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All-Century Roster: Angels
By Gary Brooks
SportsLine Baseball Editor
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In 1960, singin' cowboy Gene Autry didn't have any intentions of planting seeds for a second major-league franchise in Los Angeles. He made a trip to talk with American League owners about securing broadcasting rights and soon enough had his own team.
 | | | Hall of Famer Rod Carew played for the Angels from 1979-85.(Allsport) | |
The Los Angeles Angels were put together quickly and played the 1961 season in a former minor league park, Wrigley Field. They finished second to the Mantle-and-Maris led Yankees in home runs due to the close power alleys at Wrigley but finished in seventh place in the AL.
Dean Chance turned into a star pitcher in 1962, when the Angels had moved into Dodger Stadium for the first of four seasons at Chavez Ravine, and the Angels were instantly respectable, finishing only 10 games behind the Yankees in third place.
Down years followed though as the team became the California Angels in 1965 and moved to Anaheim for the 1966 season. It wasn't until 1970 that they got back to the same 86-76 record they posted in '62. That season saw Clyde Wright, the father of current Indians pitcher Jaret Wright, win 22 games and pitch a no-hitter and Alex Johnson win the AL batting title.
Though the next seven seasons were losing ones, the acquisition of Nolan Ryan, in a trade for Angels Hall of Fame shortstop Jim Fregosi, who would later manage the team, made the '70s entertaining at least every fourth night. Ryan had the greatest fastball many had ever seen and though his record sometimes didn't reflect it, he was the hardest pitcher to hit in his era. Ryan pitched four of his seven no-hitters in an Angels uniform.
Ryan, and other strong pitchers Frank Tanana and Andy Messersmith, couldn't pitch the team into the playoffs until it had some offense as well. In 1979, the bats arrived and designated hitter Don Baylor won the league's Most Valuable Player award. The Angels won their first AL West championship but were eliminated by Baltimore in the ALCS. It ended the Ryan era as he moved on to a million-dollar contract with the Houston Astros.
Without Ryan, the Angels were awful in 1980. It began a forgettable pattern of ugly, losing seasons after winning ones. In 1982, Reggie Jackson was signed as a free agent and the offense returned. With Gene Mauch managing, the Angels won the West again winning a club-record 93 games. They led the Brewers 2-0 in the LCS before losing the next three and leading into another bad season in 1983. The cycle continued but in 1986 the Angels were back. They won 92 games and the AL West and led the LCS 3-1 over Boston. The World Series certainly seemed imminent for the Angels and Autry, who remained at the head of the club until his death in 1998.
But the baseball gods apparently had different ideas and the Red Sox, facing their last strike in Game 5, rebounded to win the next three games after Dave Henderson hit a home run off of reliever Donnie Moore sending the fifth game to extra innings. Of course, 1987 was another down year and the good didn't return until 1995, and then only for five of the season's six months.
They led the AL West comfortably entering the final month but collapsed as the Seattle Mariners rode the first prolonged hot streak in their history. The Mariners won 15 of 16 games at one point in September and the two teams tied for the division title. A playoff game in Seattle was a disaster for the Angels as they lost, 9-1, to Randy Johnson, who won the Cy Young Award that season.
Second-place finishes in 1997 and 1998 were nice but unrewarding. They did set up great expectations for the final season of the century though. But as is so often true, reality never came in sight of the expectations as injuries and team turmoil led to a 92-loss season.
Lineup
| Bob Boone, Catcher, 1982-88 |
| Boone was durable and reliable if not spectacular in playing seven of his 19 seasons in Anaheim. In 1983 he played in his fourth All-Star Game. He appeared in the second most games ever for a full-time catcher, 2,264. |
| Rod Carew, 1B, 1979-85 |
| His best years were past him when he joined the Angels but Carew is still the only player to hit better than .300 (.314) for his Angels career. Carew was selected for four All-Star teams as an Angel giving him 15 All-Star appearances in his career which began with the Minnesota Twins in 1967. His 968 hits are fourth most in Angels history. His .393 on-base percentage is the best in Angels history. |
| Bobby Grich, 2B, 1977-86 |
| Grich was one of the finest second basemen of his era and some might argue, the best all-around Angel of all-time. After spending seven seasons with Baltimore, Grich became a three-time All-Star as an Angel. He led the league in homers with 22 in the strike-shortened 1981 season, drove in a career best 101 runs in 1979 and led AL second basemen in fielding (.997) in 1985. |
| Jim Fregosi, SS, 1961-71 |
| Though he's remember more as the guy who the Angels traded to get Nolan Ryan, Fregosi was the team's best player of the 1960s. He played in six All-Star games from 1964-70. His 1,408 hits are No. 2 in Angels history. He had more than twice as many triples (70) as any other Angel. |
| Doug DeCinces, 3B, 1982-1987 |
| Like Grich, DeCinces came up as a solid Oriole and became an All-Star as an Angel. He played in the Mid-Summer Classic in 1983 and was a big part of division championship teams in 1982 and 1986. His 130 homers are sixth best in team history. |
| Brian Downing, OF, 1978-90 |
| Downing never had a 30-homer season or a 100-RBI season but he was a consistent slugger through his dozen seasons with the Angels. He is the franchise leader in games (1,661), hits (1,588), homers (222), RBI (846), runs (889) and doubles (282). |
| Chili Davis, OF, 1988-90, 1993-96 |
| Two stints in Anaheim have moved the "Chili Dawg" into the club's top five in hits, homers, total bases, runs and RBI. He was selected the team's MVP in 1988, '93, '94 and '96. He's gone on to greater team fame with the New York Yankees and will be remembered as one of the best power-hitting switch-hitters of his generation. |
| Tim Salmon, OF, 1992-99 |
| Salmon might just be the best Angels all-around hitter ever but injuries have slowed his ascent of the team's career statistics leaderboard. He combines terrific power with a good-average bat. His 1995 season (.330, 34, 129) earned him MVP consideration and put him on a short list of the best outfielders in the league. Surprisingly, he has never been selected to the AL All-Star team. |
| Don Baylor, DH, 1977-1982 |
| Baylor hit 338 home runs and drove in 1,278 runs in his career but his only All-Star season was with the Angels in 1979. It also became the first AL Most Valuable Player season by an Angel. Baylor's 139 RBI and 120 runs led the league and his 36 homers were fourth best. He's among the Angels top ten in hits, homers, RBI and runs. |
Pitchers
| Nolan Ryan, SP, 1972-79 |
| Ryan's dominance developed as an Angel as he set the major league record for strikeouts with 383 in 1973 and won 138 games over eight seasons. He pitched four of his seven no-hitters and made five of his eight All-Star appearances with the Angels. Forty of his victories were shutouts. He was the last Angel to win 20 games (22 in 1974). |
| Chuck Finley, SP, 1986-99 |
| The 6-foot-7 left-hander has played through all sorts of disappointments, going 14 years without a postseason start but has been a strong regular-season contributor. He leads the Angels in starts (346 before 99), wins (153) and is chasing Ryan's club record of 2,416 strikeouts. |
| Frank Tanana, SP, 1973-80 |
| The lefty came up as a power pitcher giving the Angles a solid 1-2 combination with Ryan. He won 102 games, fourth best in team history, before arm troubles changed the way he pitched. Though he remained in the majors another 12 seasons, winning another 131 games, Tanana didn't duplicate his All-Star seasons of 1976 and 1978. |
| Mike Witt, SP, 1981-90 |
| Witt pitched the only perfect game in club history Sept. 30, 1984 at Texas. It was one of 109 wins in an Angels uniform, third most in team history. He's also in the top three in strikeouts, starts and complete games. |
| Andy Messersmith, SP, 1968-72 |
| Messersmith had a short stay in Anaheim but it was one of impact. He won 20 games in 1971 and 59 in his five seasons. His ERA with the Angels was 2.77, sixth best among Angels who have appeared in 100 games or more. |
| Troy Percival, RP, 1995-99 |
| Percival moved past Bryan Harvey on the Angels' career saves list in the 1999 season and just might stretch the record into unreachable territory as long as he stays with Anaheim. He's already been selected to three All-Star teams and has 139 saves. |
| Bench |
| Wally Joyner, Jim Edmonds, Reggie Jackson, Fred Lynn, Devon White. |
| Best season |
| Seven of this team's members played on the 1982 team that won a club-record 93 games in the regular season, giving Anaheim its second division title. The Angels won the first two games of the ALCS -- Tommy John pitched a seven-hit complete game in Game 1 and Don Baylor drove in five runs in Game 2 -- against the Milwaukee Brewers. In the third game, Milwaukee got solid pitching from Don Sutton, who four years later, during the Angels' next division-title season, won his 300th game for the Angels. The Brewers won the next three games to reach the World Series. In addition to the six position players from 1982 who were selected to this team, the Angels also had Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson and one-time MVP Fred Lynn. Jackson set the team record with 39 home runs in '82. |
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| Worst season |
| There have been worse seasons record wise but the 1999 schedule brought nothing but misery to Anaheim which finished 70-92. The trouble started in spring training when coach George Hendrick was hitting ground balls to infielders and his swing broke the arm of shortstop and team leader Gary DiSarcina. DiSarcina didn't heal quickly and was just the first of a run of significant injuries. Center fielder Jim Edmonds missed most of the season after knee and shoulder surgery and right fielder Tim Salmon, who was primed to be an MVP candidate, had his season wiped out by a broken wrist. Before the injuries, the Angels were a favorite to win the AL wild card considering they brought in free agent first baseman Mo Vaughn who was going to solidify the lineup and be a strong clubhouse presence. Vaughn badly sprained his ankle in the first game at the remodeled Edison International Field and his season was far less than average considering the lofty standards he had set as a Red Sox. The poor luck and play led to a player split with some wanting manager Terry Collins fired and some supporting him. Collins had the support of general manager Bill Bavasi and was given a contract extension in midseason but by the end of the season Collins resigned and Bavasi was reassigned. |
| Best individual season, player |
| Only four times in Angels history has a player driven in and scored 100 runs and Don Baylor's 1979 season put him at the top of each list. Baylor had 139 RBI, scored 120 runs and hit 36 homers and was named AL Most Valuable Player. |
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| Best individual season, pitcher |
| Hard to believe but it's been a quarter-century since the Angles had a 20-game winner. Nolan Ryan won 22, his career best, in 1974 and did if for a team that only won 68 games overall. It was the third of Ryan's 11 strikeout titles as he fanned 367 and limited opponents to a league best .190 average. Ryan also lost 16 games and threw 26 complete games. Ryan pitched his third career no-hitter Sept. 28 against the Twins and had four 19-strikeout games, three against the Red Sox. |
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