The 50 Greatest Angels (21-30)

We are now at the point in the Orange County Register’s (OCR) 50 greatest Angels where there shouldn’t be any real surprises. Then again, when you ask any group of people to come up with a list, there are always bound to be a few.

Today’s list reveals the following: Adam Kennedy (30), David Eckstein (29), Mark Langston (28), Chone Figgins (27), Jim Edmonds (26), Arte Moreno (25), Doug Decinces (24), Reggie Jackson (23), Chili Davis (22), and Dean Chance (21).

How appropriate is it for Kennedy and Eckstein to be next to one another? I mean, they were the 6-4 combo during the Angels greatest season ever and when you think of one, you should think of the other. They ended up higher on the list than I thought, but they’re deserving never-the-less.

Before we talk about the other players on the list, I have to ask – what was the OCR’s Mark Whicker thinking? Six of the ten players on today’s list didn’t make his at all. He did not vote for Chili Davis, Doug Decinces, Arte Moreno (neither did I), Jim Edmonds, Mark Langston, or Adam Kennedy. Other than Moreno – how in the world could he be so wrong? This is the kind of stuff I’d expect from Jeff Miller. Just saying.

So… Arte Moreno sure got a lot of love today. Four panelists had him in their top ten. Wow. Seeing how the rest of the panel thought of him definitely gave me reason to pause and wonder if I should have voted for him. I definitely considered it, but at the end of the day, I chose to only vote for one owner and he has yet to appear on this list.

As I look over the list, I have to say I have one major beef. I can’t believe Chili Davis is ranked this low. I voted for him as the 11th greatest Angel of all time. Davis ranks 6th among all Angels in homeruns (156), 5th in RBI (618), 9th in hits (973), and 8th in total bases (1,620). Quite frankly, Davis was a stud.

Another interesting player to look at on this list is Jim Edmonds. Now, I’ve heard some baseball people make a case that he’s actually a viable Hall of Fame candidate. OCR’s Sam Miller thought enough of him to rank him 12th on his list. He’s right about where I thought he should be at 26 (I had him at 25).

Kudos to Keith Sharon, Chuck Richter (AngelsWin), Mat Gleason (Halos Heaven), and Sam Miller for agreeing with me that Doug Decinces belongs in the top 20. The rest of the panelists should be put on some sort of double secret probation for not agreeing with us.

So far seven of the OCR’s top 50 weren’t on my list at all. I’m feeling pretty good about my top 20. I’ll be surprised if they’re not all on the list (two of them have already made the list – Davis and Decinces).

And… If I’m doing my math correctly, I still have 18 of my top 20 Angels who have yet to make the list and that means there are two more on my list that could make the top 20. I’m guessing one of them will be Frankie (I ranked him 35th) and the other… well; let’s just say that I ranked him “appropriately” at #26.

Two guys in my top 50 who looks like they’ll be left out include Ervin Santana (ranked him 48th) and Devon White (ranked him 43rd).

It doesn't look like Ervin Santana (ranked him 48th) or Devon White (ranked him 43rd) will make the list.

Until tomorrow…

Faster than a speeding bullet

Tradition. That’s the word that’s been used as the theme for the 2010 season... Well, if there’s one tradition the Angels can point to more than any other, it’s having a history of fast, athletic center fielders; guys who can really get after a baseball.

Names like Jose Cardenal, Mickey Rivers, Gary Pettis, and Chad Curtis have covered center field like white on rice. Others such as Devon White, Jim Edmonds, Darin Erstad and Torii Hunter have approached legendary status for their abilities to rob hitters of homeruns, haul in sinking line drives to deny hitters of extra bases, and collect Gold Gloves.

The latest in this long line of center fielders is none other than Peter Bourjos. Bourjos’ name became known to many Angel fans for the first time last season when he was mentioned as a possible trade piece in the Angels attempt to acquire Roy Halladay. It’s no wonder. The kid plays a mean center field.

Bourjos is a 23 year old out of Park Ridge, Illinois where he was a 10th round draft pick by the Angels in 2005.

Last night, Angel fans got their first “official” look at Bourjos in Angels stadium (he made an appearance during the pre-season freeway series as well).

So, how fast is young Peter? Let me break it down for you…

Bourjos is so fast, the FAA has declared center field a “no fly zone” and the United States Air Force has issued a stern warning that any fly balls in the PB (Peter Bourjos) Zone will be terminated with extreme prejudice.

That’s right – Bourjos is that kind of fast.

He’s so fast, that he’s a threat to make it to second base on a walk. He’s so fast, that runners trying to tag up from third base on fly balls hit to him are often stunned to find him waiting for them at home plate for the tag.

If the Coyote had his kind of speed, the Road Runner would be toast.... err, lunch.

Let me put it to you another way. What does it say when Torii Hunter a nine time Gold Glover volunteers to move over to right field? It says that Peter Bourjos is the real deal and you'd better believe it.

Bourjos is so fast that once he gets on first base, he’s a threat to score from there on a squeeze play. Once a ball is in the air, he can run into the stands, sell some popcorn and then run back on to the field to wait for the fly ball to land softly in his glove.

He’s fast enough that he can catch fly balls in front of Juan Rivera. Okay, that’s not saying much,but this has actually happened since his call up. Let's just say I breathe a little easier knowing he’s patrolling center field.

Last night as we were watching young Peter’s Angels Stadium debut, 514 Fanatic Bo (also known as HaloBo from his comments on this blog) commented that” he’s faster than a rat running down a high wire.” I say “you can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him.”

Imagine an outfield with both Mike Trout (see the post prior to this one) and Peter Bourjos. That will be one high octane duo.

Yes Angel fans the future is looking bright. We have the kind of player in Bourjos that baseball fans just love. The kind of guy who only has one gear and that’s full bore. We love players that hustle and play great defense and it’s clear that Bourjos is going to be a fan favorite.

Speaking of fan favorites; Garret Anderson was designated for assignment by the Dodgers yesterday. Okay, I know many Angel fans have had kind of love/hate relationship with Garret over the years, but let’s be clear about one thing… Anderson owns virtually every significant statistical record for the Angels.

Even though I’ve never been a huge Anderson fan myself, I fully recognize his contributions and accomplishments as an Angel. Why am I bringing this all up? Well, I wouldn’t mind seeing the Angels sign Anderson for the rest of the season to let him retire as an Angel.

I think it would be a fitting way to pay tribute to Anderson for all he has meant to the Angels franchise. The rosters will be expanding in September anyway and wouldn’t it be nice to have the opportunity to thank and recognize Anderson as he moves on to the next phase in his life?

Moving on is something Don Wakamatsu the manager of the Seattle Mariners is doing today after the being fired by the Mariners yesterday. You know who really should be fired? All those so-called experts who picked the Mariners to win the AL West. I’m just saying.

Photos of Bourjos in this post were taken at spring training this year.

True Grich's Angels All-Decade Team

As the decade comes to a close I thought it would be a fun exercise to pick the Angels All-Decade Team. As I started this process, I found myself picking players mainly from the 2002 squad, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, that team had a nucleus of players who were a part of the organization for a good part of the decade and contributed to the team’s overall success to start the new millennium.

To make things more interesting, I thought I would pick a team based on the best single season performance of a given player. What’s the big deal? Well, it means Darin Erstad’s performance as a left fielder in 2000 trumps any season by Garret Anderson, who gets left off the all-decade team. Now any knowledgeable Angel fan knows Anderson is one of the all-time Angel greats; however, based on my criteria he’s being left off the squad.

So here we go…

At first base – Kendry Morales. Morales put up monster numbers in 2009. Morales’ 34 homeruns, 108 RBI’s, .306 batting average with a .924 OPS were absolutely stud-like. It even beats Mo Vaughn’s 2000 season even though Vaughn had more homeruns and RBI’s; Vaughn struck out 64 more times than Morales and actually led the league with 181 strike outs. Ouch. His OPS was also 70 points lower.

To tell you the truth, I don’t think I could live with myself if Mo Vaughn ended up on my list. More ammo for Morales - he had a slightly better fielding percentage in 2009 than Vaughn did in 2000 and to top things off Morales finished 5th in the AL MVP voting. That’s good enough to get the top spot at first base for the True Grich Angels All-Decade Team.

At second base – Adam Kennedy gets the nod for his 2002 season; easily his best as an Angel. That year Kennedy hit .312 with a career best .795 OPS. His three homerun performance in the ALCS that year doesn’t hurt his case either. Kennedy’s competition - Howie Kendrick is a fine player and may ultimately have a better career, but for this decade Kennedy is The Man.

Third base is a contest between two contrasting players in Troy Glaus (who was known for his power) and Chone Figgins (who is known for his speed). True Grich gives the nod to Troy Glaus for his 2000 season. There’s an old commercial touting “chicks dig the long ball” and well, True Grich digs them too. In 2000 Glaus lead the league with 47 homeruns and had an outstanding 1.008 OPS. He also made his first all-star team and captured his first of two Silver Slugger Awards.

I suppose one could make a case for Figgins’ 2005 season when he lead the league with 62 stolen bases or his 2009 season when he scored 114 runs and lead the league in walks with 101, but Glaus’ overall performance in 2000 still beats him in my opinion. Glaus even walked 112 times (which bests Figgins' 2009 total) in 2000 and didn’t even lead the league.

This past decade gave us three shortstops in David Eckstein, Orlando Cabrera and Erick Aybar. No question, the sentimental favorite is Eckstein, but who had the best single season? Erick Aybar’s 2009 season pales by comparison to both Eckstein and Cabrera’s best years; however, it’s very close between the latter two. Cabrera’s best season as an Angel was clearly 2007. He posted his best OPS as an Angel at .742, scored 101 runs, drove in 86 and won a gold glove. Cabrera made three fewer errors than Eckstein while handling 47 more opportunities.

Eckstein’s 2002 season bests Cabrera’s OPS with a .752, and he scored more runs 107 while driving in a respectable 63 runs from the lead off spot. Then there are the intangibles… Yeah, that’s right; I’m playing that card and giving the edge to Eckstein. Eckstein was the catalyst in the Angels drive for a world championship. Eckstein had a knack for getting on base when the Angels’ needed him to do exactly that. Known for his ability to make pitchers throw a lot, he saw 3.69 pitches on average per at-bat compared to Cabrera’s 3.39. True Grich’s Angels All-Decade Shortstop is David Eckstein.

When comparing catchers, you almost have to compare Bengie Molina to the tandem of Jeff Mathis and Mike Napoli. For the record I compared the 2008 season of Mathis/Napoli to Molina’s 200e season.

Offensively, Napoli alone bests Molina in most categories; however, defensively neither holds a candle to Molina who won gold gloves in 2002 and 2003. In 2003 Molina made only 5 errors compared to 13 by Mathis and 7 by Napoli. Molina threw out 44% of those attempting to steal a base against him. That’s a number that neither Mathis nor Napoli has ever come close to matching.

In 2003, Molina hit14 homeruns with 71 RBI and a .281 batting average. Molina drew fewer walks than Napoli/Mathis, but didn’t strike out nearly as much.

Molina was #1 in our programs and #1 in our hearts and is easily the True Grich Angels Catcher of the Decade.

Right field was the home of Mr. Angel, Tim Salmon for many years and although Salmon had some fanatic seasons his best of the decade (2000) pales to Vlad’s 2004 MVP season. Had I been able to include Salmon’s 1997 season in this analysis, the decision might have been closer, but Vlad was absolutely huge in 2004.

Vlad lead the league in total bases with 366. He also led the league in runs scored with 124. He was an all-star and a Silver Slugger Award winner. He pounded 39 homeruns and drove in 126 runners. He even stole 15 bases. (Salmon’s career high was 9). He will best be remembered for putting the Angels on his shoulders during the last two weeks of the season and propelling them past the Oakland A’s for their first division title this decade.

I’m sure Range fans still have nightmares about what he did to their team that year.

Tim Salmon may be the best player in the Angels’ history, but the best Angels right fielder of this decade was Vlad Guerrero, hands down.

Centerfield is a position for the rock stars of baseball. It’s the position most likely to make ESPN’s “web gems” and a place where legends are made. The Angels have a long history of great centerfielders going back to Devon White, Chad Curtis, Jim Edmonds, Gary Pettis and others. This decade started with Garret Anderson in CF in 2000, and then saw the emergence of Darin Erstad as a Gold Glover, the debacle that was Steve Finley, the return of Anderson to CF in 2004 and the arrival of the incredible Torii Hunter.

Sorry Ersty fans, but one of the grittiest players to ever wear an Angels' uniform doesn’t make the cut here. Erstad’s offensive numbers just weren’t impressive enough and his intangibles didn’t quite make up the difference either.

The competition for centerfielder of the decade comes down to Anderson’s 2000 season and Hunter’s 2009 season. As good a season as Hunter had this past year, it could have been even better had he not been injured for part of it. That being said, he did win a gold glove and was getting MVP mentions early on.

Anderson had a wonder campaign in 2000 with a career high 35 homeruns, 117 RBI and .286 batting average. He also scored 92 runs, but his on base percentage was only .307 (he only walked 24 times). In 2009 Hunter walked more than twice that in far fewer games and had an OBP of .366 and a superior OPS of .873 to .827. In 2009 Hunter added an all-star appearance and a Silver Slugger Award. He continued being a human highlight film and covered centerfield with authority.

The True Grich Angels Centerfielder of the Decade is none other than Torii Hunter.

Anderson’s 2000 season was far from his best (he had better years in left field); but ironically 2000 was Erstad’s best, only he was playing left field. Even though Anderson had some great years in left field, especially in 2002 and 2003 when he lead the league in doubles, no other Angel performance compares to what Erstad did in 2000.

Erstad not only wins the True Grich Angels Leftfielder of the Decade award, he also wins the True Grich Angels Player of the Decade Award for his 2000 performance.

Erstad did it all in 2000. He won a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger Award, was an all-star and finished 8th in the MVP balloting. He led the league in hits with 240. He stroked 25 homeruns and drove in 100. He had a career best .409 OBP and a career best .951 OPS. He also hit an astounding .355. He had 366 total bases (the same number Vlad had in 2004). He stole 28 bases and scored 121 runs. He probably also helped old ladies cross the street and pulled a cat or two out of a tree. If he had more time, he might have done some brain surgery as well.

Erstad was a one man wrecking machine. He could beat you with his bat, his glove or his legs and was far more compelling than the guy in the Dos Equis commercials.

There you have it. The True Grich All-Decade Team (based on their best individual single season):

1B – Kendry Morales
2B – Adam Kennedy
3B – Troy Glaus
SS – David Eckstein
C - Bengie Molina
RF – Vladimir Guerrero
CF – Torii Hunter
LF – Darin Erstad

Next time, we’ll take a look at the True Grich All-Decade Pitching staff.