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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Baseball is an outdoor sport in which a pitcher pitches a hard, fist sized ball to the hitting area of a batter. The batter hits the hard ball with a tapered, smooth, cylindrical bat made up of wood or metal. The batsman scores by running counter-clockwise within the four markers called the bases arranged at the corners of a diamond. Baseball is sometimes called hardball to differentiate it from similar games such as softball.

The original Angels were a jumble of sluggers. Led by outfielders Leon Wagner and Ken Hunt, catcher Earl Averill and first baseman Steve Bilko their 189 home runs ranked second only to the mighty Yankees in the American League. The Angels finished eighth in their debut season of 1961 but jumped to third in 1962, their first season in Chavez Ravine otherwise known to resentful Dodger fans as Dodger Stadium.

The Angels renamed themselves the California Angels and moved to Anaheim in 1965, where they sunk to the bottom of the league for the remainder of the decade. Chance won 15 games in 1965 and another 12 in 1966 but complained about a lack of support, and was summarily dealt to Minnesota. He was replaced by a gaggle of weary veteran pitchers who gave it whatever they had left and retired. In 1978, the Angels suddenly started hitting again under Fregosi, who had returned as the team's manager. Although Ryan had an off season, Tanana picked up the slack. In the off-season, the Angels acquired star first baseman Rod Carew from the Minnesota Twins. One of the best hitters of his era, Carew posted a .318 batting average in his first year with the club.

In 1986, the Angels came as close as they would ever get to the World Series. Witt won 18, Kirk McCaskill won 17, and Rookie-of-the-Year first baseman Wally Joyner paced a solid offense as the Angels won their third division crown. In 1995, the Angels were ready to make another run at the pennant. Manager Marcel Lachemann had the league's best outfield in Garret Anderson, Tim Salmon, and Jim Edmonds, Finley and Mark Langston won 15 games, and stopper Troy Percival rekindled memories of Nolan Ryan with his 100-mph fastballs.

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