Best Angels Single-Season Player Milestone

[Chuck]

We did career milestones a couple weeks ago which had Reggie's 500th, Pujols' 600th, Carew's 3000th hit and Sutton's 300th win, but now let's focus on best single season Angels accomplishment all-time.

I've added some really good seasons by Angels players over the years, so tough choices.

Vote! 

[T.G.]

I voted for Nolan Ryan's 383 K's. I don't think that record will ever be touched.

I think K-Rod's single season save record should be listed as well.

[NJHalo]

You left off Anthony Rendon 2021, where he actually made it through 1/3 of the season

[Chuck]

5 minutes ago, NJHalo said:

You left off Anthony Rendon 2021, where he actually made it through 1/3 of the season

Oooops, my bad.  

[Chuck]

7 minutes ago, T.G. said:

I voted for Nolan Ryan's 383 K's. I don't think that record will ever be touched.

I think K-Rod's single season save record should be listed as well.

I added K-Rod's single season save record to the poll. 

[Chuck]

9 minutes ago, T.G. said:

I voted for Nolan Ryan's 383 K's. I don't think that record will ever be touched.

Yeah, that is definitely a record that will never be broken but there's an argument for an every day player that hits and plays the field and puts up the numbers that Trout, Vlad, Shohei Ohtani (and he pitched and hit) over toeing the rubber every 5 days to set a record. 

I'd argue that there are seasons by Trout and Ohtani, maybe Erstad that will never be touched. 

[Chuck]

I added Dean Chance's 1964 Cy Young season. What a remarkable campaign. 

[Angel Oracle]

22 minutes ago, Chuck said:

I added Dean Chance's 1964 Cy Young season. What a remarkable campaign. 

And that was back when only one Cy Young award existed for all of MLB.

[Roy Hobbs]

I voted for Ryan's 383 K season, back then Nolan was the only reason to go to the games. I went with a friend of mine to every home start for Ryan,so it seems more personel for me. Ryan also picked up a save that year pitching 2 innings and striking out 4,which in the end pushed him past Koufax.The fact he passed a Dodger was the cherry on top and as always F the Dodgers.

[Dgar24]

1 minute ago, Roy Hobbs said:

I voted for Ryan's 383 K season, back then Nolan was the only reason to go to the games. I went with a friend of mine to every home start for Ryan,so it seems more personel for me. Ryan also picked up a save that year pitching 2 innings and striking out 4,which in the end pushed him past Koufax.The fact he passed a Dodger was the cherry on top and as always F the Dodgers.

Let’s not forget 26 complete games. I wonder the last time a team had 26 complete games.

[Roy Hobbs]

18 minutes ago, Dgar24 said:

Let’s not forget 26 complete games. I wonder the last time a team had 26 complete games.

For sure and with all that Ryan was 2nd for the Cy Young Award.I still hold it against Jim Palmer.

[Chuck]

I'm going to add some historical context to some of these options here to vote on for reference from our Top-50 Greatest Moments feature. 

#9 - 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019: Mike Trout's MVPs

Starting with the day Mike Trout was drafted to all of his accolades in the minors to his dominance of MLB, Angels fans knew it was only a matter of time until he was the AL MVP. In 2012 his first full season he put on a dynamic display of power, speed, and athleticism leading the league in stolen bases, runs, OPS+ and making catches in center field that no human should ever be capable of. In 2013 he did more of the same, leading the league in walks and for the second year in a row, in runs scored, stepping up his OPS to .988 and OPS+ to 179. Both years he finished second in MVP voting to Miguel Cabrera, who might be a statue in the field but offensively he was mashing the ball including the first triple crown in decades. If you are a believer in WAR and sabermetrics, Mike Trout deserved the MVP both years but if you believe in the old school stats they favored Miguel Cabrera and it didn’t help that the Angels failed to make the playoffs both years.

In 2014 it was a different story. After hitting a single in his first at-bat of the 2012 All Star Game and a double in his first at-bat of the 2013 All Star Game, he hit a triple in his first at-bat of the 2014 All Star Game and ended up adding a double and a walk to go 2-3 with a run scored, two RBI and his first MVP, the all-star variety. He wasn’t finished though leading the league in RBI and for the third straight year runs scored and WAR, slugging the Angels to the best record in baseball and his first playoff series. The conversation was no longer about WAR vs old school, there was no doubt he would be the MVP and on November 13th 2014 it was announced that he was unanimously selected as the AL MVP, the sixth player ever to win both the ASG and league MVP in the same season and the fifth-youngest player ever to win the MVP.

His first at-bat of the 2015 All Star Game was a home run to right field that few players in baseball could hit, finishing off the first at-bat of the ASG cycle. He was the fourth player ever to lead off the ASG with a home run and he finished the game 1-3 with an RBI and two runs scored and became the first player ever to win back to back All Star Game MVPs. Unfortunately the rest of 2015 ended with a familiar story, there was another catch and even though he lead the league in slugging, OPS and once again, WAR, the Angels missed the playoffs and Josh Donaldson had an equally impressive season playing for a playoff bound team, leaving Trout the MVP runner-up for the third time in four seasons.

Some baseball writers and pundits would tell you that there is such a thing as “Trout Fatigue.” That he is so consistently good, and makes it look so easy, that baseball fans and experts take him for granted. I believe it to be true so to claim another MVP award on a team that quite frankly stunk would be a huge accomplishment. As the 2016 season wound down the usual conversation was going on, stop me if you have heard this before… Trout lead the league in WAR, runs, OPS+, OBP, second in OPS, and the list goes on, but he was on a team that was not ever close to the playoff race, and the young Mookie Betts of the hated Chowds seemed to be the favorite to win the award, he had an excellent season and he played for one of the best teams in baseball. Also in the conversation was Jose Altuve, a lovable short guy (seriously, who doesn’t love a short guy) that played for a team that just missed the playoffs and lead the league in average and hits while playing excellent defense. Fortunately, the Trout Fatigue was overcome and once again Mike Trout was rightfully recognized as the best player in the AL with his second MVP award.

In 2019 Mike Trout became just the 11th player to win three Most Valuable Player Awards, beating out Houston’s Alex Bregman and Oakland’s Marcus Semien for the 2019 American League MVP Award. Trout, who previously received the honor in 2014 and '16, is now tied for the second-most MVP Awards in history, trailing only Barry Bonds' seven. Trout received 17 first-place votes, compared to 13 for Bregman, beating him out by a 20-point margin, 355 to 335. The center fielder has finished in the top two in AL MVP balloting in seven of the last eight years, with his worst finish coming when he came in fourth in 2017.

Trout called the 2019 season his best offensively, which saw him hit a career-high 45 homers while leading MLB in on-base percentage and leading the AL in slugging percentage (second in MLB behind Christian Yelich). Trout, 28, hit .291/.438/.645 with 104 RBIs, 110 runs and 11 stolen bases in 134 games.

As Angels fans, it really is great to be able to watch the best player in baseball do his thing day in and day out.

[Chuck]

#40 - Aug. 18, 2000: Erstad is 'incredible'

Few who are familiar with recent Angels history would be surprised that the man at the center of the team’s most memorable comeback of the 2000 season was Darin Erstad. Even though his teammates were hitting home runs at a record pace, there was never any question about who was that season’s MVP.

And no game better illustrated the magic of that year than this shocker in the Bronx.

Early on, it was like so many Angels/Yankees games of the past, with the Angels scoring one run and the Yankees answering with two. And two more. And two more. After the sixth inning, New York led, 8-3, and Roger Clemens found his groove, retiring the Angels in order in the seventh and eighth.

And though he’d already thrown 119 pitches, Clemens came out for the ninth. Singles by Troy Glaus and Bengie Molina sent him to the showers, however, and reliever Jeff Nelson was summoned to quell this minor uprising. Nelson retired Adam Kennedy on a flyout, but walked Kevin Stocker to load the bases, convincing Joe Torre to go to his bullpen ace, Mariano Rivera. And when Erstad hit into a fielder’s choice at third, the Angels gained a run, but were now down to their last out against the game’s premier closer.

But then the Angels grabbed a bit of that Yankee Stadium “mystique and aura” for themselves when Orlando Palmeiro laced a double into right field to score Stocker and cut the Yankees lead to 8-5. Two pitches later, Mo Vaughn launched an 0-1 Rivera cutter into the upper deck in right field, tying the game and bringing the Angels all the way back from an 8-3 ninth inning deficit.

“Until the game is over, you keep battling,” Erstad said. “How many times are you going to see that kind of comeback in your career, against one of the best pitchers ever and one of the best closers in the game? That’s why we play until the last out.”

The Yankees didn’t quit, either, and appeared poised to snatch back the victory in the bottom of the tenth when pinch runner Luis Polonia reached third with two outs and Derek Jeter was intentionally walked in favor of Jorge Posada. Posada smashed a drive into the left-center gap that had walk-off written all over it. Somehow, Erstad, motoring from over near the left field line, managed to get close enough to make a full-extension dive on the ball already past him, reaching out and hauling it in before crashing violently onto the outfield grass.

“I thought it split the gap when he hit it,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “All I can say is incredible.”

Many Yankees had already spilled out of the dugout to celebrate, most then lingering in amazement that they had not just won the game.

“I thought the game was over,” Clemens said. “That was one of the top three catches I’ve seen in my years in the game.”

Instead the Angels players were the ones celebrating, greeting Erstad in foul territory and mobbing him in the dugout.

“They wouldn’t leave me alone, and I’m like, ‘I’ve got to go hit, leave me alone,'” Erstad said.

Due up second in the eleventh, the Erstad Show was primed for an encore. After Stocker’s failed bunt attempt, Erstad lofted a Mike Stanton offering high into right field and just over the fence to give the Angels a 9-8 lead. The Yankees went 1-2-3 in the bottom half and the Angels won a game they twice seemed sure to lose.

“Posada smoked that ball,” Erstad said of his catch in the tenth. “It was just one of those things. You just react and let your ability take over.”

Whether it was ability, luck, grit or some combination of all three, Erstad’s 2000 season is arguably the greatest offensive (and defensive) performance in franchise history. He batted .355 with 240 hits (No. 13 all-time), 121 runs scored, 39 doubles, six triples, 25 home runs, 28 stolen bases and an unprecedented 100 RBI, all from the leadoff spot, the first player ever to reach the century mark from the top of the order.

He was eighth in the A.L. MVP voting and won a Silver Slugger award.

In a word, Erstad in 2000 was incredible.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA200008180.shtml

[Chuck]

#27 - 1979: Baylor wins A.L. MVP

At some point during the 1979 Angels season, a new statistic was born. Though the abbreviation RBI has traditionally stood for “runs batted in,” Angels cleanup hitter Don Baylor redefined it to mean “runs Baylored in.”

The outfielder/DH, acquired as a free agent prior to the 1977 season, was so adept at producing in the clutch during the Angels first division championship season that radio play-by-play man Dick Enberg coined the new phrase. And he used it a lot.

Baylor batted .296 with 36 home runs and a still franchise best 139 RBI, netting him 20 of a possible 28 first place votes for the American League MVP award. For good measure, Baylor also scored 120 runs, which like his RBI total also led the league.

Baylor got off to blazing start, driving in a then league record 28 runs in April, and never cooled off. On April 21, he belted a grand slam during the Angels 13-1 victory over the Athletics. On May 15, Baylor beat the Brewers with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth to break a 1-1 tie.

On August 8, Baylor was already sitting at 98 RBI and hit the century mark in style, connecting in the third inning off the Athletics’ Matt Keough for a two-run shot for Nos. 99 and 100. Baylor went 4-for-5 with that home run, a double and later added an RBI-single for RBI No. 101.

But the man they called Groove was hardly satisfied with that. On Aug. 25, Baylor had one of the best single days in Angels history against Toronto, as the Angels blistered the Blue Jays, 24-2. Baylor belted two home runs and drove in a career-high eight runs.

It was simply one of those seasons where everything fell into place.

“Everyday I went to the park, I knew I’d get two or three hits and some RBI,” Baylor recalled. “In mid-December, I started jogging 2 1/2 to 3 miles a day, so I’d be in the best shape ever. In 1978 I hit 34 home runs and 99 RBI, and I was really longing for that 100th. After April, I had (nearly) 30, and I knew I was on a roll.”

In addition to leading the league in RBI and runs scored, Baylor also led (or tied for the lead) the Angels in home runs, triples (5), doubles (33) and stolen bases (22). He played in all 162 games and, perhaps most amazingly, struck out only 51 times in 628 at-bats.

For the Angels in 1979, Baylor was without question their MVP: Most Valuable Producer.

[Chuck]

#26 - 1964: Dean Chance wins Cy Young Award

Of all the compliments one could pay to Dean Chance’s incredible 1964 season and subsequent awarding of the Cy Young Award, perhaps the highest praise is this: he beat Sandy Koufax.

The Dodgers Hall of Fame lefthander, during arguably the most dominant four-season stretch in Major League history, took home three Cy Young Awards. Chance’s brilliance in 1964, however, prevented Koufax from winning four. (Only one winner was named for all of MLB prior to the 1967 season.) And he did so pitching half his games from the same Chavez Ravine mound as Koufax.

Wilmer Dean Chance came to the Angels in the 1960 expansion draft after spending two seasons in the Baltimore Orioles organization, and made his major league debut late in the 1961 season. Following a strong rookie season in 1962 (14-10, 2.96 ERA), Chance had a sophomore slump, slipping to 13-18 in 1963, despite a respectable 3.19 ERA.

At the All-Star break in 1964, Chance was again a victim of awful run support and sported a mediocre 5-5 record. His 2.19 ERA, however, was good enough to earn him the All-Star Game start, during which he pitched three scoreless innings.

The honor seemed to inspire Chance and the 23 year old took matters into his own hands in the second half. He won nine straight games from July 11 through Aug. 18 – six of them shutouts, and four of those by a 1-0 score. During the streak, Chance allowed only seven earned runs in 79 innings (0.80 ERA).
His brilliance was perhaps best illustrated by his complete and utter dominance of the New York Yankees.

Chance pitched five games against the Bronx Bombers, posting a 4-0 record. But here’s where things just get silly: In 50 innings of work against New York, Chance allowed one run. And it came on a solo home run by Mickey Mantle, who called Chance the toughest pitcher he ever faced.

When all was said and done, Chance was 20-9 with a 1.65 ERA, the 70th lowest ERA in Major League history and No. 7 all-time in the modern era. He threw 11 shutouts, five of them by a 1-0 score. (He also lost four games, 1-0.)

Of the 278 1/3 innings Chance pitched in 1964, opponents crossed the plate in only 35 of them. The other 243 1/3 were scoreless.

In 47 years of franchise history, the Angels have had many pitchers carry the label of staff ace – some even legitimately deserving. But only one can claim a season as the best pitcher in all of baseball. That man is Dean Chance in 1964.

[Chuck]

#19 - 2012: Trout’s Rookie Season for the Ages

Of all the superlatives that can be lavished upon Mike Trout’s rookie season, perhaps the simplest and most appropriate is “unprecedented,” because no rookie in Major League history reached the statistical heights Trout achieved. For that matter, no second-, third- or even 20th-year player did so, either.

And he did it all as a 20-year-old.

.326/.399/.594, 129 runs, 27 2B, 8 3B, 30 HR, 83 RBI, 49 SB

Trout led the American League in runs scored and stolen bases and finished second in batting average, despite starting the year at AAA Salt Lake and missing the first 20 Major League games. As for “unprecedented,” no player in Major League Baseball’s 141 years had ever surpassed 125 runs, 30 home runs and 45 stolen bases in the same season. Not one. Furthermore, he became the youngest player in history to record a 30 HR-30 SB season and the first rookie to combine 30 HR and 40 SB. Only two rookies scored more runs: Joe DiMaggio (132 in 1936) and Ted Williams (131 in 1939).

He was named an American League All-Star, American League Rookie of the Year, won a Silver Slugger and finished second in the American League MVP balloting to Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera.

And, oh, all of those gravity-defying catches…

After making his celebrated, but far-from-polished big league debut as a 19-year-old in 2011 (batting just .220 and coming within a couple plate appearances of qualifying as a rookie), Trout was no sure bet to make the Angels 2012 roster out of spring training, especially not with an outfield/DH picture crowded by big contracts (Albert Pujols, Torii Hunter, Vernon Wells), big emergences (Mark Trumbo, Peter Bourjos) and big question marks (Kendrys Morales). When Trout missed almost all of the spring with an energy-sapping illness, his fate was sealed — he would start the season in the minors.

While the “Millville Meteor” was batting .403/.467/.623 for the Bees, the Angels were woefully matching the franchise’s worst start (6-14) and falling nine games behind the Rangers for the division lead. In the midst of a five-game losing streak, the Angels recalled Trout on April 28 with the team in Cleveland. He went 0-4 from the leadoff spot, but the Angels won, 2-1.

With Trout setting the table, the Angels fortunes quickly turned. The team went 18-11 in May and climbed back to .500 for the first time since the season’s fourth game. Trout batted .324/.385/.556, but continued to fly under the radar of a baseball world that seemed preoccupied by Nationals rookie Bryce Harper. He was even better in June, posting a .372/.419/.531 line and helping the Angels to a 17-9 record in the month to pull within 4.5 games of the division-leading Rangers.

It was what he did on June 27 in Baltimore, however, that finally made the baseball world truly sit up and take notice. With his family and friends watching at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Trout made an unbelievable leaping catch in center field to rob shortstop J.J. Hardy of a first-inning home run. The catch was replayed for weeks and when people started to look at what he was doing with his bat and on the bases, as well, the youngster was not only a lock for the All-Star game, but suddenly in the discussion for AL MVP.

In July, Trout moved from “discussion” to “front runner,” posting an astounding .392/.455/.804 line. Comparisons to baseball’s immortals — DiMaggio, Williams, Mays, Mantle, even Ruth — became commonplace as statistical projections started to paint a picture of accomplishments matched only by the greatest of all-time — or no one in some cases.

Though he “slumped” to .287/.383/.500 from Aug. 1 on, and the Angels were ultimately unable to keep up with the Rangers and surprise division-winning Athletics, Trout made three more remarkable HR-robbing catches and sold more merchandise in the Angels team store than Pujols and all of his teammates combined.

At 10.7, he led the Major Leagues in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), a “new-age” unit of measure that combines all conceivable statistical information — offense, defense and baserunning — into the number of victories a player is worth over a league-average alternative. Only three players in history posted a higher WAR before the age of 25: Ruth (11.6 in 1920), Gehrig (11.5 in 1927) and Mantle (11.1 in 1957 and 11.0 in 1956). His season ranks 20th all-time and every player ahead of Trout (Ruth, Hornsby, Yastrzemski, Bonds*, Gehrig, Ripken, Wagner, Cobb, Mantle, Mays, Morgan, Musial and Williams) is in the Hall of Fame.

For Angels fans, it was a rookie campaign for the ages, only the franchise’s second ROY (Salmon, 1993) and left just one question: What will he do for an encore?

[Chuck]

#17 -Sept. 27, 1973: Ryan strikes out 383 to pass Koufax

Heading into his final start of the 1973 season, Nolan Ryan had already accomplished more than most pitchers these days can claim in two or three seasons.

38 starts. 25 complete games. Four shutouts. 20 victories. 22 games with 10 or more strikeouts. Heck, he even recorded a save, pitching the final two innings a day after the shortest start of his career (0.1 inning) to secure an Angels 6-5 victory on May 12.

And, oh yeah, he also tossed two no-hitters, on May 15 and July 15.

With all of that already under his belt, it seems almost absurd that Ryan saved his best for last. You see, while he was ringing up all of those strikeouts, they were adding up to something potentially very special.

During his first five September starts (all complete game victories), Ryan struck out 53 batters, giving him 367 strikeouts for the year – 15 shy of Sandy Koufax’s Major League record 382 in 1965.

Nursing a torn calf muscle, Ryan took the Anaheim Stadium mound in front of just 9,100 fans looking to make history one more time in 1973. When the Twins immediately jumped out to a 3-0 first inning lead, it didn’t seem likely he’d stick around long enough to collect the requisite strikeouts – though he did fan the side in the inning.

The Angels answered with three in the bottom of the first and Ryan had new life. Through five innings, he had 11 strikeouts and the Angels led, 4-3. In the sixth, the Twins pushed across the tying run, which would prove fortuitous for Ryan later in the night.

In the seventh, he again struck out the side, giving him 14 strikeouts, one shy of tying Koufax. But he’d also walked six batters, allowed seven hits and was piling up a lot of pitches on an aching leg. In the eighth, Ryan struck out Steve Brye to end the inning, tying Koufax with No. 382.

After nine innings, the game remained tied, 4-4, with Ryan stalled at 15 punchouts. And when he pitched a scoreless 10th, sandwiching a fly ball between two groundouts, fans wondered if he had enough left for one more inning.

With reliever Steve Barber warming in the bullpen, the Angels went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning. Announcer Dick Enberg made the call.

“The crowd is standing in anticipation, watching the bullpen gate,” Enberg said, pausing in his own anticipation. “And here he comes!”

Ryan jumped ahead of Brye, 1-2, but the center fielder grounded out to short. Ryan’s body language couldn’t disguise his fatigue or his frustration.

“Ryan now is like the heavyweight fighter with a knockout punch that has gone so many rounds that he has his opponent staggering and staggering but doesn’t have enough left to deliver that one blow that will knock him to the canvas and put him away,” Enberg said. “He’s getting the two strikes on hitters, but can’t get the third.”

Next up was Rod Carew, who struck out only 55 times in 1973, though three of them came earlier in this game. Carew drew a walk, Ryan’s seventh of the game, bringing manager Bobby Winkles to the mound. The crowd bristled, but Enberg was unfazed.

“He is going to let Nolan Ryan pitch as long as he wants,” Enberg said.

During Tony Oliva’s at-bat, Carew broke for second, drawing a throw – and a gasp from the crowd, which did not him to be thrown out, thus robbing Ryan of an opportunity for the 16th strikeout. Carew was safe. Oliva, however, flew out to center field, bringing up light hitting Rich Reese, who’d pinch run for Harmon Killebrew in the ninth.

“You can feel through the crowd a vibration saying, ‘Maybe this is the guy,’ ” Enberg said.

Reese swung and missed at Ryan’s first two pitches, another two-strike opportunity for the right-hander. On Ryan’s 0-2 pitch…

“Swung on and missed! Nolan Ryan is the Major League strikeout king of all time! He walks off the mound, his teammates come over to greet him one by one, the fans stand cheering.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have seen one of the finest young men to ever wear a baseball uniform record one of the most incredible records in Major League history. Three hundred and eighty-three for Nolan Ryan!

“Fans are shaking hands with each other as if they’re all part of this great night, as if to say, ‘Yes, we saw it. We saw it all.’ ”

With their ace now the strikeout king, the Angels rewarded Ryan with the victory when pinch hitter Richie Scheinblum doubled home Tommy McCraw with the game-winner in the bottom of the 11th.

Ryan finished 1973 with a 21-16 record, 2.87 ERA and finished second in Cy Young Award voting to Jim Palmer. But it was the last pitch he threw that season that remains his most memorable.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CAL/CAL197309270.shtml

[Chuck]

#16 - Nov 18th, 2021: Shohei Ohtani Unanimously Named 2021 AL MVP

Shohei Ohtani’s 2021 season was one of the most eye-popping and extraordinary achievements in MLB history.
 
Period.
 
He became the Angels’ fourth MVP award winner (joining Don Baylor 1979, Vladimir Guerrero 2004, and Mike Trout 2014, 2016, 2019) and the 19th unanimous MVP in MLB history (and the first unanimous AL MVP since teammate Mike Trout accomplished the honor in 2014).
 
Hyperbole does not exist when describing his exploits on the diamond in 2021.  He was among baseball’s elite with a bat.  He was also among baseballs best when he toed the rubber on the mound.  Shohei’s toolset is unprecedented.  In the 2021 season he became the first player in MLB history to record 10+ HR as a hitter and 100+ strikeouts as a pitcher in the same season.  And he crushed those numbers, amassing 46 HR and 156 Strikeouts.  That’s right – no player in the game’s history has ever been a close second.
 
With injury and a pandemic truncating his first three years in the show, Shohei wouldn’t be denied in 2021 as he unveiled the entire package in videogame fashion. The records and “firsts” piled up at a staggering rate. 
 
He did everything. Shohei exposed the game’s best “five-tool” players as significantly lacking tools.  Yes, he could run, hit for average, hit for power, play exceptional defense... but he could also pitch.... brilliantly... with a 100+mph fastball / splitter combo the likes of which the game has never seen (all due respect to George Herman Ruth).
 
He was the first player ever voted to the All Star Game as a hitter and as the starting pitcher.  That season MLB fans and Angel fans alike had a front row seat to witness his greatness as he seemingly grabbed record-breaking headlines every night.  By the All Star break that year many of his peers had already conceded his greatness as peerless – and there was a groundswell of sentiment that no one could ever reasonably be considered for MVP if Shohei could routinely come close to his 2021 performance.  Tough to argue that point.
 
With the best player on the planet (Mike Trout) lauding his accomplishments with the highest praise, you know you’re witnessing something special:
 
 “Shohei’s season was nothing short of electric. At times, I felt like I was back in Little League. To watch a player throw eight innings, hit a home run, steal a base and then go play right field was incredible.”
 
All he did as a hitter was become the first player in MLB history to amass 45+ HR, 25+ SB, and 5+ triples in a season – which is a testament to his ultra-elite combination of speed and power.  And he led all of baseball with a 9.1 bWAR – nearly two better than second place finisher (Marcus Semien 7.3). He bested all of baseball with 25 homeruns with a 110+ MPH exit velocity.  But it didn’t stop there – he raised his game when his team needed him. Shohei led the American League with a .479 OBP, .686 SLG and 1.165 OPS with runners in scoring position. Suffice it to say – Shohei raked in 2021.  
 
To put his season as a hitter into historical perspective: Shohei became just the sixth player in American League history with 45+ HR and 8+ triples in a season, joining Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx and Jim Rice.  And the 46 HR from the 27-year-old also established international primacy as he established the new single season HR record by a Japanese-born player (eclipsing the 31 HR total from countryman Hideki Matsui in 2004).
 
His exploits with the bat alone could have easily garnered him the 2021 MVP... but that’s only half of his game...

[HBAngel13]

Would be interested in the WAR totals for each milestone. Won’t be exactly apples to apples to compare pitchers to everyday players but curious on the context.  

 

[Chuck]

26 minutes ago, HBAngel13 said:

Would be interested in the WAR totals for each milestone. Won’t be exactly apples to apples to compare pitchers to everyday players but curious on the context.  

I added the WAR totals for all candidates. 

Vlad and Baylor's MVP seasons were much lower than I thought they'd be. They got knocked for defensive metrics used to compile WAR totals.

In Mike Trout's non-MVP seasons of 2013 (8.9), 2015 (9.6) and 2018 (9.9) he had a higher WAR than his 2019 MVP season (7.9). 

[Tank]

i voted for ryan's '73 season.

he was overpowering. when he took the hill, you had no idea what you were going to see. when he pitched his first no-hitter, it made all of us think that every single game could be another no-no, and suddenly there were thoughts of demolishing vander meer's two consecutive no-hitter streak. 

every start from then on was electric. being in the ballpark on nights he pitched was just flat out something different. he got screwed out of a cy young because voters felt he had too many losses. idiots.

[Chuck]

23 minutes ago, Tank said:

i voted for ryan's '73 season.

he was overpowering. when he took the hill, you had no idea what you were going to see. when he pitched his first no-hitter, it made all of us think that every single game could be another no-no, and suddenly there were thoughts of demolishing vander meer's two consecutive no-hitter streak. 

every start from then on was electric. being in the ballpark on nights he pitched was just flat out something different. he got screwed out of a cy young because voters felt he had too many losses. idiots.

Ryan's first no-no

#20 - May 15, 1973: Nolan Ryan throws his first no-hitter

When Nolan Ryan stepped on the mount at Royals Stadium on May 15, 1973, none of the 12,205 in attendance could have had any clue they were about to witness history. Ryan, after all, was coming off a terrible start in which he gave up five runs to the White Sox, failing to get out of the first inning (0.1 IP, 4 H, 5 ER).

His next start, however, could not have been any different. On this night, Ryan was special, recording the first of his seven career no-hitters.

Before he threw his first pitch, Ryan’s teammates had already staked him to a 2-0 lead. He then started off his night by striking out the side in the bottom of the first. Ryan would strike out at least one Royals hitter per inning, save for the fifth, fanning a dozen altogether.

Ryan, who despite his strikeout dominance, was always capable of painting himself into a corner with bases on balls, avoided trouble all night, spreading his three walks out over the first, third and eighth innings. In fact, Ryan was so overpowering that third baseman Al Gallagher, left fielder Vada Pinson and shortstop Rudy Meoli fielded only two balls between the three of them, both by Meoli.

With the Angels leading, 3-0, Ryan faced the top of the Kansas City order in the ninth. Shortstop Freddie Patek fouled out to first and right fielder Steve Hovley struck out. That brought outfielder Amos Otis to the plate. Angels announcer Don Drysdale made the call:

“The one strike pitch, high fly ball, this could do it. Barry going back, to the warning track, to the wall, MAKES THE CATCH! … Nolan Ryan has pitched his first no-hitter of his career!”

Telling that Drysdale specifically called it Ryan’s first, as if it was inevitable there would be others – which of course, there would be.

“From the sixth inning on, I was given a lot of space in the dugout.” Ryan said after the game, “The Angels believed in the old saying: Don’t bother a pitcher who’s got the no-hitter going. Don’t even talk to him.”

Ryan became the first Angels right-hander to throw a no-hitter and it was the first no-hitter thrown at Royals Stadium, which had only opened the previous month.

“I never honestly felt I was the type of pitcher to pitch a no-hitter,” Ryan said. “My curveball isn’t overpowering and after you’ve gone through the lineup once or twice, the hitters can get on the fastball better. A lot of that is timing. I don’t have the type of fastball that really moves. A lot of guys have that explosive type of fastball that really moves. Also, I jam the hitters a lot so the really strong guys can bloop it over the infield for singles.”

One wonders if you’d have told him then he’d throw six more, would he have believed it?

Nolan Ryan no-hitter trivia: Angels second baseman Sandy Alomar made the first out of this game. 18 years later, his son Roberto Alomar struck out to end Ryan’s seventh no-hitter.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/KCA/KCA197305150.shtml

[Roy Hobbs]

25 minutes ago, Tank said:

i voted for ryan's '73 season.

he was overpowering. when he took the hill, you had no idea what you were going to see. when he pitched his first no-hitter, it made all of us think that every single game could be another no-no, and suddenly there were thoughts of demolishing vander meer's two consecutive no-hitter streak. 

every start from then on was electric. being in the ballpark on nights he pitched was just flat out something different. he got screwed out of a cy young because voters felt he had too many losses. idiots.

Electric is spot on,we would go watch him warm up in the bullpen and you could hear the seams on the baseball cutting through the air.The pop of the catchers mitt was so loud you could almost hear it in the whole stadium.There were plenty of games when he pitched that there was less than 10,000 people at the game.

[Chuck]

20 hours ago, Chuck said:

#19 - 2012: Trout’s Rookie Season for the Ages

Of all the superlatives that can be lavished upon Mike Trout’s rookie season, perhaps the simplest and most appropriate is “unprecedented,” because no rookie in Major League history reached the statistical heights Trout achieved. For that matter, no second-, third- or even 20th-year player did so, either.

And he did it all as a 20-year-old.

.326/.399/.594, 129 runs, 27 2B, 8 3B, 30 HR, 83 RBI, 49 SB

Trout led the American League in runs scored and stolen bases and finished second in batting average, despite starting the year at AAA Salt Lake and missing the first 20 Major League games. As for “unprecedented,” no player in Major League Baseball’s 141 years had ever surpassed 125 runs, 30 home runs and 45 stolen bases in the same season. Not one. Furthermore, he became the youngest player in history to record a 30 HR-30 SB season and the first rookie to combine 30 HR and 40 SB. Only two rookies scored more runs: Joe DiMaggio (132 in 1936) and Ted Williams (131 in 1939).

He was named an American League All-Star, American League Rookie of the Year, won a Silver Slugger and finished second in the American League MVP balloting to Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera.

And, oh, all of those gravity-defying catches…

After making his celebrated, but far-from-polished big league debut as a 19-year-old in 2011 (batting just .220 and coming within a couple plate appearances of qualifying as a rookie), Trout was no sure bet to make the Angels 2012 roster out of spring training, especially not with an outfield/DH picture crowded by big contracts (Albert Pujols, Torii Hunter, Vernon Wells), big emergences (Mark Trumbo, Peter Bourjos) and big question marks (Kendrys Morales). When Trout missed almost all of the spring with an energy-sapping illness, his fate was sealed — he would start the season in the minors.

While the “Millville Meteor” was batting .403/.467/.623 for the Bees, the Angels were woefully matching the franchise’s worst start (6-14) and falling nine games behind the Rangers for the division lead. In the midst of a five-game losing streak, the Angels recalled Trout on April 28 with the team in Cleveland. He went 0-4 from the leadoff spot, but the Angels won, 2-1.

With Trout setting the table, the Angels fortunes quickly turned. The team went 18-11 in May and climbed back to .500 for the first time since the season’s fourth game. Trout batted .324/.385/.556, but continued to fly under the radar of a baseball world that seemed preoccupied by Nationals rookie Bryce Harper. He was even better in June, posting a .372/.419/.531 line and helping the Angels to a 17-9 record in the month to pull within 4.5 games of the division-leading Rangers.

It was what he did on June 27 in Baltimore, however, that finally made the baseball world truly sit up and take notice. With his family and friends watching at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Trout made an unbelievable leaping catch in center field to rob shortstop J.J. Hardy of a first-inning home run. The catch was replayed for weeks and when people started to look at what he was doing with his bat and on the bases, as well, the youngster was not only a lock for the All-Star game, but suddenly in the discussion for AL MVP.

In July, Trout moved from “discussion” to “front runner,” posting an astounding .392/.455/.804 line. Comparisons to baseball’s immortals — DiMaggio, Williams, Mays, Mantle, even Ruth — became commonplace as statistical projections started to paint a picture of accomplishments matched only by the greatest of all-time — or no one in some cases.

Though he “slumped” to .287/.383/.500 from Aug. 1 on, and the Angels were ultimately unable to keep up with the Rangers and surprise division-winning Athletics, Trout made three more remarkable HR-robbing catches and sold more merchandise in the Angels team store than Pujols and all of his teammates combined.

At 10.7, he led the Major Leagues in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), a “new-age” unit of measure that combines all conceivable statistical information — offense, defense and baserunning — into the number of victories a player is worth over a league-average alternative. Only three players in history posted a higher WAR before the age of 25: Ruth (11.6 in 1920), Gehrig (11.5 in 1927) and Mantle (11.1 in 1957 and 11.0 in 1956). His season ranks 20th all-time and every player ahead of Trout (Ruth, Hornsby, Yastrzemski, Bonds*, Gehrig, Ripken, Wagner, Cobb, Mantle, Mays, Morgan, Musial and Williams) is in the Hall of Fame.

For Angels fans, it was a rookie campaign for the ages, only the franchise’s second ROY (Salmon, 1993) and left just one question: What will he do for an encore?

I actually changed my vote from Nolan Ryan (who unfortunately I never saw dominate during that '73 season as a three-year old, to Mike Trout's rookie season. 

Such an elite hitter, baserunner and defender in the outfield that season. 10.5 WAR as a 20-year old. Sick

[T.G.]

44 minutes ago, Chuck said:

I actually changed my vote from Nolan Ryan (who unfortunately I never saw dominate during that '73 season as a three-year old, to Mike Trout's rookie season. 

Such an elite hitter, baserunner and defender in the outfield that season. 10.5 WAR as a 20-year old. Sick

Clearly, there aren't any wrong answers here.  Lots of great choices.