Los Angeles Angels

51 Pages·2014·6.68 MB·English

by  Bernie Wilson

LOS ANGELES
ANGE LS
by Bernie Wilson
An Imprint of Abdo Publishing
www.abdopublishing.com
www.abdopublishing.com
Published by Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO, PO Box 398166,
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55439. Copyright © 2015 by Abdo Consulting Group,
Inc. International copyrights reserved in all countries. No part of this book
may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.
SportsZone™ is a trademark and logo of Abdo Publishing.
Printed in the United States of America, North Mankato, Minnesota
052014
092014
Editor: Matt Tustison
Copy Editor: Nicholas Cafarelli
Interior Design and Production: Carol Castro
Cover Design: Christa Schneider
Photo Credits: Mark J. Terrill/AP Images, cover, 4, 36, 43 (top and middle);
Paul Shane/AP Images, title; Lenny Ignelzi/AP Images, 7; Amy Sancetta/AP
Images, 8; Julie Jacobson/AP Images, 11; AP Images, 12, 42 (top); File/AP
Images, 15; Stf/HF/AP Images, 17; Photo by Focus On Sport/Getty Images, 18,
21, 42 (middle); Getty Images, 23; Photo by Ronald C. Modra/Sports Imagery/
Getty Images, 24, 42 (bottom); Lennox McLendon/AP Images, 27; Dave
Tenenbaum/AP Images, 29, 30; Stephen Dunn/Allsport/Getty Images, 33; Photo
by J.D. Cuban/Getty Images, 35; Chris Carlson/AP Images, 39, 41, 43 (bottom);
Mark Avery/AP Images, 44; Jae C. Hong/AP Images, 47
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014933055
Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wilson, Bernie.
Los Angeles Angels / by Bernie Wilson.
p. cm. — (Inside MLB)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-62403-473-2
1. Los Angeles Angels (Baseball team)—History—Juvenile literature. I. Title.
GV875.A6W56 2015
796.357’640979496—dc23
2014933055
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
Chapter .............World Champs at Last, 4
2
Chapter .............City of Angels, 12
3
Chapter .............R yan Express,
Then Team Success, 18
4
Chapter .............One Strike Away, 24
5
Chapter .............Under the Radar, 30
6
Chapter .............The Scioscia Era, 36
Timeline, 42
Quick Stats, 44
Quotes and Anecdotes, 45
Glossary, 46
For More Information, 47
Index, 48
About the Author, 48
1
CHAPTER
WORLD CHAMPS
AT LAST
A
fter more than 40 years of waiting,
the Anaheim Angels and their fans
finally got to celebrate a World Series
championship. On October 27, 2002,
center fielder Darin Erstad caught
Kenny Lofton’s fly ball with two run-
ners on and two outs in the top of the
ninth inning. The catch preserved the
Angels’ 4–1 victory in Game 7 over the
San Francisco Giants.
The final out set off a cel- “These fans have been
ebration worthy of Disneyland, waiting a long, long time for
which is located just a few miles this,” said third baseman Troy
from the Angels’ home stadium. Glaus, the World Series’ Most
A World Series championship Valuable Player (MVP). “We’re
had finally come to the suburbs all happy to be part of the team
of Los Angeles. to bring it to them.”
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5
WORLD CHAMPS AT LAST
THEY WENT The Angels had been pre-
TO DISNEYLAND! viously known for postseason
heartache. They had always
Two days after they won
been overshadowed by their
the 2002 World Series, the Angels
neighbors, the Los Ange-
went to Disneyland for a parade to
les Dodgers. Now, they had
celebrate their title. Jackie Autry, the
finally done it. The champion-
widow of former owner Gene Autry,
ship came in the team’s first
rode alongside Minnie Mouse. The
World Series, no less.
Walt Disney Co. bought the Angels
“Somewhere, Gene Autry
after Gene Autry died in 1998, so
going to Disneyland was a natural. is smiling right now,” Major
The Angels then took their celebra- League Baseball (MLB) com-
tion to a rally at the team's home missioner Bud Selig said as
stadium, Edison International Field. he presented the trophy to the
Throughout the day, the Angels Angels.
were mindful of what their fans had Autry was known as “The
been through in waiting all those
Singing Cowboy.” He owned
years for a championship. “I waited
the Angels from their first
10 years for something like this,”
season in 1961 through 1997.
right fielder Tim Salmon told the
He died in 1998 and never got
crowd at Disneyland. “But I know you
to see his team become world
guys have been waiting a lot longer.
champions.
This is yours.” Said manager Mike
He would have been
Scioscia, “For all the Angels fans who
proud of the team in its fin-
have been here from the beginning,
est moment. The Angels had
and all the angels we had above, this
finished in third place in the
championship is for you.”
American League (AL) West
6
LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Adam Kennedy rounds the bases after hitting one of his three home runs
in the Angels’ 13–5, series-clinching win over the Twins in Game 5 of the
2002 ALCS.
in 2001. They ended that sea- They came back strong to
son 41 games behind the Seattle finish 99–63. This was good
Mariners. It took a bit to get enough for second place to the
going the next year. The Angels Oakland Athletics in the AL
opened 6–14 in 2002. It was the West. The Angels won the AL’s
worst start in team history. wild-card playoff berth.
7
WORLD CHAMPS AT LAST
Darin Erstad hits a solo home run in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the
2002 World Series. The blast helped the Angels rally for a 6–5 win over
the Giants and avoid elimination.
The Angels had never won The all-California World
a postseason series until they Series between Anaheim and
defeated the New York Yan- San Francisco was a back-and-
kees three games to one in the forth affair. There were plenty
AL Division Series (ALDS). of twists, turns, and scoring. It
They then beat the Minnesota was the highest-scoring World
Twins in five games in the AL Series ever. Neither team had
Championship Series (ALCS). more than a one-game lead at
8
LOS ANGELES ANGELS