The Angels Are Back

From 2002-2009 the Los Angeles Angels were perennial contenders. The Angels won their first and only World Series Championship in 2002 while also winning the American League West five times over that stretch. The Angels went 80-82 in 2010 before going 86-76 in 2011. After two sub par seasons the Angels dipped into free agency with an eye on returning to the postseason. After their 86-win season in 2011, the Angels signed first baseman Albert Pujols to a 10-year, $254 contract. Pujols’s presence wasn’t enough to get the Angels to the postseason in 2012 as they finished with a record of 89-73. The Angels would go to the free agency well once more after the 2012 Major League Baseball season and this time they came up with outfielder Josh Hamilton who they signed to a five-year deal for $125 million. What that Angels got last season was 78 only wins for their troubles.

The Oakland Athletics entered this season as the two-time defending AL West Champs and they were once again expected to be the team to beat.  The A’s have been in first place in the division for the majority of the season, but the Angels are making sure that if they are able to make it a three-peat that it won’t a cakewalk for their neighbors from Northern California.

The Angels currently have a record of 51-36 and they are only 3.5 games behind the Athletics for first place. The Angels also currently own the top Wild Card spot in the American League.

Under manager Mike Scioscia, the Angels are at their best when they are paying attention to the fundamentals of the game. The Angels have gotten back to that this season which is why they are on pace to win more than 90 games for the first time since 2009. Defensively the Angels have only committed 42 errors which is second in the AL for the fewest errors. Offensively the Angels are tied for first in the American League in on-base percentage (.331), second in hits (798), and runs (426), while they’re third in team batting average at .265.

When you talk about the Angels offense it starts and ends with outfielder Mike Trout. Trout is only in his third Major League season and he has already become the face of the Angels franchise. This season Trout’s .308 batting average is 8th in the AL while his 20 homers and 63 runs batted in are both fifth. For his brief career Trout has a .403 career on-base percentage and he is the running this season to become the first Angels player since Vladimir Guerrero in 2004 to be selected as the American League’s MVP. Trout capped off his stellar first half of the 2014 MLB season by being voted by baseball fans to his third consecutive AL All-Star team.

In Pujols’ first season with the Angels he hit a career low 30 home runs while also failing to go yard in the first month of the season. Last year injuries got the best of Pujols as he only appeared in 99 games. Pujols would only hit 17 home runs with just 64 runs batted in for 2013. This season Pujols has been determined to put his and the Angels disappointments of the past two seasons behind him. This year Pujols has played in 84 of the 87 Angel games. So far this season Pujols has 19 home runs and 55 runs batted in as he is providing some much needed protection for Trout in the Angels lineup.

Like Pujols, Hamilton came into this season looking for a fresh start with the Angels. Hamilton spent the majority of 2013 trying to find his groove at the plate as he finished the season batting .250 with 21 home runs and 79 runs batted in. This was a far cry from Hamilton’s 2012 season with the Texas Rangers where he batted .285 with 43 homers and 128 runs batted in. Hamilton got off to a good start this season as through the first eight games he was batting .444 with 2 home runs and 6 runs batted in. But that changed on April 8 when Hamilton slid head first into first base and suffered a thumb injury which would keep him out of action until June 3. For the season Hamilton is batting .301 with a .459 slugging percentage and he will be vital to the Angels playoff push in the second half of the season.

As far as team earned run average in the AL this season, the Angels are in the middle of the pack, but their starting rotation isn’t just about Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson. Starting pitcher Garrett Richards was a first round pick of the Angels in 2009 and he quickly asserted himself in their system. This season Richards is 10-2 with 119 strikeouts and a 2.71 earned run average.

Since May 9 the Angels are 35-19 and they have the look of a playoff team. But all is not a bed of roses for Scioscia’s club. The Angels bullpen has 12 blown saves this season which led to relief pitcher Ernesto Frieri being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for relief pitcher Jason Grilli who had his own struggles before coming to Southern California. Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto is not resting on his laurels as he recently acquired left-handed relief pitcher Joe Thatcher from the Arizona Diamondbacks. When you’re looking to get into the postseason like the Angels currently are you need as many quality arms in the bullpen as possible. For his eight-year MLB career Thatcher has an earned run average of 3.26 and he also has the ability get out left-handed and right-handed batters.

Last season the Houston Astros were a thorn in the side of the Angels. But this past weekend the Angels completed a four-game series sweep of the Astros. The Angels are finishing up the first half of the season at home against the suddenly slumping Toronto Blue Jays before traveling to take on the struggling Rangers. This is an opportunity for the Halos to continue to get fat in the win column as the second half of the season will be a bit tougher. The Angels will finish the month of July with games against the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, and Detroit Tigers who are all in postseason contention. But this is a step in the right direction for the Angels as at this point last season they were simply a team that was in disarray.

Source: Baseball-reference.com