"Until last week, the only team Vernon Wells had played for was the Toronto Blue Jays. Friday night he'll be playing against them for the first time while playing in his first home opener with his new team, the Angels.

"It'll definitely be strange," said Wells, who played parts of 12 seasons for the Blue Jays before being traded to the Angels in January. "But it's better to get it out of the way early. It's funny how it worked out."

Torii Hunter had a similar experience when he signed a free-agent contract with the Angels after 15 years in the Twins organization. That spring his new team opened the season against his old one in Minnesota.

"I was like, 'C'mon, who made this up?' " said Hunter, who admitted he almost jogged over to the wrong dugout after making an out.

"It's tough," Hunter continued. "That's the team you grew up with from the start of your career. And within months you change. It's just a weird feeling, knowing everybody on the ballclub. Some of the guys that got called up, you've known them since they were youngsters.

"You think you'll be with one team for the rest of your career and it doesn't turn out to be."

Wells says he'll visit with old friends before the game but what he really hopes to get in touch with this weekend is the baseball. In his first four games as an Angel, Wells struck out eight times and got just four hits, so he'll take a .111 average into the home opener.

"I just have to hit," he said. "It doesn't matter who you're playing against. It is what it is."