Last Updated: September 10th, 2026 by Shaiel Ben-Ephraim
The Angels are a really fun team with a unique story in history. First of all, obviously, the name: Los Angeles Angels, the California Angels, the Anaheim Angels, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and now again the Los Angeles Angels. Even though they are not in Los Angeles, the fan base has had to get used to different names. The Redskins fans complain a lot; you guys have had it worse.
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No other team has had this much spectacular talent and done as little with it as the Angels have. They've had a drought since 2014 of being in the playoffs, but the one time they made it to the World Series, they did win. Just like the Nationals, every time you reach the World Series, you want it.
So, an extraordinary history, and of course the Angels, for a relatively young team, have had a truly tragic history; who else has lost this many players? Lyman Bostock, Donnie Moore, Nick Adenhart and most recently Tyler Skaggs, and that is a very sad part of a history that has mostly been interesting and fun otherwise.
11. Mike Trout – The Greatest Angel of All Time
Mike Trout has to be the greatest Angel of all time with his three MVPs and finishing second in the ranking five more times. No one in the modern game has been that consistently regarded as a best player or one of the best players. And with 166 OPS plus, 91.1 WAR, 12 All-Star selections, and still years to go, that is incredible.
And he arrived fully formed. 2012 rookie season, he was already hitting .326, 30 homers, 49 steals, producing 10.5 WAR. That is the greatest season by a rookie position player in the history of baseball, at least according to the statistics. Unfortunately, he's only played in one postseason series, in 2014, when the Angels were swept by Kansas City.
Let's not talk too much about the injury trouble, because now he's back playing center field every day, sprinting in the top 90th percentile, looking a lot like Trout at his peak. Maybe he can reproduce his peak and make his Hall of Fame candidacy even more convincing than it already is.
| Mike Trout — Career | Total |
|---|---|
| G | 1748 |
| AB | 6326 |
| H | 1839 |
| HR | 424 |
| RBI | 1060 |
| SB | 222 |
| AVG | .291 |
| OBP | .405 |
| SLG | .563 |
| OPS | .968 |
| MVP | 3 |
| All-Star selections | 12 |
| Silver Sluggers | 9 |
| Rookie of the Year | 1 |
10. Nolan Ryan – The Strikeout King
Nolan Ryan had a lot of great years in that career, but no years were better than the years he had with the Angels. He arrived from the Mets as a 24-year-old with a serious control problem. Anaheim turned him into the most frightening pitcher on the mound.
'73 is the season, the turning point. He struck out 383 batters, the modern single-season record, and he threw two no-hitters in the same year. Four no-hitters as an Angel, tying Sandy Koufax's career record before he was 30 years old. And in '74, his fastball was clocked at 100.9 miles per hour.
As an Angel, 2,416 strikeouts and a 3.07 ERA. Now, he didn't win the Cy Young Award even once in 27 years, and you could have made the case for him in several years as an Angel. '72, '73, '74, or '77.
And the exit was really, really weird and very Angels. The general manager Buzzy Bavasi said he wasn't going to pay to keep him because he could be replaced by two eight-to-seven record pitchers. Yeah, that is not how it worked out.
When Ryan left for Houston, he had 14 more seasons, threw three more no-hitters, finished with 5,714 strikeouts, and was a first-ballot Hall of Famer. His number is retired in Anaheim, and rightfully so. You can't be replaced as easily as they thought.
| Nolan Ryan Jr. — Career | Total |
|---|---|
| W | 324 |
| L | 292 |
| ERA | 3.19 |
| G | 807 |
| IP | 5386.0 |
| SO | 5714 |
| WHIP | 1.25 |
| SV | 3 |
| All-Star selections | 8 |
| World Series titles | 1 |
9. Jim Fregosi – The Original Angel Star
Jim Fregosi was the first real star the Angels ever had, and he was also the best shortstop in the American League in his era. Taken in the 1960 expansion draft before the Angels had even played a game, and by '65 he was the best: six All-Star selections, a Gold Glove, and '67 hit for the cycle twice. 48.4 WAR career, .265; nearly all of his great years were at Anaheim.
This guy's back to Nolan Ryan. In 1971, the Angels finally traded Fregosi to the Mets for Ryan. The Angels got the greatest pitcher in their franchise history by giving up who had been, up until then, the greatest player in franchise history. Didn't work out well for the Mets, for Fregosi hit .232 with five homers for them. It's remembered as one of the worst trades ever made, and the Angels got amazing pitching years from Ryan.
But Fregosi came back and managed the Angels from '78 to '81, won the first division title in franchise history in '79, and his number was retired in 1988. When he died, he died of a stroke while on a baseball cruise. An Angels legend, lived and died with baseball.
| Jim Fregosi — Career | Total |
|---|---|
| G | 1902 |
| AB | 6523 |
| H | 1726 |
| HR | 151 |
| RBI | 706 |
| SB | 76 |
| AVG | .265 |
| OBP | .338 |
| SLG | .398 |
| OPS | .736 |
| All-Star selections | 6 |
| Gold Gloves | 1 |
8. Chuck Finley – The Innings Eater
Nolan Ryan may have been the best pitcher to ever pitch for the Angels. But Chuck Finley embodied Angels pitching. We're talking about a guy who is their all-time leader in wins, innings, games started, and franchise strikeout leader, and he did it over 14 seasons from 86 to 1999 for the Angels.
He was very solid all those years. 200 wins, 273 losses, 3.85 ERA, 2610 strikeouts. His best season was definitely 1989 when he went 16 and 9 with a 2.57 ERA, or possibly the 1990 season with 18 and 9 and a 2.40 ERA.
Now, one fun thing about Finley is he's the only guy who's ever struck out four batters in a single inning more than once, and he did it three times. That's what happens when you have a passed ball after a strikeout and have to strike out someone again after.
The sad thing about Finley's career is that he was there until 99 and left as a free agent that year. In 2002, they finally won the World Series, and Finley was pitching at the time for the Cardinals, who were in the NLCS, and he won a game there, but they lost to the Giants, and then went on to lose to the Angels. So he was very close to either winning a title with the Angels or being the guy who pitched against them.
| Chuck Finley — Career | Total |
|---|---|
| W | 200 |
| L | 173 |
| ERA | 3.85 |
| G | 524 |
| IP | 3197.1 |
| SO | 2610 |
| WHIP | 1.38 |
| SV | 0 |
| All-Star selections | 5 |
7. Tim Salmon – Mr. Angel
Tim Salmon had several nicknames; one of them was Kingfish, but another was Mr. Angel. And can we just get this one out of the way now: two of the best Angels players are named after very popular fish, Salmon and Trout.
Anyway, Tim Salmon never played for another team; 15 years for the Angels. 1993, he was American League Rookie of the Year unanimously with his 283, 31 home run, 95 RBI season. Ended up with a really respectable career: 128 OPS+, holds the franchise record for walks.
Now there are a couple of things to remember about him. He only had 299 home runs, so he was one short of 300. He was never an All-Star, somehow, despite his very good OPS plus and being Rookie of the Year. And he had a great World Series, the only time the Angels ever reached the World Series. In Game 2, he went four for four with two homers; in the series, he hit .346.
And that's the sad part, you know, Mike Trout barely had any postseason appearances. Salmon, who wasn't quite as good, has that World Series ring and the game two that people in Anaheim will still talk about. You know, how you do in the postseason and your entire career are two very different things.
| Tim Salmon — Career | Total |
|---|---|
| G | 1672 |
| AB | 5934 |
| H | 1674 |
| HR | 299 |
| RBI | 1016 |
| SB | 48 |
| AVG | .282 |
| OBP | .385 |
| SLG | .498 |
| OPS | .883 |
| Silver Sluggers | 1 |
| World Series titles | 1 |
| Rookie of the Year | 1 |
6. Vladimir Guerrero – The Impactful MVP
Until Trout gets into the Hall of Fame, Vladimir Guerrero is the only player in Cooperstown wearing an Angels cap, and that's despite the fact that he played more games for the Expos. He had a .337 average, 39 homers, and 126 RBIs in his 2004 MVP year when he signed for the team. He beat Gary Sheffield by 100 points in the voting.
What he did in September is what really made the year. He had .371 in the stretch while they were chasing the A's and carried the team on his back. They caught Oakland and won the West.
Six years in Anaheim brought an incredible haul, with a .319 batting average, 173 home runs, 616 RBIs, and a 140 OPS Plus. He was a Hall of Famer on the second ballot with 92.9.
Now, he was an interesting player. He swung at everything and hit it; no one was better as a bad-pitch hitter. He chased 45.5% of pitches outside the strike zone and hit them over .300 while doing it. He did it without batting gloves; he never used them.
And his arm was ridiculous. He once threw a ball 300 feet from deep right field to home plate on one bounce, without it rising above 21 feet. That's how strong that arm was.
| Vladimir Guerrero — Career | Total |
|---|---|
| G | 2147 |
| AB | 8155 |
| H | 2590 |
| HR | 449 |
| RBI | 1496 |
| SB | 181 |
| AVG | .318 |
| OBP | .379 |
| SLG | .553 |
| OPS | .932 |
| MVP | 1 |
| All-Star selections | 9 |
| Silver Sluggers | 8 |
5. Brian Downing – The Versatile Veteran
Brian Downing has some of the best numbers in Angels history, and he led Angels' career leaders in games, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, total bases, home runs, and RBIs when he retired- every offensive category the franchise had- all at once- after 13 seasons at Anaheim.
Now, the way he did it wasn't by having an incredible amount of talent, although he had plenty; it was by being such a hard worker and being adaptable. He was a light-hitting catcher with the White Sox, but in the late seventies he challenged himself; he did something no one was doing then: he started lifting weights, which was discouraged at the time, and he rebuilt his batting stance into an open position.
Teammates called him the Incredible Hulk from the combination of those two things. It worked; in '79, he hit .326, and he made the All-Star team.
Then he changed positions twice more to fit circumstances. A broken ankle in 1980 pushed him out of catcher and into left field. He became a DH, and in '87 he was really good in the outfield too. Just a useful, smart player. Led the league in walks at 36 years old in 1987- someone who never stops working and adapting.
| Brian Downing — Career | Total |
|---|---|
| G | 2344 |
| AB | 7853 |
| H | 2099 |
| HR | 275 |
| RBI | 1073 |
| SB | 50 |
| AVG | .267 |
| OBP | .370 |
| SLG | .425 |
| OPS | .795 |
| All-Star selections | 1 |
4. Bobby Grich – The Golden Glover
Bobby Grich's stats, when looked at in retrospect using advanced metrics, are really impressive. We're talking about a guy with a career WAR of 71.1, and that is more than Andrew Jones, more than Dwight Evans, more than Greg Nettles.
It's more than a lot of Cooperstown people. He's 8th or 9th among all second basemen ever according to advanced stats, and he really didn't get a look. He got 11 votes in 1992, and after one ballot he was gone, even though he had six All-Star selections, for gold gloves, and a 125 OPS Plus in a position where there's not a lot of players who have an OPS Plus that high.
He set Major League fielding records for second baseman twice, with .995 and .973, and .997 in 1985 at 36 as an Angel. Led the American League in slugging in '81. He really had a lot going on. Nobody in the franchise's history has more value for less recognition, and people really need to give him another look in order for his legacy to be properly preserved.
| Bobby Grich — Career | Total |
|---|---|
| G | 2008 |
| AB | 6890 |
| H | 1833 |
| HR | 224 |
| RBI | 864 |
| SB | 104 |
| AVG | .266 |
| OBP | .371 |
| SLG | .424 |
| OPS | .795 |
| All-Star selections | 6 |
| Gold Gloves | 4 |
| Silver Sluggers | 1 |
3. Garret Anderson – The Consistent Producer
Garrett Anderson owns so many of the Angels' records that he left the team with: hits, 2368 games played, RBIs, doubles, at-bats, total bases, extra-base hits, and 15 seasons. He owns the Angels records. And of course, he had the biggest hit in franchise history: game seven of the 2002 World Series, a third-inning, bases-clearing, three-run double. Without it, they would not have won the title.
In 2003, he had another highlight. Won the Home Run Derby and was named the All-Star Game MVP in the same year. No one else did it but Cal Ripken in '91.
But if that sounds like he's one of the greatest Angels, certainly he has that reputation, but his WAR was actually low: 26.8. His OPS+ was 102, which is basically average. And the reason for that, despite all those impressive laurels, is that he didn't walk. That means that he had a career on-base percentage of 324, and he wasn't much of an outfielder.
So compare him to, say, Bobby Grich with the 71 WAR. Garrett Anderson is less than half the player, statistically speaking, that Grich was, and that's what happens when you don't walk and when you can't field. But what he did do, he did very reliably, and Angels fans will always hold a special place for him in their hearts.
| Garret Anderson — Career | Total |
|---|---|
| G | 2228 |
| AB | 8640 |
| H | 2529 |
| HR | 287 |
| RBI | 1365 |
| SB | 80 |
| AVG | .293 |
| OBP | .324 |
| SLG | .461 |
| OPS | .785 |
| All-Star selections | 3 |
| Silver Sluggers | 2 |
| World Series titles | 1 |
2. Rod Carew – The Hall of Fame Hit Machine
Rod Carew, you don't really think of the Angels, but he had some great years there. Now, first of all, let's all remember how Rod Carew was born. He was born on a moving train in Panama on the way to the hospital; a nurse helped deliver him, and a doctor named Rodney Klein finished the delivery, and the parents named the baby after the doctor. I just thought that was important to get out of the way.
Of course he's a legend: 328 career batting average, 81.3 WAR, 131 Ops plus, and seven batting titles- more than anyone who's not named Ty Cobb- 18 All-Star selections, and so on.
By the time he got to the Angels, he was past his prime; his batting titles and MVP were behind him, but he had seven seasons there hitting .314, and he was an important component of the 79 and 82 division winners.
He got his 3,000th hit over there, and his number, number 29, is retired in Anaheim as well. He had great years there, and the man is an absolute legend.
| Rod Carew — Career | Total |
|---|---|
| G | 2469 |
| AB | 9315 |
| H | 3053 |
| HR | 92 |
| RBI | 1015 |
| SB | 353 |
| AVG | .328 |
| OBP | .393 |
| SLG | .429 |
| OPS | .822 |
| MVP | 1 |
| All-Star selections | 18 |
| Rookie of the Year | 1 |
1. Shohei Ohtani – The Modern-Day Babe Ruth
Well, what do you want me to say about Shohei Ohtani that hasn't already been said? But out of his four MVPs, he won two of them as an Angel, and he's the only player in history with multiple unanimous MVPs. He has four of them and only one to win in both leagues.
In 2021, he had 46 homers and 156 strikeouts. In 2023, he led the Major Leagues with 44 homers while also hitting 304. And the really sad part is he was with the Angels for six seasons, with Mike Trout, and neither one of them won a single playoff game there. And after all the money that was invested in the team at that time, nothing.
So I guess that's why he left the Angels, but when you look at the list of players who played for the Angels, he's probably the one with the greatest abilities and the one who will be remembered most.
| Shohei Ohtani — Career | Total |
|---|---|
| G | 1146 |
| AB | 4147 |
| H | 1172 |
| HR | 306 |
| RBI | 741 |
| SB | 171 |
| AVG | .283 |
| OBP | .377 |
| SLG | .578 |
| OPS | .955 |
| MVP | 4 |
| All-Star selections | 6 |
| Silver Sluggers | 4 |
| World Series titles | 2 |
| Rookie of the Year | 1 |
