2009 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Scioscia’s Crew

2009 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Scioscia’s Crew

To begin the 2000’s the Angels baseball franchise stunned the baseball world by capturing the 2002 World Series Championship as a Wild Card Team, going by the name of the Anaheim Angels at the time. Since changing their name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2005 the team continued to play good baseball. Wrapping up the 2000’s the Angels aimed to finish the way they started the decade.

In 2009 the Angels went 97-65, winning the American League West division by 10 games over the Texas Rangers. The Angels went 49-32 at home and 48-33 on the road. The Angels played well in every month of the regular season except for April, going 16-12 in May, 17-9 in June, 17-7 in July, 17-12 in August and 16-12 in September. In blowout games where the margin of victory was 5 runs or more, the Angels went 30-16.

Shortstop Eric Aybar batted .312 with 157 hits, 23 doubles, 9 triples and 14 stolen bases in 137 games. First baseman Kendrys Morales batted .306 with 34 home runs and 108 RBI’s off 173 hits and 43 doubles. Center fielder Torii Hunter batted .299 with 22 home runs and 90 RBI’s off 135 hits, 26 doubles and 18 stolen bases in 119 games. Third baseman Chone Figgins batted .298 with 183 hits, 30 doubles, 7 triples and 42 stolen bases. Designated Hitter Vladimir Guerrero batted .295 with 15 home runs, 113 hits and 16 doubles in 100 games. Right fielder Bobby Abreu batted .293 with 15 home runs and 103 RBI’s off 165 hits, 29 doubles and 30 stolen bases.

Second baseman Howie Kendrick batted .291 with 10 home runs and 61 RBI’s off 109 hits, 21 doubles and 11 stolen bases. Left fielder Juan Rivera batted .287 with 25 home runs and 88 RBI’s off 152 hits. Middle infielder Maicer Izturis batted .300 with 8 home runs and 65 RBI’s off 116 hits, 22 doubles and 13 stolen bases in 114 games. Catcher Mike Napoli batted .272 with 20 home runs, 104 hits and 22 doubles. Outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. had 79 hits and 19 doubles in 103 games.

The Ace of the starting rotation was Jered Weaver, who went 16-8 with 174 strikeouts and a 3.75 ERA, recording 4 complete games and 2 shutouts. Joe Saunders went 16-7 with 101 strikeouts, recording 1 complete game and 1 shutout. Matt Palmer went 11-2 with a 3.93 ERA and 1 complete game. John Lackey went 11-8 with 139 strikeouts and a 3.83 ERA, recording 1 complete game and 1 shutout. Ervin Santana went 8-8 with 107 strikeouts, recording 2 complete games and 2 shutouts. Sean O’Sullivan went 4-2 in 10 starts.

Formerly of the Colorado Rockies, closer Brian Fuentes became a part of Mike Scioscia’s crew, and he delivered with 48 saves and a 3.93 ERA. Relief pitcher Jason Bulger went 6-1 with 1 save and a 3.56 ERA. Kevin Jepsen went 6-4 with 1 save. Darren Oliver went 5-1 with a 2.71 ERA. Justin Speier went 4-2 from the bullpen.

The American League Division Series went as smoothly as the Angels had hoped for as they swept the Boston Red Sox 3 games to none. In Game 1 on October 8 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, the Angels blanked the Red Sox 5-0. John Lackey pitched 7.1 innings and gave up 4 hits and 1 walk but recorded 4 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 5th inning Torii Hunter launched a 3-run home run, and in the bottom of the 7th Kendrys Morales had an RBI single, which led to an error, allowing Juan Rivera to score an additional run.

In Game 2 on October 9 the Angels beat the Red Sox 4-1. Jered Weaver performed like an Ace as he pitched 7.1 innings, giving up 2 hits, 2 walks and 1 run while recording 7 strikeouts. In the top of the 4th inning Boston got its only run with an RBI single by catcher Victor Martinez. In the bottom of the 4th Morales hit a sacrifice fly to score Bobby Abreu. In the bottom of the 7th Maicer Izturis had an RBI single, and then Eric Aybar followed with a 2-run triple.

In Game 3 on October 11 at Fenway Park, the Angels edged out the Red Sox 7-6 to advance in the playoffs. In the bottom of the 3rd inning second baseman Dustin Pedroia had a 2-run double, and then Martinez followed with an RBI single. In the top of the 4th Morales hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the 4th right fielder J.D. Drew belted a 2-run home run. In the top of the 6th Rivera grounded into a double play to score Hunter, and then Rivera came back in the top of the 8th to get a 2-run single. In the bottom of the 8th third baseman Mike Lowell had an RBI single. In the top of the 9th the Angels completed a successful rally from behind with an RBI double by Abreu and a 2-run single by Guerrero.

The American League Championship Series would be the end of the road for the Angels as they would be eliminated 4 games to 2 by the eventual World Series Champion New York Yankees. In Game 3 on October 19 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, the Angels beat the Yankees 5-4. The Yankees broke out first with a trio of solo home runs hit by shortstop Derek Jeter in the top of the 1st inning, third baseman Alex Rodriguez in the top of the 4th, and left fielder Johnny Damon in the top of the 5th.

The Angels came back in the bottom of the 5th with a solo home run hit by Kendrick. In the bottom of the 6th Guerrero belted a 2-run home run. In the bottom of the 7th Izturis hit a sacrifice fly to score Kendrick. In the top of the 8th catcher Jorge Posada tied the game at 4-4 with a solo home run. In the bottom of the 11th catcher Jeff Mathis emerged as the hero as he had the walk-off RBI double.

In Game 5 on October 22 the Angels beat the Yankees 7-6. In the bottom of the 1st inning Hunter had a 2-run single, Guerrero had an RBI double, and then Morales followed with an RBI single. First baseman Mark Teixera brought New York back into the game in the top of the 7th with a 3-run double, designated hitter Hideki Matsui followed with an RBI single, and then second baseman Robinson Cano topped things off with a 2-run triple. In the bottom of the 7th Abreu had an RBI groundout, and then Guerrero and Morales followed with a pair of RBI singles to give the Angels a lead they wouldn’t again surrender.

Scioscia’s crew of players proved that they could get the job done by playing a variant of small ball, the kind that involved some timely home run hitting here and there. The roster for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim would experience a few significant changes in the next decade.