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Former Tiger Boesch making most of new start

DETROIT -- Brennan Boesch still has the Yukon Denali hybrid he bought in Spring Training of 2012, when he was still a Tiger. He also still has the Ford Bronco he has owned for a dozen years. He used to drive those to Comerica Park. This weekend, his ride to the ballpark is the Angels' team bus.

He's a visiting player now, but his return to the big leagues with the Angels landed him back in a familiar spot to start out. He made his Angels debut as a late-inning substitute in Friday's series opener before getting the start in right field on Saturday.

"It's just funny how life works," Boesch said.

When the Angels return home, so will Boesch, close to his family home in Santa Barbara, Calif. Still, he said that wasn't a factor for him signing with the Angels. A chance to play was more important.

"I just wanted to land somewhere that I felt like presented a decent opportunity to earn a real opportunity to get back," he said. "I landed, in my opinion, a great spot for me. Here we go."

His journey since his Tigers days has taken him from one coast to the other. His early season stint with the Yankees last year, after the Tigers released him midway through, Spring Training, lasted just 23 games in April and May before he was sent down and eventually released. He spent the second half of the season back home rehabbing a shoulder injury that he says had been bothering him for years.

"You just don't want to go under the knife if you can avoid it. It feels great," he said. "It was something that kind of nagged me for a lot of years and just went from bad to worse."

Boesch signed with the Angels as a free agent near the end of January. He opened the season at Triple-A Salt Lake, going 12-for-48 (.250) with two triples, two home runs and nine RBIs, before Kole Calhoun's injury led the Angels to call him up.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason.
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