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

[aznhockeyguy]

Man those are some memorable names.  I would have to say Pujols.  I was excited for Vlad and Colon when Arte signed them both after the disappointing 2003 season, but getting Pujols, an all-time great player to come to the Angels was a coup.  Of course there were warning signs during his last season with the Cardinals, but I thought it was overblown.  Of course, we all know how that signing worked out. 

[Chuck]

9 hours ago, Pheenom07 said:

Mo Vaughn turned quickly into Nooooo Vaughn. 

The Dodgers better hope Ohtani doesn’t break his ankle falling into the dugout. 

[Chuck]

12 hours ago, The Ghost of Bob Starr said:

Reggie. 

 

9 hours ago, RenoHalo said:

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

Reggie doesn’t have any votes tho! 

[Chuck]

I remember visiting my dad in Seattle when I was like 8 years old and the Mariners were playing the New York Yankees. 

I was super stoked to see Reggie. While heading up the ramp to our level Mariners employees were passing out Reggie bars to everyone.

It was Reggie night in the Kingdome. You don’t see that type of promotional stuff for opposing teams players in your own stadium these days. 

While Ohtani will create some buzz from opposing fans, there will never be another one like Reggie. 

[Angels 1961]

January 1972 when my cousin Andy Kosco was traded to Angels

[Chuck]

I totally forgot about Mark Langston. I remember being pumped after we signed him! 

Added to the poll. 

[jsnpritchett]

1 hour ago, Chuck said:

I totally forgot about Mark Langston. I remember being pumped after we traded for him signed him as a free agent! 

Added to the poll. 

 

[Chuck]

2 minutes ago, jsnpritchett said:

 

I meant to say that. Not sure why I said traded for. I think I had the Randy Johnson trade from the Expos to the Mariners for Mark Langston a lifetime ago. 

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

Mo Vaughn

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

9 hours ago, Chuck said:

I remember visiting my dad in Seattle when I was like 8 years old and the Mariners were playing the New York Yankees. 

I was super stoked to see Reggie. While heading up the ramp to our level Mariners employees were passing out Reggie bars to everyone.

It was Reggie night in the Kingdome. You don’t see that type of promotional stuff for opposing teams players in your own stadium these days. 

While Ohtani will create some buzz from opposing fans, there will never be another one like Reggie. 

Amen brother.  Loved Reggie.  We should have won it all in 86. 

[Chuck]

Looks like it's Vlad #1, Shohei #2 and Pujols #3. 

[DCAngelsFan]

At the time, in order (as best as I can remember these):

Vladimir Guerrero - he was such a criminally underrated talent, I was psyched we did it, since it appeared we weren't even trying.

Shohei Ohtani - so pleased he chose us - said maybe the franchise was going in the right direction ...

Rod Carew - I always loved Carew, unconventional and classy, and was happy to see him come over

Fred Lynn - Limited by injuries, he still did well for us.

Torii Hunter - Hunter was always such a pleasure to watch with the Twins and a great personality 

Reggie Jackson - Felt over-the-hill, but I under-estimated him he still had some gas in the tank  And still, he was Reggie so ...

Zack Grienke - thought we gave up too much for him, but ...

Bartolo Colon - between him and Vlad, thought we were building something

Bobby Grich 

Mark Teixeira - never much liked him for some reason, but liked his production.  Hated him again when he left.

Bartolo Colon - between him and Vlad, thought we were building something 

Mo Vaughn 

Dan Haren - just felt like the right deal but at the wrong time

Mark Langston 

Nolan Ryan - my memory is kind of fuzzy, here - we gave up a lot for him (I thought) and he sounded intriguing but no more - he quickly became the most interesting player on the team)

Anthony Rendon - always had bad vibes about him - living near DC, it was clear to me the club had reservations about him, people should've loved him - but they didn't

Albert Pujols - Cardinals fans did a great job of pointing out his quickly declining production before the signing, and I didn't like it.   I figured we'd get 3 or 4 good years out of him, then years of regret- turns out that was optimistic - I knew his contract would cripple the team, and the Cardinals seeming so relieved he declined their offer never set well with me  

Josh Hamilton - Criminal stupidity - weirdly, his stats don't suggest he was a bad player, but I thought he was overrated

Adding:

GMJ - The best thing about the GMJ signing was the discovery that a casual fan like me could still be smarter than a baseball executive 

Vernon Wells - I was livid over this - like GMJ, I was astonished to realize just how stupid a baseball organization could be.  I no longer remember the number, but did a back of the envelope calc that suggested the Blue Jays needed to send us somewhere between $40m and $60m to make that a fair trade. 

(don't really recall my reaction to Frank Robinson)

 

[Chuck]

Blasts from the past when credentialed at major press conferences. 

 

[Stradling]

Alfonso Rivas

[Swordsman78]

On 12/15/2023 at 5:54 AM, Chuck said:

The Dodgers better hope MOhtani doesn’t break his ankle falling into the dugout. 

 

[AngelStew43]

Not a single thought for the Angels first MVP?  Don Baylor was a great Angel, and a great player.  I vote for Don Baylor!

[T.G.]

Ralston Schmidt

[Hufflepuff]

How is Zack Cozart not on this list?

[Taylor]

Alex Ochoa

[Tank]

On 12/29/2023 at 11:11 AM, DCAngelsFan said:

GMJ - The best thing about the GMJ signing was the discovery that a casual fan like me could still be smarter than a baseball executive 

LOL. you nailed it.

i think many of us here felt the same way.

[Redondo]

21 minutes ago, Tank said:

LOL. you nailed it.

i think many of us here felt the same way.

Same with Wells 

I can't remember anyone liking that move

[Tank]

47 minutes ago, Redondo said:

Same with Wells 

I can't remember anyone liking that move

what made that one even worse was the financial part of it. just off the top of my head, i remember that he was owed something like 95 mil or 100 mil and toronto sent us a whopping 5 mil. (or something to that effect). It was an awful deal for multiple reasons.

oh, and then wells doubled down and played awful in anaheim. just a brutal deal all around.

[notherhalo]

Im thinking that with Texiera, we we closest to our peak and on the way up at a time when there wasnt tough competition

We already sucked with Pujols, Hamilton, Shohei, etc

[Angelsjunky]

I don't see an option for Zach Plesac.

[Stradling]

3 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

I don't see an option for Zach Plesac.

He has two option years.  Idiot.