The Los Angeles Angels have come out of the gates in 2022 holding their own in the American League West. After a decade of disappointing seasons and depriving Mike Trout of postseason appearances in his already storybook career the Halos luck is beginning to turn. Perhaps not luck exactly, Branch Rickey once said that good luck is what is left over after intelligence and effort have combined at their best. Intelligence and effort have prevailed at Angel Stadium.
For a long time, the philosophy of owner Arte Moreno and the front office was to spend boatloads of money on high talent free agents. To the untrained eye this may seem like a good strategy after all this is what George Steinbrenner did for many years with the New York Yankees and it resulted in championships right?
Yes, it did bring multiple World Championships to the Bronx over Steinbrenner’s tenure. The key difference is that the Boss was working with the largest payroll in professional sports and signed both star hitters and star pitchers to achieve a balanced roster. The Angels did not. They signed players like Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols to gargantuan contracts, hindering their financial flexibility to pay attention to the rest of the roster.
After many frustrating seasons the Angels look to be headed for greener pastures, developing players through their minor league system, and abstaining from large contracts -Mike Trout being the lone exception. But this was a good move economically because while he signed the biggest contract in baseball history, his average annual value is less than players like Fernando Tatis Junior or Bryce Harper. This allows the Angels to allocate funds to build a team around their star centerfielder.
The Angels have bolstered their pitching staff by acquiring Michael Lorenzen and Raisel Igelsias to head the rotation and bullpen respectively. They have succeeded in developing Patrick Sandoval to be an effective piece of their rotation. As I write this, he has the best ERA among Angels starters thus far at 1.91. and an ERA+ of 197.
Offensively, they can swing the bat with the best of them. Mike Trout is putting up God-like numbers (to no one’s surprise) and Shohei Ohtani is performing well on the mound and at the plate yet again. Taylor Ward is off to an unbelievable offensive start to the year. He currently leads ALL of baseball in batting average, OBP, SLG, OPS and OPS+. Oh yeah, all while hitting in the same lineup as the two best players in the game!
Jared Walsh is having another solid offensive year along with Anthony Rendon who has struggled previously during his time with the Angels. Rendon does not have to bear the weight of trying to carry the offense of the team like he did when he was playing for the Nationals. This lack of pressure alleviated by a strong lineup will allow him to maintain his approach and continue to produce.
While I don’t think this is the year the Angels win the World Series, this season will serve as a building block for future success. I think Mike Trout’s decision to sign a long-term contract to stay with the Angels was based on faith in the front office to build a competitive team. The team’s improvement certainly validates that belief. The baseball world is drooling at the prospect of Trout and Ohtani in the postseason, not just this year but for the foreseeable future.
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