#11 - Aug. 12, 1974: Ryan fans
19
By
Victor Varadi, Angelswin.com Contributor
Nolan
Ryan started his career with the Mets and was mostly
a relief pitcher and spot starter, never quite able
to crack the Mets' outstanding rotation for good
during his four seasons in Queens. Ryan was a young
flame-thrower, but he had control issues and it
appeared that he would languish in the Mets bullpen
despite flashes of brilliance in the 1969 postseason.
At
the conclusion of the 1971 season, Ryan, who never
felt comfortable in New York, expressed a desire
to be traded. The Mets needed a third baseman and
felt Angels veteran shortstop Jim Fregosi could
make the switch. They offered Ryan, along with catcher
Frank Estrada, pitcher Don Rose and outfielder Leroy
Stanton. The Angels wisely accepted. Some would
argue it was the best trade the Angels franchise
ever made.
By
the time the 1974 campaign rolled around, Ryan was
on his way to becoming one of the most dominant
pitchers in baseball history. The season prior,
Ryan threw two no-hitters, fanning 12 and 17, respectively.
And while critics point to his paltry winning percentage
as a reason why he should not be cast in the same
breath as Sandy Koufax and his ilk, Ryan was dominating
hitters while mired on bad teams.
On
June 14, 1974, Ryan fanned 19 Red Sox in 13 innings
(also walking 10 and earning no decision for his
effort.) On Aug. 20, he did it again, striking out
19 Tigers, this time through 11 innings of a four-hitter
he'd go on to lose, 1-0.
But
it was two starts prior to that one that Ryan produced
one of the most dominating performances, not only
of his career, but in American League history.
On
Aug. 12, five weeks before he would stifle the Minnesota
Twins for his third no-hitter, Ryan struck out 19
Red Sox in a nine-inning game (walking only two),
breaking an American League record held for 36 years
by Bob Feller, who fanned 18 Detroit Tigers on Oct.
2, 1938. And this time, the Angels would actually
make Ryan a 4-2 winner.
Ryan
would strike out the side three times and fanned
five of the final six batters he faced, a fly ball
to right field by Rick Burleson to end the game
preventing Ryan from breaking the Major League record
he then shared with former Mets teammate Tom Seaver
(April 22, 1970, vs. San Diego) and lefty Steve
Carlton (Sept. 15, 1969, vs. New York).
Three
players have since struck out 20 batters in a nine-inning
game*: Seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens
(twice), Kerry Wood and five-time Cy Young winner
Randy Johnson.
(*
Johnson's 20 strikeouts came in the first nine innings
of a game that would eventually be won by the Diamondbacks
in 11. MLB has recognized Johnson's effort as equaling
the record.)
Despite
his numerous feats of dominance, Ryan was inducted
into the Hall of Fame in 1999 having never been
awarded a Cy Young. But then maybe some day baseball
will recognize Ryan by naming a strikeout award
after him.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CAL/CAL197408120.shtml
#12
- Oct. 5, 1979: "Yes We Can" one more
time
By
Geoff Bilau, Angelswin.com Senior Editor
Yes
they had. It took 19 mostly frustrating, often painful,
at times utterly heartbreaking years, but the California
Angels were finally playing in October.
Unfortunately,
the Baltimore Orioles weren't the sentimental type
and felt no guilt in dropping the Angels into an
0-2 ALCS deficit that to that point in MLB history
had never been overcome. (The Angels would play
an unfortunate role in changing this three years
later.) Following 6-3 and 9-8 defeats in Baltimore
(each in its own way gut wrenching), the Angels
returned home to a down, but not out fan base, for
which "Yes We Can" had become more than
a chant. The sentiments were palpable, exemplified
by the sheer audacity of the word "we."
Fan
use of "we" when talking about their favorite
sports team is an acceptable misnomer, but rarely
means anything literal. For the 1979 Angels and
their fans, at times it did indeed seem to be a
group effort. This night would define the "we"
of that season.
The
Angels got a gutsy five innings from Frank Tanana
and four outstanding innings of relief from Don
Aase, but reached the bottom of the ninth inning,
three outs from elimination, trailing Dennis Martinez,
3-2.
Don
Baylor, whose solo home run in the fourth briefly
gave the Angels a 2-1 lead, flew out to left field
for the first out. But Rod Carew drove a ball into
the left center field gap for a double. The crowd
of 43,199, again picked up the refrain: "Yes
we can! Yes we can!"
Orioles
manager Earl Weaver summoned reliever Don Stanhouse,
despite the fact he'd thrown 33 pitches and nearly
lost the game the day before in Baltimore. Brian
Downing worked an eight-pitch walk and Angels fans
raised the decibel level another notch, prompting
broadcaster Dick Enberg to observe that he'd never
heard Anaheim Stadium any louder.
Bobby
Grich lined a Stanhouse offering that center fielder
Al Bumbry broke in on late and mishandled, allowing
it to drop to the grass. Carew hustled around third
and beat Bumbry's throw home to tie the score, Downing
advancing to second. Bumbry would later admit the
crowd noise prevented him from hearing the crack
of the bat, contributing to his miscue.
"Yes
we can! Yes we can!"
Then,
on the second pitch he saw from Stanhouse, outfielder
Larry Harlow slapped a line drive to Bumbry's left
and Downing charged home with the winning run, making
a wide turn at the backstop and continuing right
into the dugout to celebrate with his teammates.
The Angels staved off elimination, winning their
first ever playoff game, 4-3.
Angels
fans lingered in the afterglow long after the game
and continued to chant "Yes we can!" as
they exited the stadium.
It
hardly mattered that 20 hours later it was all over,
Scott McGregor pitching a six-hit shutout to send
the Orioles to the World Series. For the Angels
and, more importantly their long-suffering fans,
that one victory might as well have been the whole
World Series. For one more incredible night, yes,
they did.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CAL/CAL197910050.shtml
#13
- Oct. 26, 2002: All the way back
By
Brent Hubbard, Angelswin.com Contributor
Angels
fans everywhere in despair. After the 16-4 pounding
the Halos took in Game 5 of the 2002 fall classic,
the series shifted back to Anaheim for the possible
final game of the season.
But
the team that had made a habit of coming back late
all season long had yet another one up their collective
sleeves. And while a home run by a certain red-bearded
first baseman figures largely in this particular
game, it would have all been for naught without
more heroics in the eighth inning. (We'll get to
the aforementioned home run soon enough.)
The
top half seemed to be played in a haze. Emotions
high. Thunderstix booming. Hope restored. Fans again
allowing themselves to believe.
Angels
manager Mike Scioscia brought in rookie Brendon
Donnelly to replace uber-rookie Francisco Rodriguez.
Donnelly promptly walked leadoff hitter Benito Santiago
after putting him in a 1-2 hole. When J.T. Snow
drove the first pitch he saw to center, for a second,
for one brief moment, memories of Game 5 came flooding
back. But Darin Erstad settled under the routine
fly ball and there was one out.
Five
more to go.
Donnelly
next faced Reggie Sanders, firing in a first pitch
fastball that Saunders couldn't lay off for strike
one. A foul ball made it 0-2. Next pitch: strike
three, swinging.
Four
more to go.
Next
up, David Bell. Two quick foul balls signaled that
Bell was dialed in. Two pitches out of the zone
evened the count and Donnelly stared Bell down,
sweat dripping from his cap. Strike three, swinging.
Three
outs remained. Time for the Angels new mascot, the
Rally Monkey, to go back to work.
Erstad
would lead off the eighth for the Halos. Tim Worrell,
who'd made quick work of David Eckstein to end the
seventh, remained on the mound.
First
pitch: Ball one. Second pitch: Erstad out in front,
foul. Next pitch: Crack! Over the right field wall
on a frozen rope. 45,000 fans at once erupted. 5-4,
Giants.
Tim
Salmon, Mr. Angel, came to the plate. On a 1-0 pitch,
he lined it into center field and the tying run
was 270 feet from home. Rally time.
Chone
Figgins came in to pinch run for Salmon. Everybody
in the stadium knew he was going - but on which
pitch?
As
it turned out, he wouldn't get the chance. After
smoking a foul ball into the stands, Garret Anderson
blooped a Worrell pitch down the left field line.
With Figgins tearing around second base and heading
for third, Barry Bonds in left juggled the ball
twice, allowing Anderson to hustle into the second.
Giants
manager Dusty Baker motioned to the bullpen for
closer Robb Nen for what would turn out to be the
three-time All-Star's final appearance. He'd face
third baseman Troy Glaus.
Nen's
first three pitches were nowhere near the strike
zone, though Glaus helped him out by swinging at
and missing the second one. On a 2-1 count, Glaus
hammered a poorly placed offering toward the left
center field gap. Bonds, galloping back to the warning
track, stretched his glove over his head in a vain
attempt to catch the ball, but he'd have needed
another 10 feet of reach to snare it.
Figgins
and Anderson scored, and the Angels led, 6-5, Glaus
pumping his fist as he retreated to second with
the double. The Angels saved their best comeback
of the season for last.
Nen
then retired the side without additional damage,
but with Troy Percival warmed up and ready for the
ninth, the damage was already done. There would
be a Game 7 and momentum was back with the Angels.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ANA/ANA200210260.shtml
#14
- Oct. 2, 2004: Angels rally for A.L. West crown
By
Geoff Bilau, Angelswin.com Senior Editor
It
would come down to this: the best two out of three
takes the division.
The
Angels, 2002 World Champions and 2003 underachievers,
along with their new owner and an unprecedented
number of fans, would converge on Oakland in a tie
with the A's atop the division and three games to
play. No tie-breakers, no one-game playoffs; just
the simple math. Win twice or go home.
Despite
their World Series title two seasons earlier, the
Angels still had some unfinished business, having
not won an American League West championship in
18 years. (The 2002 team entered the postseason
as a wild card.) Arte Moreno, who acquired the team
17 months earlier, promised a winner, spent $145
million buying players to help build one and appeared
on the verge of delivering the goods.
But
the games were going to be played in Oakland and
the Angels would have to go through the A's "Big
Three" starting pitchers - Mark Mulder, Barry
Zito and Tim Hudson - to get there.
The
series' Friday night opener turned out to be a laugher,
with the Angels roughing up Mulder with four in
the second and little Alfredo Amezaga delivering
the knockout punch to Joe Blanton with a grand slam
in the sixth. The Angels rode seven shutout innings
from Bartolo Colon to an eventual 10-0 victory,
and were now in the driver's seat needing only to
win one of the following two games.
Hours
before the first pitch of Saturday's matinee, Moreno
proudly sifted about the lower sections of McAfee
Coliseum, wearing a big smile and happily chatting
up any Angels fan who approached him - and there
were a lot of them. An Angels victory would represent
a coronation of sorts for the man who talked a big
game and seemed poised to back up his lofty aspirations
with results.
With
the stadium filled with more red than the blood
typically spilled at a Raiders game, Zito and Kelvim
Escobar locked horns in a tightly contested duel.
Escobar would be the first to blink, giving up one-out
singles to Mark Kotsay and Eric Byrnes ahead of
Eric Chavez's double to score both of them and give
Oakland a 2-0 lead.
Zito,
meanwhile, was dealing. Through five innings, the
Angels had managed only a hit and walk off the 2002
Cy Young Award winner. In the sixth, however, the
Angels' would-be MVP evened the score. With two
outs and Chone Figgins at first, Vlad Guerrero took
the first pitch from Zito and crushed it over the
tall fence in center field, bringing a subdued Angels
fan contingent back to life.
But
the A's answered quickly in the bottom half of the
inning. Catcher Damian Miller doubled home Jermaine
Dye with the go-ahead run, sending Escobar to the
showers. Brendan Donnelly struck out Bobby Crosby
for the second out, but frequent thorn in the Angels'
side, Marco Scutaro, singled to score Miller and
give the A's a 4-2 lead. And when Zito retired the
Angels in order in the top of the seventh, it looked
like the series would become a winner-takes-all
affair on Sunday.
Donnelly
did his part, getting the A's 1-2-3 in the seventh.
Zito, who'd allowed just three hits in seven innings,
however, told manager Ken Macha his legs felt tight
and suggested he go to the bullpen. The Angels,
apparently sensing a reprieve, wasted no time in
making that decision a bad one.
With
Jim Mecir now pitching, Bengie Molina led off with
a groundball single to left and Josh Paul pinch
ran. Curtis Pride, pinch hitting for Amezaga, struck
out looking, but Figgins singled to center, moving
Paul to second. Macha summoned lefty Ricardo Rincon
to face Darin Erstad.
Rincon
would warm up for several minutes in order to deliver
one actual pitch - a fat one right in Erstad's wheelhouse
that he drove deep into right field about a foot
from the top of the wall for a double to drive in
Paul and Figgins and again tie the score. Rincon
would issue an intentional walk to Guerrero before
being relieved by A's closer Octavio Dotel.
"I
asked (pitching coach) Curt (Young) if he was confident
in the bullpen right now and he said yes,"
Zito said. "In retrospect, it was the wrong
call. But my legs were tightening up for the last
couple of innings. I have to trust myself. I'm going
to pitch as long as I can."
After
Troy Glaus flew out to right for the second out,
Garret Anderson rolled Dotel's 1-1 offering through
the infield, just out of the reach of a diving Scutaro,
and Erstad slid across home plate ahead of the throw
from Dye to give the Angels their first lead of
the game, 5-4. Erstad was greeted by the entire
Angels roster outside the dugout as Angels fans
reached a fever pitch.
"I
knew our guys weren't going to melt," manager
Mike Scioscia. "We have a lot of very, very
talented players."
Francisco
Rodriguez pitched a scoreless eighth and Troy Percival
came on in the ninth to close it, inducing three
straight fly balls to Jeff DaVanon in left field,
the last giving the Angels their first division
title since 1986.
"What
we did to be at this point, nobody expected it,"
Figgins said. "It's motivation. We were down
four or five games, but we still had to play in
our division. When you still have to play in your
division and it's coming down to the home stretch,
you get a little more energy."
Angels
fans who made the trip north lingered long after
the game, congregating behind the visitor's dugout
and celebrating while the players, coaches and Moreno
showered each other in champagne in the clubhouse.
The Angels were once again the kings of the West
and Moreno was bestowed a crown of beer and champagne
for helping them get there.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK200410020.shtml
#15
- June 18, 2007: Figgins Experiences the Joy of
Six
By
Adam Dodge, Angelswin.com Senior Writer
Chone
Figgins spent all but the last day of April on the
disabled list, batted .156 in May and finished the
season in an 0-for-21 slump. How then, one may ask,
could 2007 have possibly been a breakout season
for the Angels' de facto third baseman?
From
May 31 until Sept. 22 - the time between his less-than-stellar
bookends - Figgins batted .403 (135/335), a span
of 83 games where the speedy lead off man reached
base in 46 percent of his plate appearances. Despite
his early and late woes, Figgins finished with a
.330/.393/.432 season, his batting average the seventh
highest in Angels history. He also earned MVP votes
for the third time in his career. Not too shabby
for a guy that's never made an American League All-Star
team.
If
2007 was the year Figgins entered baseball stardom,
then it was the night of June 18 that his star shined
the brightest. Figgins went 6-for-6, leading the
Los Angeles Angels to a 10-9 comeback victory over
the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium.
And
as if just going 6-for-6 wasn't spectacular enough,
Figgins' final hit was a ninth inning, walk-off
triple down the right field line, scoring Reggie
Willits from first base to complete the Angels'
comeback.
"I
was trying to catch Reggie. That way, at least I'd
know he would score," Figgins said with a laugh.
Perhaps
ending the game in such dramatic fashion was the
only thing that prevented Figgins from a 7-for-7
or 8-for-8 night - Astros pitchers sure couldn't
slow him down. As it stood, Figgins' six hits in
one game tied Garret Anderson's team record, which
had been set in 1996.
Figgins
finished his brilliant night with four singles,
a double and his game-ending triple.
"This
is one of those special games," Figgins said.
"You can't explain it. You just stay within
yourself. The thing about it was that the game was
close, so it made you concentrate even more to get
a hit."
It
was indeed a special game for Figgins, one that
highlighted the best month of his relatively young
career. Figgins collected a Major League best 53
hits in June, the most by any player in Angels'
history during one calendar month. Figgins also
led Major League baseball in June with a .461 batting
average.
But
it was his 1.000 average on June 18 that landed
him on our list.
"I
don't think I ever did that in a video game, much
less in a professional game," Figgins said.
#16
- Sept. 30, 1984: Witt produces perfection
By
Kurt Swanson, Angelswin.com Contributor
On
the final day of the 1984 season, the Angels found
themselves playing out the string, division also-rans
to the Kansas City Royals. They would wrap the season
in Arlington, facing the last place Rangers in front
of a small crowd of 8,375.
Angels
starting pitcher Mike Witt came into the game with
a record of 14-11 after going 7-14 the previous
season. Even before this game, 1984 had been a breakout
season for the lanky right-hander as he'd doubled
his win total from each of the previous three seasons
and already enjoyed a 16-strikeout performance against
the Seattle Mariners on July 23.
Witt,
who made his Angels debut at 20 in 1981, had a great
curveball and fastball, and was able to change speeds
effectively with both. From 1984-1987, Witt led
the Angels in victories, starts, complete games,
strikeouts and innings pitched. In his best season,
1986, Witt won 18 games with a 2.84 ERA, finishing
third to Roger Clemens and Teddy Higuera in A.L.
Cy Young voting.
Unlikely
as it seemed at the time, his last start of 1984
would prove to be the gem of Witt's career.
Witt
and Texas knuckleballer Charlie Hough were locked
up in a scoreless pitcher's duel through six innings.
Hough had allowed the Angels just three hits, but
Witt was quite a bit better. He was perfect, retiring
all 18 batters he faced.
In
the seventh, the Angels broke the deadlock with
an unearned run scored on Reggie Jackson's fielder's
choice. Witt retired the Rangers again in order
in the seventh and eighth and took the mound for
the ninth having fanned nine batters. The sparse
crowd at Arlington Stadium rose to its feet and
cheered as Witt went to work.
A
first pitch strike to Tom Dunbar put his nerves
at ease.
"When
I walked out there for the ninth," Witt said,
"I was as nervous as I was in my first big
league game. But once I threw that first strike,
I got right back into it."
Two
more pitches and Dunbar was quickly strikeout No.
10, but more importantly out No. 25. Pinch hitter
Bobby Jones hit a routine grounder to Rob Wilfong
at second for No. 26. And on a 1-1 pitch to pinch
hitter Marv Foley, Witt got another easy grounder
to Wilfong, who tossed it to Bobby Grich at first
for the final out - and baseball immortality for
Witt.
"It
probably won't be until tomorrow and the next day,
and every day this winter, that I'll be saying to
myself, "Hey, I did that," Witt said after
the game. "I mean, to get 27 straight batters
out is unbelievable. For me to be able to say it
is unbelievable."
Witt's
perfecto is the only such game pitched on the final
day of the regular season and only the second no-hitter
with that distinction. (Four Oakland A's - Vida
Blue, Glenn Abbott, Paul Lindblad and Rollie Fingers
- combined to no-hit the Angels on Sept. 28, 1975.)
The
game took just one hour and 49 minutes to complete
and Witt needed only 94 pitches to finish it, 70
of them strikes.
Witt
was an All-Star in 1986 and 1987 and had the Angels
within one strike of the World Series in 1986. He
combined with Mark Langston on April 11, 1990, to
throw the most recent no-hitter in Angels history,
becoming the only pitcher to participate in a collective
no-hitter while also throwing his own.
Witt
ranks third all-time in Angels victories (109),
fifth in games (314) and third in innings (1,965.1)
and strikeouts (1,283).
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TEX/TEX198409300.shtml
#17
- Sept. 27, 1973: Ryan strikes out 383 to pass Koufax
By
Geoff Bilau, Angelswin.com Senior Editor
Heading
into his final start of the 1973 season, Nolan Ryan
had already accomplished more than most pitchers
these days can claim in two or three seasons.
38
starts. 25 complete games. Four shutouts. 20 victories.
22 games with 10 or more strikeouts. Heck, he even
recorded a save, pitching the final two innings
a day after the shortest start of his career (0.1
inning) to secure an Angels 6-5 victory on May 12.
And,
oh yeah, he also tossed two no-hitters, on May 15
and July 15.
With
all of that already under his belt, it seems almost
absurd that Ryan saved his best for last. You see,
while he was ringing up all of those strikeouts,
they were adding up to something potentially very
special.
During
his first five September starts (all complete game
victories), Ryan struck out 53 batters, giving him
367 strikeouts for the year - 15 shy of Sandy Koufax's
Major League record 382 in 1965.
Nursing
a torn calf muscle, Ryan took the Anaheim Stadium
mound in front of just 9,100 fans looking to make
history one more time in 1973. When the Twins immediately
jumped out to a 3-0 first inning lead, it didn't
seem likely he'd stick around long enough to collect
the requisite strikeouts - though he did fan the
side in the inning.
The
Angels answered with three in the bottom of the
first and Ryan had new life. Through five innings,
he had 11 strikeouts and the Angels led, 4-3. In
the sixth, the Twins pushed across the tying run,
which would prove fortuitous for Ryan later in the
night.
In
the seventh, he again struck out the side, giving
him 14 strikeouts, one shy of tying Koufax. But
he'd also walked six batters, allowed seven hits
and was piling up a lot of pitches on an aching
leg. In the eighth, Ryan struck out Steve Brye to
end the inning, tying Koufax with No. 382.
After
nine innings, the game remained tied, 4-4, with
Ryan stalled at 15 punchouts. And when he pitched
a scoreless 10th, sandwiching a fly ball between
two groundouts, fans wondered if he had enough left
for one more inning.
With
reliever Steve Barber warming in the bullpen, the
Angels went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning. Announcer
Dick Enberg made the call.
"The
crowd is standing in anticipation, watching the
bullpen gate," Enberg said, pausing in his
own anticipation. "And here he comes!"
Ryan
jumped ahead of Brye, 1-2, but the center fielder
grounded out to short. Ryan's body language couldn't
disguise his fatigue or his frustration.
"Ryan
now is like the heavyweight fighter with a knockout
punch that has gone so many rounds that he has his
opponent staggering and staggering but doesn't have
enough left to deliver that one blow that will knock
him to the canvas and put him away," Enberg
said. "He's getting the two strikes on hitters,
but can't get the third."
Next
up was Rod Carew, who struck out only 55 times in
1973, though three of them came earlier in this
game. Carew drew a walk, Ryan's seventh of the game,
bringing manager Bobby Winkles to the mound. The
crowd bristled, but Enberg was unfazed.
"He
is going to let Nolan Ryan pitch as long as he wants,"
Enberg said.
During
Tony Oliva's at-bat, Carew broke for second, drawing
a throw - and a gasp from the crowd, which did not
him to be thrown out, thus robbing Ryan of an opportunity
for the 16th strikeout. Carew was safe. Oliva, however,
flew out to center field, bringing up light hitting
Rich Reese, who'd pinch run for Harmon Killebrew
in the ninth.
"You
can feel through the crowd a vibration saying, 'Maybe
this is the guy,' " Enberg said.
Reese
swung and missed at Ryan's first two pitches, another
two-strike opportunity for the right-hander. On
Ryan's 0-2 pitch…
"Swung
on and missed! Nolan Ryan is the Major League strikeout
king of all time! He walks off the mound, his teammates
come over to greet him one by one, the fans stand
cheering.
"Ladies
and gentlemen, we have seen one of the finest young
men to ever wear a baseball uniform record one of
the most incredible records in Major League history.
Three hundred and eighty-three for Nolan Ryan!
"Fans
are shaking hands with each other as if they're
all part of this great night, as if to say, 'Yes,
we saw it. We saw it all.' "
With
their ace now the strikeout king, the Angels rewarded
Ryan with the victory when pinch hitter Richie Scheinblum
doubled home Tommy McCraw with the game-winner in
the bottom of the 11th.
Ryan
finished 1973 with a 21-16 record, 2.87 ERA and
finished second in Cy Young Award voting to Jim
Palmer. But it was the last pitch he threw that
season that remains his most memorable.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CAL/CAL197309270.shtml
#18
- June 10, 1997: Jim Edmonds makes "The Catch."
By
Geoff Bilau, Angelswin.com Senior Editor
Jim
Edmonds' catch in Kansas City won't be remembered
because it contributed to a division championship
or turned the momentum of a postseason series. It
did neither. It won't even be remembered because
it helped win a game - which it incidentally did;
the Angels defeated the Royals, 6-2, that night.
No,
"The Catch" will be remembered quite simply
because it was an unforgettable display of physical
prowess that might never be duplicated.
In
the fifth inning of a 1-1 tie at Kauffman Stadium,
David Howard came to the plate with two on and two
outs. Howard lined a Jason Dickson fastball to straightaway
center field on a frozen rope. Edmonds, who always
played a shallow center, turned, put his head down
and charged back to where his instincts told him
the ball might land.
As
the ball sailed over his head, Edmonds threw his
body in the air and blindly reached out his gloved
hand as far as he could and, as Angels television
broadcaster Steve Physioc called it …
"A
long run for Jim Edmonds … OH, HE MADE A CATCH!
UNBELIEVABLE!"
Edmonds
wound up on the edge of the warning track, rolling
onto his back with his legs in the air, left hand
reaching up to display the ball.
"I
looked up and saw it come over the bill of my cap
and thought I might as well lay out for this one,
the game's on the line here," said Edmonds,
who doubled home the go-ahead run in the ensuing
inning. "I heard (Tim) Salmon screaming and
I saw Luis (Alicea) throw his glove up in the air
and (Gary) DiSarcina had a blank look on his face.
"I'm
thinking, 'Man, I got the ball in my hand. Is there
something else I've got to do?' I had to sit there
for a second and think about it."
What
everybody else thought about it was they'd never
seen anything like it.
"That
was one of the greatest plays ever," veteran
umpire Dave Phillips told the Kansas City Star.
"That made Willie Mays' play look routine."
"It's
one of the greatest catches I've ever seen, and
95 percent of the guys in here will tell you that,"
Howard said. "People don't just dive on their
face with their back to the infield as they're heading
into the wall."
"The
angle of the ball directly over his head, diving
away from home plate … tells you what a great
player this guy is," Angels manager Terry Collins
said. "He's a brilliant outfielder."
The
play helped Edmonds net the first of two Gold Glove
Awards he'd win for the Angels. He won six more
playing for the St. Louis Cardinals.
USA
Today in 2002 ranked the catch as the third-most
amazing play of all-time, behind Mays' 1954 World
Series grab and Ozzie Smith's barehanded magic in
1978.
#19
- Aug. 18, 2000: Erstad is 'incredible'
By
Geoff Bilau, Angelswin.com Senior Editor
Few
who are familiar with recent Angels history would
be surprised that the man at the center of the team's
most memorable comeback of the 2000 season was Darin
Erstad. Even though his teammates were hitting home
runs at a record pace, there was never any question
about who was that season's MVP.
And
no game better illustrated the magic of that year
than this shocker in the Bronx.
Early
on, it was like so many Angels/Yankees games of
the past, with the Angels scoring one run and the
Yankees answering with two. And two more. And two
more. After the sixth inning, New York led, 8-3,
and Roger Clemens found his groove, retiring the
Angels in order in the seventh and eighth.
And
though he'd already thrown 119 pitches, Clemens
came out for the ninth. Singles by Troy Glaus and
Bengie Molina sent him to the showers, however,
and reliever Jeff Nelson was summoned to quell this
minor uprising. Nelson retired Adam Kennedy on a
flyout, but walked Kevin Stocker to load the bases,
convincing Joe Torre to go to his bullpen ace, Mariano
Rivera. And when Erstad hit into a fielder's choice
at third, the Angels gained a run, but were now
down to their last out against the game's premier
closer.
But
then the Angels grabbed a bit of that Yankee Stadium
"mystique and aura" for themselves when
Orlando Palmeiro laced a double into right field
to score Stocker and cut the Yankees lead to 8-5.
Two pitches later, Mo Vaughn launched an 0-1 Rivera
cutter into the upper deck in right field, tying
the game and bringing the Angels all the way back
from an 8-3 ninth inning deficit.
"Until
the game is over, you keep battling," Erstad
said. "How many times are you going to see
that kind of comeback in your career, against one
of the best pitchers ever and one of the best closers
in the game? That's why we play until the last out."
The
Yankees didn't quit, either, and appeared poised
to snatch back the victory in the bottom of the
tenth when pinch runner Luis Polonia reached third
with two outs and Derek Jeter was intentionally
walked in favor of Jorge Posada. Posada smashed
a drive into the left-center gap that had walk-off
written all over it. Somehow, Erstad, motoring from
over near the left field line, managed to get close
enough to make a full-extension dive on the ball
already past him, reaching out and hauling it in
before crashing violently onto the outfield grass.
"I
thought it split the gap when he hit it," Angels
manager Mike Scioscia said. "All I can say
is incredible."
Many
Yankees had already spilled out of the dugout to
celebrate, most then lingering in amazement that
they had not just won the game.
"I
thought the game was over," Clemens said. "That
was one of the top three catches I've seen in my
years in the game."
Instead
the Angels players were the ones celebrating, greeting
Erstad in foul territory and mobbing him in the
dugout.
"They
wouldn't leave me alone, and I'm like, 'I've got
to go hit, leave me alone,'" Erstad said.
Due
up second in the eleventh, the Erstad Show was primed
for an encore. After Stocker's failed bunt attempt,
Erstad lofted a Mike Stanton offering high into
right field and just over the fence to give the
Angels a 9-8 lead. The Yankees went 1-2-3 in the
bottom half and the Angels won a game they twice
seemed sure to lose.
"Posada
smoked that ball," Erstad said of his catch
in the tenth. "It was just one of those things.
You just react and let your ability take over."
Whether
it was ability, luck, grit or some combination of
all three, Erstad's 2000 season is arguably the
greatest offensive (and defensive) performance in
franchise history. He batted .355 with 240 hits
(No. 13 all-time), 121 runs scored, 39 doubles,
six triples, 25 home runs, 28 stolen bases and an
unprecedented 100 RBI, all from the leadoff spot,
the first player ever to reach the century mark
from the top of the order.
He
was eighth in the A.L. MVP voting and won a Silver
Slugger award.
In
a word, Erstad in 2000 was incredible.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA200008180.shtml
#20
- May 15, 1973: Nolan Ryan throws his first no-hitter
By
Ricardo Ramos, Angelswin.com Contributor
When
Nolan Ryan stepped on the mount at Royals Stadium
on May 15, 1973, none of the 12,205 in attendance
could have had any clue they were about to witness
history. Ryan, after all, was coming off a terrible
start in which he gave up five runs to the White
Sox, failing to get out of the first inning (0.1
IP, 4 H, 5 ER).
His
next start, however, could not have been any different.
On this night, Ryan was special, recording the first
of his seven career no-hitters.
Before
he threw his first pitch, Ryan's teammates had already
staked him to a 2-0 lead. He then started off his
night by striking out the side in the bottom of
the first. Ryan would strike out at least one Royals
hitter per inning, save for the fifth, fanning a
dozen altogether.
Ryan,
who despite his strikeout dominance, was always
capable of painting himself into a corner with bases
on balls, avoided trouble all night, spreading his
three walks out over the first, third and eighth
innings. In fact, Ryan was so overpowering that
third baseman Al Gallagher, left fielder Vada Pinson
and shortstop Rudy Meoli fielded only two balls
between the three of them, both by Meoli.
With
the Angels leading, 3-0, Ryan faced the top of the
Kansas City order in the ninth. Shortstop Freddie
Patek fouled out to first and right fielder Steve
Hovley struck out. That brought outfielder Amos
Otis to the plate. Angels announcer Don Drysdale
made the call:
"The
one strike pitch, high fly ball, this could do it.
Barry going back, to the warning track, to the wall,
MAKES THE CATCH! … Nolan Ryan has pitched his
first no-hitter of his career!"
Telling
that Drysdale specifically called it Ryan's first,
as if it was inevitable there would be others -
which of course, there would be.
"From
the sixth inning on, I was given a lot of space
in the dugout." Ryan said after the game, "The
Angels believed in the old saying: Don't bother
a pitcher who's got the no-hitter going. Don't even
talk to him."
Ryan
became the first Angels right-hander to throw a
no-hitter and it was the first no-hitter thrown
at Royals Stadium, which had only opened the previous
month.
"I
never honestly felt I was the type of pitcher to
pitch a no-hitter," Ryan said. "My curveball
isn't overpowering and after you've gone through
the lineup once or twice, the hitters can get on
the fastball better. A lot of that is timing. I
don't have the type of fastball that really moves.
A lot of guys have that explosive type of fastball
that really moves. Also, I jam the hitters a lot
so the really strong guys can bloop it over the
infield for singles."
One
wonders if you'd have told him then he'd throw six
more, would he have believed it?
Nolan
Ryan no-hitter trivia: Angels second baseman Sandy
Alomar made the first out of this game. 18 years
later, his son Roberto Alomar struck out to end
Ryan's seventh no-hitter.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/KCA/KCA197305150.shtml
