What player acquisition had you most excited (when you first heard the announcement)

[Angelsfan1984]

1 minute ago, Hubs said:

Everyone keeps saying $80, but GMJ Signed for 5/50.

so $50M catch.

I originally said 80 because i'm an uninformed idoit that doesnt like to google. We've all learned a lesson here today...this is how fake news operates in the deep state.

[REDneck]

I took a train across country to Tempe for Spring training when they signed Pujols...so Pujols!

Edit: I actually took the train to Reno to visit moms and then drove to Tempe.

Great trip!

 

Edited December 14, 2023 by REDneck

[ten ocho recon scout]

I'm usually an Angels fan for guys I "like", but every now and then I man crush on someone from another team 

At the time that was Vlad and Nomar.

So getting Vlad was and still is my fave.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

For me it was Guerrero followed by Hunter. I was glad to get Pujols, but I was very concerned about the length of the deal. Getting C.J. Wilson and Josh Hamilton seemed like we were gutting the Rangers, and their fans were not pleased. That turned out well.

[Pancake Bear]

Ohtani. Getting someone his age and talent level was like winning the lottery. I was over the moon when he picked us. Pujols was a close second, but I was slightly nervous about the length of the deal. Never expected it to go bad so fast, though. 

[ten ocho recon scout]

5 minutes ago, Vegas Halo Fan said:

I was glad to get Pujols, but I was very concerned about the length of the deal. 

I vividly remember being at work the night before, listening to all the buildup that we were getting him. Telling my dodger fan partner and him calling bullshit.

The suspense was killing me. And I remember going to sleep the night before and the rumors were like 7/200. And I was like "man, that's risky and expensive... but hey, it's albert pujols"

Then I woke up the next day, instantly checked my phone. Saw we got him!

"Yesssss! This is amazing!"

 

... then I saw the 10/250 and was kind of stunned... like...  "ohhh shit ..."

But like everyone else, I knew we'd get like 5 vintage pujols years, 3 dropping off years, and maybe 2 bad ones.

 

Cough 

[Erstad Grit]

33 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

I vividly remember being at work the night before, listening to all the buildup that we were getting him. Telling my dodger fan partner and him calling bullshit.

The suspense was killing me. And I remember going to sleep the night before and the rumors were like 7/200. And I was like "man, that's risky and expensive... but hey, it's albert pujols"

Then I woke up the next day, instantly checked my phone. Saw we got him!

"Yesssss! This is amazing!"

 

... then I saw the 10/250 and was kind of stunned... like...  "ohhh shit ..."

But like everyone else, I knew we'd get like 5 vintage pujols years, 3 dropping off years, and maybe 2 bad ones.

 

Cough 

Yes this exactly

Any angel fan who says they had zero excitement is lying.

Personally I wanted Prince Fielder (that turned out even worse?), but even an aging and declining Pujols felt like we had our David Ortiz. 

What a mess. 

[Torridd]

I want to say Guerrero but I can't honestly remember.

[ettin]

Getting Shohei was incredible, but my close 2nd and 3rd were Vlad and Pujols (I even wrote my first AW.com article about the latter).

[CaliAngel]

Just for funzees I wanted to see how many games Albert Pujols' batting average was above .300 in an Angel Jersey.

9 games. There were only 9 games over the course of 9.5 years that his batting average was above .300 (which at the time of signing his career average was over .300) and it just speaks to the disappointment he was with the Halos. *shakes head* such a goddamn shame.  

2012-0
2013-7
2014-1
2015-0
2016-0
2017-0
2018-1
2019-0
2020-0
2021-0

[AngelStew43]

Thanksgiving week, 1976.  We signed Joe Rudi, then Don Baylor.  I thought Gene Autry was tapped out, but two days later, he signed Bobby Grich.  Man, I was absolutely stoked.

[3pitchwalk]

ohtani, simba, pujols in that order.

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

Reggie. 

[Chuck]

Big bad Vladdy in the lead! 

[HaloBronco]

So many good choices especially the older ones.

For me I’d have to say Rod Carew.

My grandparents are from Minnesota and my grandfather was a huge Twins fan so when Carew came to the Angels that became my team.

[ScottT]

Mo Vaughn, Pujols, and Vlad

[Chuck]

12 minutes ago, ScottT said:

Mo Vaughn, Pujols, and Vlad

Mo Vaughn was up there for me too. 

Remember we rolled to ST with my old girlfriend. Seems like a lifetime ago @ScottT

[HaloBronco]

Great thread.

[Stradling]

Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling

[RenoHalo]

12 hours ago, Chuck said:

Reggie Jackson was another one, but I was 12 years old when we got him. 

Still, I was a HUGE Reggie fan and loved the Yankees growing up.

This was mine. The SI cover afterwards with the caption “Hark the Heralded Angel Swings” was incredible 

[Jay]

I thought Pujols was going to help the Angels a lot. Yeah the length of the deal was questionable but who cares, the guy was the MVP in 2009, runner-up in 2010, future HOF, what's not to like.

Angels had decent teams 2012-2014, just didn't happen.

I remember being on the field on Opening Day 2012 doing the flag thing and all that stuff. One of the AW guys got me in to do that. It was fun and Albert was introduced to the fans, it was pretty cool. Trout was still in AAA.

Looking forward to the next big splash.

Edited December 15, 2023 by Jay

[Pheenom07]

Mo Vaughn turned quickly into Nooooo Vaughn. 

[Tank]

vlad, and by quite a bit. it was most surprising because there wasn't a lot of chatter about him beforehand coming to the angels, so it was pretty out of the blue.

with reggie and carew, rumors and negotiating circulated pretty intensely for about a week or two before they arrived, so it wasn't a complete surprise.

vaughn and hunter were both pretty exciting, too.

ryan may have been the least interesting because at the time, no one really knew much about him. it was more about how we lost fregosi, our franchise player, for a young reliever none of us knew about who was supposed to pretty wild. 

[ScottT]

52 minutes ago, Chuck said:

Mo Vaughn was up there for me too. 

Remember we rolled to ST with my old girlfriend. Seems like a lifetime ago @ScottT

Nah.  I don't.

I remember going down the bus tunnel to get his autograph at the big a though. Such a rebel.

We old.

[ScottT]

I was excited to get Ohtani, but it was a big unknown.