SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Troy Percival may have thrown his last big league pitch, but the former Angel closer doesn't expect to be away from the game for long.Percival, who stopped by the Angel camp Monday before completing a five-day drive from Florida to Riverside, has an open invitation to work for the Angels and is eager to begin a post-playing career he hopes will culminate in a manager's job.
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"I'm going to try to get back in the game in some capacity, preferably at the big league level, next year," said Percival, whose comeback with the Detroit Tigers was cut short Feb. 26 by another elbow injury.
"I definitely want to get into coaching and managing, and the Angels said there will be something available to me when I'm ready. They didn't say whether it would be in the front office, as a roving instructor or a coach, but they've been good to me my whole career."
Percival, who is tied for 10th on baseball's saves list with 324, hasn't announced his retirement. However, after sitting out the second half of 2005 because of a muscle tear in his elbow and abandoning his comeback this spring, he said he is "most likely" done.
"I'll let it rest again, but shoot, I let it rest for seven months, and when I threw my first bullpen [this spring] it was right back to where it was before," Percival said. "I know I can't throw anymore."
Percival, who was on the mound for all three of the Angels' playoff-clinching victories during their 2002 World Series run, has no regrets.
Though his arm was "killing" him Feb. 26, he was able to complete an inning at Lakeland, Fla.
"I ended up getting the save in an intrasquad game," said Percival, who signed a two-year, $12-million deal with the Tigers before 2005. "It wasn't pretty, but I left on the mound, on my terms."
He said the finality of his career set in during his cross-country ride home.
"But I was never one of those guys who only had baseball," Percival said. "I'll be OK. I'll go home, work on my cars, play with my son and daughter and just be a normal dad."
