ll really see what we’ve got. It will be a much more manageable group.”

It won’t include Louie Vecchione, a second baseman from Garden Grove who took his best shot but couldn’t slip under the seven-second barrier. A former varsity player at Garden Grove High, Vecchione said he never made an all-league team. Lately, he has been playing softball to stay in shape.

“What are the chances anyway?” he said. “I was lucky to get a chance tonight. Who knows? If baseball keeps having (labor) problems, we’ll all get plenty of chances.”

Like many, Vecchione slipped on the soft, muddy sod at the starting line. When he finished his run through the outfield of a softball field, no one ran over to tell him to report the main diamond. In fact, no one said a word.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” said Tacho Rios, a 1991 graduate of Cerritos Whitney High, after his sprint.

Rios said he played at Cerritos College, but an eye injury resulting from an exploding light bulb ended his career two years ago.

Asked what position he played, Rios answered: “Whatever they give me. I’ll take anything just to be on the team.”

Standing nearby, Harry Terrell and Jay Berner introduced themselves to each other and talked quietly while watching the others.

“I’ve seen a lot of guys who couldn’t run, but can hit the hell out of the ball,” Terrell said.

Terrell said he last played at De Anza Community College in Northern California, but working the graveyard shift combined with a full schedule of classes proved to be too much to handle. Since he didn’t have a scholarship, work won out and his college career ended.

“This is a big opportunity for me,” he said.

This was Terrell’s fifth tryout camp this spring and he hoped to attend more. Berner nodded in agreement. He had been to two other tryouts and had no qualms about taking advantage of the strike.

“It’s not the perfect way to get there, but . . . “ Berner said.