04/26/2003
By Ian Browne / MLB.com
ANAHEIM -- Shea Hillenbrand spent his free time before Saturday night's game with the Angels taking a cruise down memory lane.
He drove to his hometown of Arcadia, Calif. and took a look at the Little League field he spent many a spring afternoon at. For lunch, he went to his old taco haunt for some deep fried burritos.
All this, the morning after he helped bury the team he used to pay to watch as a kid.
In Boston's 5-2 victory over the Angels, Hillenbrand smashed a two-run homer and came up with a key RBI single.
Heading into Saturday night's game, Hillenbrand was 16-for-45 (.356 average) in his career at Edison Field with four homers and eight RBIs.
It was no surprise that when the Sox went to Dodger Stadium for an Interleague series last June, Hillenbrand went 6-for-11 with two homers.
Though Hillenbrand moved to Arizona when he was 14 and still lives there in the winter, Southern California will always feel like home. He certainly hits like he's right at home in these parts.
"There's something about being out west. There's a feeling you get, a comfort you get," Hillenbrand said. "I haven't lived here in 13 years. I grew up going to games here and Dodger Stadium."