Kendrick tickled to join C.R. Hall

Howie Kendrick returned here Thursday to celebrate one of his stops in the minor

BASEBALL

leagues. Kind of ironic, considering it was a return to the minors last season that got his major league career back on track.

The Los Angeles Angels second baseman was inducted into the Cedar Rapids Baseball Club's hall of fame during the Cedar Rapids Kernels' annual Hot Stove Banquet last night at the Crowne Plaza Five Seasons Hotel. Kendrick won the Midwest League batting title as a Kernel in 2004.

“It's definitely an honor,” said Kendrick, who made the trip from his off-season home in Arizona with his wife, Jody. “I mean, I could play my whole career and not make it into any hall of fame ... It's great to be able to leave a legacy. I have a son (Owen), I can tell him about that some day, and he might think it's pretty cool. He can be like ‘Hey, my dad actually did something.'”

His season in Cedar Rapids, which was limited to 75 games because of injury, elevated Kendrick's status as a prospect and put him on the fast track to the big leagues. He made his Angels debut less than two years later.

Kendrick fashioned a .322 batting average in 2007 and .306 in 2008. His hitting ways stopped the first part of last season, however, and he found himself at Triple-A Salt Lake for a short time in mid-June.

“It just helped me refocus,” Kendrick said. “Going back down helped me get back to playing the game I knew how to play. There were a lot of voices in my head. That just helped me clear myself mentally.”

He credited Salt Lake hitting coach Jim Eppard for his work. Kendrick hit .358 upon his return to Los Angeles, helping the Angels to another American League Western Division championship.

“Once I got back (to Anaheim), it kind of helped me play relaxed,” he said. “I didn't worry about this or that. I just played the game and had fun and didn't focus too much on the results. I just played, and the results were there.”

It was a rather tumultuous off-season for the Angels, who lost key players Chone Figgins, John Lackey and Vladimir Guerrero to free agency. They'll be counting on younger, homegrown players like Kendrick to get back into the playoffs.

“We're going to be a tough team to beat, too,” Kendrick said. “I know Seattle made some moves, and Texas added some pieces. But our team, we've got a lot of good, young players that can play. If we all come into our own, I think we'll be competitors this year.”