fanfromday1

I remember back in the 60's, and 70's, when they use to have pitching duals between the best pitchers in the MLB that wouldn't end at the end of the 5th inning. I miss those old pitching duals where the starting pitchers pitched deep into games, occasionally even well into extra innings, sometimes 14 or 15 innings or more. They sometimes threw well over 200 pitches in those game. In 1963 Spahn (227 pitches) vs. Marichal (201 pitches) matched up in a 16 inning game that the Giants won 1-0. Both pitchers went all the way. Nolan Ryan, when he was an Angel, often threw over 200 pitches in a game too. In todays game it's almost considered a quality start if the pitcher can get into the 5th inning and throw less than 80 pitches.

It's never to early to start building for next season. I agree with what jsnpritchett said above:

Kind of reminds me of the summer of 1986 and the old 'Wally World" days.

Well he's not pulling them under with those 3 yellow barrels stuck in his side either. "Not with 3 barrels in his side he can't" Captain Quint.

Don't start getting down on Trout JATF. You know Trout has always been a sporadic hitter. I think that he sometimes tries to put the team on his back instead of just relaxing and letting the game come to him. If you look, and I'm sure you have, Trout is still leading the league in several categories, or at least he is in the top 10. But I do have to say, I sure wish he would find a way to cut down on his strikeouts.

Holy Shit!!! Now that Pujols is gone, are we going to start blaming Trout for all our poor play? (Don't take it personal JATF, this topic was just posted a bit to soon. Especially since you are one of the largest Trout supporters here I just couldn't resist).

Very well written and thought-out article. I think Pujols would have gotten a lot more respect from Angel fans if he had been able to produce 1 or 2 of his spectacular offensive seasons with the Angels. But injuries and father time robbed him, and us fans, of that opportunity. Also, from the very beginning Albert arrived here much like Mo Vaughn, disliked and a bit past his prime. He also went out in pretty much the same way - 'don't let the door slap you in the ass on the way out' kind of attitude from all of us fans. Someday I hope that all of us will be able to change our perspective about Albert and say to our kids, or our grandkids - I once had the privilege to see the Hall Of Famer Albert Pujols play baseball for the Angels.

Hopefully someday we can compare his stats to someone like Mike Napoli.

I have been following the Angels since 1961, so there have been quite a few players that I have formed a dislike for. But the all time worst for me was Jonathan Papelbon of the Red Sox. A Relief Pitcher that always dominated the Angels. But I'll always remember that 2009 play-off series when we had that infamous 9th inning rally against him and won the Division Series.

Then when he warms-up in the bull pen he would'nt need a catcher.

Fans that spend more time paying attention to their tablet or cell phone than the game. 'Buttercup' Beachballs, the wave, thunder sticks, and fans that hold up large signs. Obnoxious Red Sox and Yankee fans. Anything Dodger. The new extra inning rule. (putting a runner at 2nd Base) The new double-header rule. (7 inning games) The MLB for trying to speed up the game. Players that stand at home plate for 15 seconds to admire their Homeruns, then do their own specialized 'bat flip' before rounding the base's. Inter-league play.

2002 It was a very good year.

Question: Do we get to carry an extra player this season because Ohtani could be classified as a two way player? If so, the Angels could keep one of Adell or Marsh on the roster and allow them take turns rotating back and forth between AAA and Anaheim. This would gradually give them both a chance to get some MLB playing time.

Hey Coover, welcome to the forum. I too was introduced to Baseball by way of the old Pacific Coast League back in the 1940's. And just like you I was a diehard Angel fan. Hated those damn cross-town Hollywood Stars though. I hated them almost as much as I hated the 'Brooklyn Bums' for moving here and displacing our PCL Angels. Looking forward to having a few forum chats with you about the old PCL Angels and the early days of our current Angels. I'm sure that we share some of the same memories. There are 2 or 3 other posters on this board that I am pretty sure are about the same age as us (I'm 75), so it would be kind of fun if we all chipped in and shared some of our old stories, and hopefully rekindle some old memories.

I think Angel Oracle should nominate one of his favorite wrestling announcers. It would be great when they have on-field altercations.

Probably about 70 innings or so. I believe that his pitch count, and games started, will be strictly monitored this year. Something similar to what Tampa Bay did with Snell last year. Early in the year Ohtani may only get the opportunity to pitch every-other Sunday for 4 or 5 innings or so. There's also the chance, that if that doesn't work out he could still be effective as a relief pitcher on the days he doesn't DH. I think that the Angel's will do everything they can to get a few innings out of Ohtani so they can claim him as a two-way player. That way they can have that extra-man on the roster.

Getting Lyman Bostock in 1978 was pretty cool too. But sadly that had a very tragic ending.

I guess my 'meh' trade would be the 1971 trade that sent Jim Fregosi (my favorite player at the time) to the Mets for Leroy Stanton, Don Rose, Francisco Estrada, and a struggling pitcher named Nolan Ryan.

This article appeared in the newspaper just as spring training was coming to a close. The Long Beach Independent reported that the New York Yankees had traded center fielder Mickey Mantle to the Los Angeles Angels. In return for Mantle, the Yankees received "$1 million dollars, half interest in radio station KMPC and a player package of Ned Garver, Del Rice, Aubrey Gatewood and Gene Leek." The Article was written on April first, 1961. My first big Angel disappointment. Obviously, there would be many more in the years to follow.

Just wondering - What is the Qualifying Offer amount this year for Free-agent players? Has there been any change because of the Covid-19? I know that many organizations are hurting because of the loss of attendance revenue. Also, weren't the players salaries prorated this last season? Does any of this have any affect on the players QO's for this coming off season? Thanks

I think adding Fletcher to the risers list should be in order. I'm pretty sure that he has exceeded almost everyone's expectations for this year. He's a very good contact hitter, and he's doing much better at taking walks this year too. Outside of Simmons he is probably our best defensive player. He can also be used to play several defensive positions as well. We really don't have any other super-sub's on this team that can do what he does defensively.

If you remember the first few years that the Angels were in LA they played a lot of day games and Double Headers. The reason being was that the Angeles were the only American League baseball team on the west coast back then. They were at least 2000 miles from their nearest rival. So when teams were scheduled to come to LA they usually need some extra time to get here. And when the series was over they needed extra time to return back home. Back then the American League scheduled a lot of off days and double headers for teams scheduled coming to the west coast. Not many baseball teams flew back then. They mostly traveled by bus or train. Airplane travel was something new to baseball. And believe it or not, many players refused to fly. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jackie-jensen/ Here's a list of concession prices back then.

Me too (check out my screen name). Actually I've been an Angels baseball fan since the late 1940s when my dad use to take me to see the old 'PCL Angels' play in old Wrigley Field. When the Dodgers moved here in 1958 they bought the 'PCL Angel' team and moved my favorite team out of town. I really hated the Dodgers for that. On the day after the Angels held their original 'Player Draft' in December of 1960, I could hardly wait to get my hands on the morning paper to see who they had selected. As I looked at the list I recognized very few names. I collected bubble-gum baseball cards back then, so I pulled them out and started sorting through them. I found some of the players, but not all. (Back then, the backs of baseball cards were the only way that a person could find out what a players baseball statistics were. Although during the baseball season the Sunday paper Sports section did list the top 100 players, or so. But this was December). Over the next few days I did a lot of trading of baseball cards with my friends so I could get more Angel players cards. As Angels 1961 said, in Spring Training of 1961 the Angels players use to ride their bikes from their Hotel in Palm Springs to the practice fields with Gene Autry in the lead. The players hated the routine, and before long players started reporting that their bikes had mysteriously disappeared. Coincidentally, neighbors in Palm Springs started reporting that they were finding new red bicycles hidden in their hedges, or in alleys behind their houses. My dad and I attended the first ever Angels home game in 1961. Ty Cobb threw out the first pitch, and then died a week or so later. (I wonder if this was the first in the Angels long streak of having players die? Although they did only hire Cobb to throw just that one pitch). The Angels lost their inaugural home game to the Minnesota Twins 4-2. But I didn't care, the Angels were back home in LA again. My brother and I attended many Angel home games that first summer. We took the 'Red Cars' up from the Long Beach, Compton area and got off in LA, and then walked a mile or so over to Wrigley Field. The games I remember the most were the games against the Yankees. Mantle and Maris were in a great Home Run chase that year and I wanted to see them hit one out of tiny Wrigley Field. Sadly, for me anyway, they didn't, not in the games I attended anyway. However, I did manage to snag a ball that Maris hit into the right field bleachers during batting practice. So I guess you can say that I have been an Angel fan my whole life (75 yr.'s), although it was two different Angel teams.

I wasn't aware of that. I'm not a big 'Stat' person like many on this forum. So thank you for bringing that to my attention. However, if Rendon is now in the equation as an MVP candidate, that could hurt both him and Trout in the voting. They will be taking votes away from each other. I would be just as happy to see Rendon win the MVP as I would Trout. They are both deserving. Go Rendon - Go Trout

I think there are '4' viable candidates in the AL for the MVP Award this year. Shane Bieber (Clev), Nelson Cruz (Minn), Jose Abreu (White Sox), and Mike Trout (LAA). And 3 of those players are on teams that have a chance to make it into the play-offs. I think it's going to come down to which one gets the hottest over the last 3-4 weeks of the season. Go Trout.