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The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim entered the league in 1961 as part of an effort by Major League Baseball to capture more markets. The team went 70-91 in the first season, which remains the highest winning percentage for the first season of an expansion team.
The Angels second season surprised many. The team finished in third place with an 86-76 record. The club could not keep up the improvement and quickly sank to the bottom of the league until they upgraded to mediocrity in the ‘70s.The first couple of decades were not without talent. The Angels had pitcher Ken McBride, shortstop Jim Fergosi, outfielder Leon Wagner, and catcher Buck Rodgers in the ‘60s and the powerful pitching combo of Nolan Ryan and Frank Tanana, Warren Spahn, and Johnny Sain in the ‘70s.
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About Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Angels made the playoffs for the first time after capturing the AL West title in 1979 with an 88-74 record. The team lost to Baltimore in the ALCS and Don Baylor, Bert Campaneris, and Rod Carew followed with two poor seasons.
In 1982, the Angels returned to the playoffs with another AL West title and Reggie Jackson. The club looked well on its way to reaching the World Series for the first time with a 2-0 lead in the ALCS against the Brewers, but became the first team to give three straight wins in a best of five series. The Angels came close again in 1986, but the AL West champions with youngsters Wally Joyner and Chuck Finley could not seal the deal after going up 3 games to 1 in the best of seven series.
Playoff woes haunted the franchise for another 16 years, until 2002, when the Angels by way of the Wild Card shocked the league with an ALDS victory over the Yankees, an ALCS defeat of the Twins, and a World Series triumph over the Giants that took all seven games.
The Angels of the 21st century are built around Vladimir Guerrero, Garrett Anderson, and strong pitching. The club won three division titles in four years from 2004 to 2007. Though the team has lost within the first two rounds each playoff try, the team remains one of the most feared in baseball.
Los Angeles was blessed with not one but two great teams in 2008, the Lakers and the Angels. The Angels finished with a 100-62 record, the best in the big leagues, but fell far short of the bar set by the Lakers, failing to beat the Boston Red Sox in the wild card round. The 3-1 series loss looks bad, but most games close. Still the season ended well short of the expectations fans at Angel Stadium had expected.
The Angels went out and acquired more bats in the middle of the season to help its “lite” offense. Mark Teixeira did not stay though and suddenly the whole 2009 season has been called into question. This team still has Vladimir Guerrero, Chone Figgins, Torii Hunter, and Garret Anderson. This alone means that the 10th ranked offense in 2008 may simply have been a collective bad season. The team can pour in the runs. It has the talent and it has the pitching to make Angels tickets seats to another AL West title season.
For any of those who forgot, the Angels starting staff was the talk of the league last year. Six deep, it was thought to be un-hittable. Though it was not the best, it was very good, finishing third in the league in ERA and second in quality starts. The real question is Brian Fuentes be able to make the transition from quality middle relief to a replacement for the departed Francisco Rodriguez (who broke the single-season save record).
John Lackey, Jered Weaver, Ervin Santana, and Joe Saunders remain a strong four-some in the rotation and the final spot looks like it belongs to Dustin Moseley. Having four All Star-worthy starters is not shabby and with the lack of talent in the rest of the AL West, this season the division should be wrapped up by June
