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129-516: Robb Allen Nen (born November 28, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher . He spent most of his career as a closer . He is the son of former major league first baseman Dick Nen . He currently works in the Giants' front office as a special assistant to General Manager Farhan Zaidi . Nen pitched for the Florida Marlins (1993–97); in 1997, Nen won
258-577: A 116 win team in 2001 while the Angels managed to win the World Series in 2002. Despite both teams encountering a decline through the decade, regular matchups often developed into clashes for relevance in the division. Recently; both teams have been fighting for their own respective position in search of the postseason as both sides have been bolstered with such talents as Julio Rodríguez and Ty France for Seattle or Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout for
387-667: A batter could foul off any number of pitches with no strikes counted against him; this gave an enormous advantage to the batter. After the 1919 World Series between the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds, baseball was rocked by allegations of a game-fixing scheme known as the Black Sox Scandal . Eight players— "Shoeless" Joe Jackson , Eddie Cicotte , Claude "Lefty" Williams , George "Buck" Weaver , Arnold "Chick" Gandil , Fred McMullin , Charles "Swede" Risberg , and Oscar "Happy" Felsch —intentionally lost
516-406: A chance for recreation and for taking their minds off their work even more than before." With the approval of President Roosevelt, spring training began in 1942 with few repercussions. The war interrupted the careers of stars including Stan Musial , Bob Feller , Ted Williams , and Joe DiMaggio , but baseball clubs continued to field their teams. Branch Rickey, president and general manager of
645-421: A combination of average fan attendance, fan relations, "Bang for your Buck" or winning percentage over the past 3 years, ownership, affordability, stadium experience, players effort on the field and likability, coaching, and "Title Track". The Los Angeles Angels have used ten different logos and three different color combinations throughout their history. Their first two logos depict a baseball with wings and
774-506: A controversial move, the Marlins held a "fire sale" in which they traded away most of their high-caliber players in favor of gaining prospects and utilizing many of their minor league players, all while keeping their team payroll low. On November 18, 1997, Nen was traded to the Giants for Mike Villano, Joe Fontenot and Mick Pageler. Nen was expected to fill in the closer role, a role recently vacated by Rod Beck , who left via free agency to
903-492: A formal classification system for minor leagues, the forerunner of today's system that was refined by Branch Rickey . Several other early defunct baseball leagues are considered major leagues, and their statistics and records are included with those of the two modern major leagues. In 1969, the Special Baseball Records Committee of Major League Baseball officially recognized six major leagues:
1032-530: A game against the Baltimore Orioles . With the introduction of interleague play in the 1997 season, the Angels and Dodgers played each other in the regular season for the first time with a two-game series beginning on June 17 at Dodger Stadium. A bench-clearing brawl occurred during a June 1999 series between the two teams when Angels pitcher Tim Belcher tagged out Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park after his at-bat, leading to an exchange of words that
1161-506: A grand jury in Pittsburgh related to cocaine trafficking. The 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike from August 12, 1994, to April 25, 1995, caused the cancellation of over 900 games and the forfeit of the entire 1994 postseason. Routinely in the late 1990s and early 2000s, baseball players hit 40 or 50 home runs in a season, a feat that was considered rare even in the 1980s. It later became apparent that at least some of this power surge
1290-406: A group led by the team owner Arte Moreno for $ 325 million. The deal would have included a new or refurbished stadium, 5,175 apartments and condominiums, 2.7 million square feet (251,000 square meters) of office space, and 1.1 million square feet (102,000 square meters) of retail stores, restaurants and hotels. The deal was later canceled by the city council due to bribery and corruption allegations by
1419-455: A halo over a baseball diamond with the letters "L" and "A" over it in different styles. The original team colors were the predominantly blue with a red trim. This color scheme would be in effect for most of the franchise's history lasting from 1961 to 1996. On September 2, 1965, with the team still a tenant of the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine, Autry changed its name from the "Los Angeles Angels" to
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#17327866954981548-424: A joke on Napoli, his former teammate, by tweeting his phone number, causing Napoli to exchange words with Wilson. The feuds go back to two incidents between Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy and Rangers catcher Gerald Laird which led to punches being thrown. The Angels and Rangers have each pitched a perfect game against each other, making them the only pair of MLB teams to have done so. Mike Witt pitched
1677-658: A little better in subsequent campaigns—but in their eighth season (1969) the Mets became the first of the 1960s expansion teams to play in the postseason, culminating in a World Series title over the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles. In 1966, the major leagues moved to the "Deep South" when the Braves moved to Atlanta. In 1968, the Kansas City Athletics moved west to become the Oakland Athletics . In 1969,
1806-671: A man for many reasons. Color is not one of them." That year, Robinson won the inaugural Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award (separate NL and AL Rookie of the Year honors were not awarded until 1949). Less than three months later, Larry Doby became the first African-American to break the color barrier in the American League with the Cleveland Indians. The next year, a number of other black players entered
1935-431: A one-armed outfielder, got the chance to advance to the major leagues. However, MLB rosters did not include any black players through the end of the war. Black players, many of whom served in the war, were still restricted to playing Negro league baseball . Wartime blackout restrictions , designed to keep outdoor lighting at low levels, caused another problem for baseball. These rules limited traveling and night games to
2064-635: A perfect game for the Angels against the Rangers in 1984 at Arlington Stadium and Kenny Rogers for the Rangers against the Angels in 1994. The rivalry with the Los Angeles Dodgers has been referred to as the Freeway Series because of the freeway system (mostly via Interstate 5 ) linking the two teams' home fields. The Freeway Series is one of four MLB rivalries between two teams in the same metropolitan area. From 1962 to 1965,
2193-662: A playoff berth. Through 2024, the Angels have a win–loss record of 5,021–5,115–3 (.495). The Los Angeles Angels name originates from the first Los Angeles–based sports team, the Los Angeles Angels of the California League , who took the name from the English translation of Los Angeles , which means 'The Angels' in Spanish. The team name started in 1892. In 1903, the team name continued through
2322-561: A reference to the sign. The Angels established a team Hall of Fame in 1988. They have inducted fifteen individuals (fourteen players and one executive) along with members of the 2002 team. Several Hall of Famers have spent part of their careers with the Angels and the Hall lists the Angels as the "primary team" of Nolan Ryan . Additionally, the Angels have one member in the Hall of Fame wearing an Angels cap insignia, Vladimir Guerrero , who
2451-505: A renegotiated lease providing that the names of both the stadium and team contain the word Anaheim . The team was renamed the Anaheim Angels and became a subsidiary of Disney Sports, Inc. (later renamed Anaheim Sports, Inc. ). Under Disney's ownership and the leadership of manager Mike Scioscia , the Angels won their first pennant and World Series championship in 2002 . In 2005 , new owner Arte Moreno added Los Angeles to
2580-475: A single-game MLB attendance record in their first home appearance with 78,672 fans. In 1961, the first Washington Senators franchise moved to Minneapolis–St. Paul to become the Minnesota Twins . Two new teams were added to the American League at the same time: the Los Angeles Angels (who soon moved from downtown L.A. to nearby Anaheim ) and a new Washington Senators franchise. The NL added
2709-540: A successful Baltimore chop, the batter hits the ball forcefully into the ground, causing it to bounce so high that the batter reaches first base before the ball can be fielded and thrown to the first baseman. The adoption of the foul strike rule—in the NL in 1901, in the AL two years later—quickly sent baseball from a high-scoring game to one where scoring runs became a struggle. Before this rule, foul balls were not counted as strikes:
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#17327866954982838-645: Is a professional baseball league and the highest level of organized baseball in the United States and Canada . One of the "Big Four" major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada , MLB comprises 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. Formed in 1876 and 1901, respectively,
2967-543: Is the all-time saves leader for the Giants with 206 saves. His locker was maintained throughout the 2003 and 2004 seasons as he last left it and was formally retired in 2005, but his jersey continued to hang in the locker room both at home and on the road. He would have a day dedicated to him in San Francisco at their home park (known at the time as SBC Park) on July 9 of that year; he noted at the time of his retirement that he had no regrets for how his career ended. Nen
3096-763: Is working the national Friday Night Baseball broadcast. As the Angels share the network with the Los Angeles Kings ice hockey team, sister channels Bally Sports SoCal and KCOP-TV may be used for broadcasts in the event of a scheduling conflict. The Angels have been affiliated with BSW since the 1993 season when the network was originally known as Prime Ticket. The network has changed names multiple times since, including Prime Sports West, Fox Sports Net West, and Fox Sports West. Over-the-air station KTLA carried Angels games from 1964 to 1995 as both entities were owned by Gene Autry. KCAL-TV has twice held Angels broadcast rights, originally from 1961 to 1963 under
3225-507: The 2002 World Series , their only championship appearance to date. They, along with the Washington Nationals , are the two MLB franchises to win their sole appearance in the World Series . Over the next seven years under Scioscia's management, the Angels would then win five division titles, spearheaded by their lone Hall of Fame representative Vladimir Guerrero . They also saw an increase in fan attendance, consistently placing
3354-832: The Boston Braves became the Milwaukee Braves , the St. Louis Browns became the Baltimore Orioles , and the Philadelphia Athletics became the Kansas City Athletics . The 1958 Major League Baseball season began to turn Major League Baseball into a nationwide league. Walter O'Malley , owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers and "perhaps the most influential owner of baseball's early expansion era," moved his team to Los Angeles, marking
3483-528: The Chicago Cubs . If Beck had set the bar high for a San Francisco closer (199 saves in his 7-year tenure with the Giants), Nen would raise the bar. His first year yielded 40 saves with a 1.52 ERA and 110 strikeouts in 88 + 2 ⁄ 3 innings. As a Giant, Nen was selected to three All-Star Games (1998, 1999, 2002) and finished 4th in voting for the 2000 National League Cy Young Award and 12th in
3612-664: The FBI on the deal between an Angels Baseball employee and Anaheim mayor Harry Sidhu , allegedly in exchange for a $ 1 million campaign contribution toward the mayor's reelection. Mayor Sidhu resigned on May 24, 2022. In 2023 the Angels scored a franchise record 25 runs against the Rockies, scoring 13 runs in the third inning alone. The mantra "Win One for the Cowboy" is a staple that is deeply rooted in Angels history for fans. The saying refers to
3741-481: The Great Depression and World War II without any of its teams folding. Shortly after the war, Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier . Some teams moved to different cities in the 1950s and 1960s. The AL and NL added eight clubs in the 1960s: two in 1961, two in 1962, and four in 1969. Player discontent with established labor practices, especially the reserve clause, led to the organization of
3870-530: The Great Depression , baseball's popularity had begun a downward turn in the early 1930s. By 1932, only two MLB teams turned a profit. Attendance had fallen, due at least in part to a 10% federal amusement tax added to baseball ticket prices. Baseball owners cut their rosters from 25 men to 23, and even the best players took pay cuts. Team executives were innovative in their attempts to survive, creating night games, broadcasting games live by radio, and rolling out promotions such as free admission for women. Throughout
3999-788: The Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division . Since 1966, the team has played its home games at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California . The franchise was founded in Los Angeles in 1961 by Gene Autry as one of MLB's first two expansion teams and the first to originate in California. Deriving its name from an earlier Los Angeles Angels franchise that played in
Robb Nen - Misplaced Pages Continue
4128-682: The Houston Astros and the New York Mets in 1962. The Astros (known as the "Colt .45s" during their first three seasons) became the first southern major league franchise since the Louisville Colonels folded in 1899 and the first franchise to be located along the Gulf Coast . The Mets established a reputation for futility by going 40–120 during their first season of play in the nation's media capital—and by playing only
4257-603: The Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League . The current Angels franchise was established by MLB in 1961 after original owner Gene Autry bought the rights to the franchise name from Walter O'Malley , the former Los Angeles Dodgers owner, who had acquired the franchise from Phil Wrigley , the owner of the Chicago Cubs at the time. As stated in the book Under the Halo: The Official History of Angels Baseball , "Autry agreed to buy
4386-478: The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim until 2015. The current Los Angeles Angels name came into use the following season. Throughout their first four decades of existence, the Angels were a middling franchise, but did win three division titles and notably hosted the careers of Hall of Fame players Nolan Ryan , Rod Carew , and Reggie Jackson . Under manager Mike Scioscia , they would eventually achieve their first Wild Card spot in 2002, and used this momentum to win
4515-528: The Major League Baseball Players Association to collectively bargain with the owners, which in turn led to the introduction of free agency in baseball. Modern stadiums with artificial turf surfaces began to change the game in the 1970s and 1980s. Home runs dominated the game during the 1990s. In the mid-2000s, media reports disclosed the use of anabolic steroids among MLB players; a 2006–07 investigation produced
4644-563: The Mitchell Report , which found that many players had used steroids and other performance-enhancing substances , including at least one player from each team. Each team plays 162 games per season, with Opening Day traditionally held during the first week of April. Six teams in each league then advance to a four-round postseason tournament in October, culminating in the World Series , a best-of-seven championship series between
4773-527: The Pacific Coast League (PCL), the team was based in Los Angeles until moving to Anaheim in 1966. Due to the move, the franchise was known as the California Angels from 1965 to 1996 and the Anaheim Angels from 1997 to 2004. "Los Angeles" was added back to the name in 2005, but because of a lease agreement with Anaheim that required the city to also be in the name, the franchise was known as
4902-621: The Texas Rangers . In 1977, baseball expanded again , adding a second Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays , as well as the Seattle Mariners . Subsequently, no new teams were added until the 1990s and no teams moved until 2005. By the late 1960s, the balance between pitching and hitting had swung in favor of the pitchers. In 1968—later nicknamed "the year of the pitcher" —Boston Red Sox player Carl Yastrzemski won
5031-679: The World Baseball Softball Confederation jointly manage the international World Baseball Classic tournament. In the 1860s, aided by soldiers playing the game in camp during the Civil War , "New York"-style baseball expanded into a national game and spawned baseball's first governing body, the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP). The NABBP existed as an amateur league for 12 years. By 1867, more than 400 clubs were members. Most of
5160-736: The World Series championship with the Marlins. He also played with the San Francisco Giants (1998–2002), with whom he was a three-time All-Star and played in the 2002 World Series , and the Texas Rangers (1993). Nen has 314 career saves with the Marlins (1993–1997; 108 saves) and Giants (1998–2002; 206 saves). He was 8th overall in career saves when he retired, and stands 25th overall as of September 13, 2023. He attended Los Alamitos High School and played varsity baseball with future Giants Gold Glove-winning first baseman J. T. Snow . Nen played mostly at third base , and also did some pitching. He skipped college and went directly to
5289-817: The first and second Negro National Leagues (1920–1931 and 1933–1948), the Eastern Colored League (1923–1928), the American Negro League (1929), the East–West League (1932), the Negro Southern League (1932), and the Negro American League (1937–1948). In 2021, baseball reference website Baseball-Reference.com began to include statistics from those seven leagues into their major-league statistics. In May 2024, Major League Baseball announced that it
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5418-486: The minor leagues . Nen was selected by the Rangers as a pitcher in the 32nd round of the 1987 MLB draft . The Rangers promoted him to their Major League roster in 1993 . His partial season with the Rangers was marred by injuries and subpar results on the mound, resulting in a 6.35 earned run average . On July 17 of his first year, the Rangers traded Nen and pitcher Kurt Miller to the Florida Marlins for Cris Carpenter . Nen started one game for his new team and finished
5547-463: The "California Angels". With the club's 1966 move to Anaheim , the logo changed as well. During the 31 years of being known as the "California Angels", the team kept the previous color scheme, however, their logo did change six times during this period. The first logo under this name was very similar to the previous "LA" logo, the only difference was instead of an interlocking "LA", there was an interlocking "CA". Directly after this from 1971 to 1985,
5676-422: The "singing cowboy". Autry's #26 was retired as the 26th man on the field for the Angels. Angel Stadium of Anaheim is nicknamed "The Big A". It has a section in center field nicknamed the "California Spectacular", a formation of artificial rocks made to look like a desert mountain in California. The California Spectacular has a running waterfall, and also shoots fireworks from the rocks before every game; anytime
5805-557: The 1960s and 1970s, as baseball expanded, NFL football had been surging in popularity, making it economical for many of these cities to build multi-purpose stadiums instead of single-purpose baseball fields. Because of climate and economic issues, many of these facilities had playing surfaces made from artificial turf , as well as the oval designs characteristic of stadiums designed to house both baseball and football. This often resulted in baseball fields with relatively more foul territory than older stadiums. These characteristics changed
5934-463: The 1990s. During the 1980s, baseball experienced a number of significant changes the game had not seen in years. Home runs were on the decline throughout the decade, with players hitting 40 home runs just 13 times and no one hitting more than 50 home runs in a season for the first time since the Dead-ball era (1900–1919). The 1981 Major League Baseball strike from June 12 until July 31 forced
6063-446: The 1993 season with a disappointing 7.02 ERA. The following season , the Marlins moved him to the bullpen in an effort to reduce the frequency of his arm injuries. Nen flourished in his new role and became the Marlins' new closer that year. He finished the strike-shortened 1994 season with 15 saves and a 2.95 ERA. Nen would continue to be a dominating closer for the Marlins, racking up a total of 108 saves and establishing himself as one of
6192-610: The 2000s. The Los Angeles Dodgers are considered a geographical rival as the two teams share the Greater Los Angeles television market. The Angels have held a steady rivalry with the Oakland Athletics since their relocation to California and to the AL West in 1969. Though not as intense as the Dodgers–Giants rivalry equivalent in the National League; the A's and Angels have often been competitive in their own battle for
6321-475: The 2004 season, both teams came down to the wire: tied for wins headed into the final week of September with the last three games being played in Oakland against the Angels. Both teams were battling to secure the division title, however; Oakland fell in 2 crushing losses to the Angels with only one victory in the series coming in the final game. Oakland would find themselves eliminated from the playoff hunt, though
6450-404: The 50th Anniversary season. A new patch was added on the uniforms before the 2012 season, featuring a red circle encircling the words "Angels Baseball" and the club logo inside and flanking the year 1961 in the middle, which was the year the Angels franchise was established. With this new patch, the Angels' A with the halo now appears on three different locations of the jersey: the right shoulder,
6579-537: The AL and NL caused shock waves throughout the baseball world. At a meeting at the Leland Hotel in Chicago in 1901, the other baseball leagues negotiated a plan to maintain their independence. A new National Association was formed to oversee these minor leagues. After 1902, the NL, AL, and NA signed a new National Agreement which tied independent contracts to the reserve-clause contracts. The agreement also set up
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#17327866954986708-491: The American League batting title with an average of just .301, the lowest in the history of Major League Baseball. Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLain won 31 games, making him the only pitcher to win 30 games in a season since Dizzy Dean in 1934. St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Bob Gibson achieved an equally remarkable feat by allowing an ERA of just 1.12. Following these pitching performances, in December 1968
6837-917: The American and National Leagues both added two expansion franchises . The American League added the Seattle Pilots (who became the Milwaukee Brewers after one disastrous season in Seattle) and the Kansas City Royals . The NL added the first Canadian franchise, the Montreal Expos , as well as the San Diego Padres . In 1972, the second Washington Senators moved to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to become
6966-576: The Angels The two teams have met 717 times with the Angels leading the series 388-329, both teams have yet to meet in the postseason. The Angels' rivalry with the Texas Rangers has been said to have developed over a domination in the division between the two teams, and also in recent years more animosity between the two teams due to players who have played for both teams, including Nolan Ryan, Mike Napoli , Darren Oliver , Vladimir Guerrero , C. J. Wilson , and Josh Hamilton . In 2012, Wilson played
7095-574: The Angels adopted a logo that had the word "Angels" written on an outline of the State of California. Between the years 1971–1972 the "A" was lower-case while from 1973 to 1985 it was upper-case. It was in 1965, while the stadium was being finished, that Bud Furillo (of the Herald Examiner) coined its nickname, "the Big A" after the tall letter A that once stood beyond left-center field and served as
7224-545: The Angels hit a home run or win a home game the fireworks shoot from the rocks as well. Each game begins with the song " Calling All Angels " by Train being played accompanied by a video that shows historical moments in team history. Since 2024, the Angels' home run song has been " Dance With Me " by Blink-182 . Previous home run songs include " Song 2 " by Blur , " Chelsea Dagger " by The Fratellis , " Kernkraft 400 " by Zombie Nation , "Killin' It" by Krewella , and " Bro Hymn " by Pennywise After an Angels home win,
7353-422: The Angels logos of the past (and also the 50th Anniversary tradition of gold). The uniforms also reflected the change to the gold halo for this season. During the 50th Anniversary season the players wore throwback jerseys at each Friday home game reflecting all the different logos and uniforms previously worn by players. Also, Angels alumni from past seasons threw the ceremonial first pitch at every home game during
7482-404: The Angels out of the 1st seed in the division, finishing 4 games ahead while the Angels secured the Wild Card berth. Despite the 103 win season for Oakland; they would fall in a shocking upset to the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS. The Angels managed to pull off an underdog victory over both the New York Yankees, the Twins, and culminated in the franchise's first and only World Series victory. During
7611-427: The Angels played their home games at Dodger Stadium . Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley granted approval for an American League franchise in Los Angeles under the condition that they play at Dodger Stadium. As a result, Angels owner Gene Autry signed a three-year deal to rent the stadium with a subsequent four option years. On May 5, 1962, Angels pitcher Bo Belinsky pitched the first no-hitter in Dodger Stadium history in
7740-417: The Angels would go on to suffer a crushing sweep at the hands of the eventual champion Boston Red Sox. The Athletics lead the series 527-479, the two teams have yet to meet in the postseason. The Angels have maintained a steady rivalry with the Seattle Mariners as both teams have often fought for control of the division or a playoff berth. During 1995, the Angels held a season-high 13-game division lead over
7869-418: The Angels' appearance in the 2002 World Series against the San Francisco Giants . In the Game 6 of the series, the Angels were playing at home, but were trailing the series three games to two and facing elimination. They were down 5–0 as the game entered the bottom of the 7th inning. Amid fervid rally-monkey themed fan support, the Angels proceeded to score six unanswered runs over the next two innings, winning
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#17327866954987998-480: The Angels' founder and previous owner, Gene Autry , who never saw his Angels win a World Series in his 38 years as owner. Years went by as the team experienced many losses just strikes away from American League pennants. By the time the Angels won their first World Series in 2002, Autry had been dead for four years. After winning the World Series, Angels player Tim Salmon ran into the home dugout and brought out one of Autry's signature white Stetson hats in honor of
8127-409: The Brooklyn Dodgers, began making efforts to introduce a black baseball player to the previously all-white professional baseball leagues in the mid-1940s. He selected Jackie Robinson from a list of promising Negro league players. After obtaining a commitment from Robinson to "turn the other cheek" to any racial antagonism directed at him, Rickey agreed to sign him to a contract for $ 600 a month. In what
8256-410: The Dodgers through 1965 . The team's founder, entertainer Gene Autry, owned the franchise for its first 36 years. During Autry's ownership, the team made the postseason three times, but never won the pennant . The team has gone through several name changes in their history, first changing their name from Los Angeles Angels to California Angels on September 2, 1965, with a month still left in
8385-711: The Dodgers when they came to town, abandoning the Negro league teams that they had followed exclusively. Robinson's promotion met a generally positive, although mixed, reception among newspaper writers and white major league players. Manager Leo Durocher informed his team, "I don't care if he is yellow or black or has stripes like a fucking zebra. I'm his manager and I say he plays." After a strike threat by some players, NL President Ford C. Frick and Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler let it be known that any striking players would be suspended. Robinson received significant encouragement from several major-league players, including Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese who said, "You can hate
8514-513: The Great Depression, no MLB teams moved or folded. The onset of World War II created a shortage of professional baseball players, as more than 500 men left MLB teams to serve in the military. Many of them played on service baseball teams that entertained military personnel in the US or in the Pacific. MLB teams of this time largely consisted of young men, older players, and those with a military classification of 4F , indicating mental, physical, or moral unsuitability for service. Men like Pete Gray ,
8643-415: The MLB Playing Rules Committee voted to reduce the strike zone from knees to shoulders to top of knees to armpits and lower the pitcher's mound from 15 to 10 inches, beginning in the 1969 season. In 1973, the American League, which had been suffering from much lower attendance than the National League, sought to increase scoring even further by initiating the designated hitter (DH) rule. Throughout
8772-405: The Mariners on August 2, but by September 26, Seattle had taken over the division lead by three games with only five games remaining in the season. The 1995 season culminated in dramatic fashion with both teams tied for first place, resulting in a tie-breaker game to determine the division winner. Both teams continued to clash for playoff positions during the early 2000s as the Mariners boasted
8901-412: The NA proved ineffective. The league placed its emphasis on clubs rather than on players. Clubs could now enforce player contracts, preventing players from jumping to higher-paying clubs. Clubs were required to play the full schedule of games instead of forfeiting scheduled games when the club was no longer in the running for the league championship, which happened frequently under the NA. A concerted effort
9030-399: The NL MVP voting (the award went to teammate Jeff Kent ), both high honors for a closer. The following year, Nen led the National League with 45 saves. The 9th inning was affectionately renamed the "Nenth" by fans. The Giants, the National League wild card team, and the Anaheim Angels , the American League wild card team, played a seven-game series in which Nen earned two saves. Behind
9159-406: The NL and AL cemented their cooperation with the National Agreement in 1903, making MLB the oldest major professional sports league in the world. They remained legally separate entities until 2000, when they merged into a single organization led by the commissioner of baseball . MLB is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan . Baseball's first all-professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings ,
9288-438: The NL and American Association champions met in a postseason championship series—the first attempt at a World Series . The two leagues merged in 1892 as a single 12-team NL, but the NL dropped four teams after the 1899 season. This led to the formation of the American League in 1901 under AL president Ban Johnson , and the resulting bidding war for players led to widespread contract-breaking and legal disputes. The war between
9417-476: The National Association (NA), was formed in 1871. Its amateur counterpart disappeared after only a few years. The modern Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves franchises trace their histories back to the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in the 1870s. In 1876, the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs (later known as the National League or NL) was established after
9546-502: The National League, American League, American Association, Union Association (1884), Players' League (1890), and Federal League (1914–1915). The status of the National Association as a major league has been a point of dispute among baseball researchers; while its statistics are not recognized by Major League Baseball, its statistics are included with those of other major leagues by some baseball reference websites, such as Retrosheet . Some researchers, including Nate Silver , dispute
9675-614: The World Series in exchange for a ring worth $ 100,000 ($ 1,712,780.35 in 2022 dollars). Despite being acquitted, all were permanently banned from Major League Baseball. Baseball's popularity increased in the 1920s and 1930s. The 1920 season was notable for the death of Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians . Chapman, who was struck in the head by a pitch and died a few hours later, became the only MLB player to die of an on-field injury. Both leagues quickly began to require
9804-451: The ballpark's primary scoreboard (it was relocated to a section of the parking lot southeast of the stadium in 1980 when the facility was enclosed and expanded for the NFL's Rams .). In 1986, the Angels adopted the "big A" on top of a baseball as their new logo, with the shadow of California in the background. After the "big A" was done in 1992, the Angels returned to their roots and re-adopted
9933-596: The cancellation of 713 total games and resulted in a split-season format. In 1985, Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb 's all-time hits record with his 4,192nd hit, and in 1989 Rose received a lifetime ban from baseball as a result of betting on baseball games while manager of the Cincinnati Reds . Rose was the first person to receive a lifetime ban from baseball since 1943. 1985 also saw the Pittsburgh drug trials which involved players who were called to testify before
10062-600: The center field fence, and the Huntington Avenue Grounds of the Boston Red Sox , which was 635 feet (194 m) to the center field fence, thus home runs were rare, and "small ball" tactics such as singles , bunts , stolen bases , and the hit-and-run play dominated the strategies of the time. Hitting methods like the Baltimore chop were used to increase the number of infield singles. On
10191-538: The city dropped its lawsuit in 2009. The team usually refers to itself as the Angels or Angels Baseball in its home media market, and the name Los Angeles never appears in the stadium, on the Angels' uniforms, nor on official team merchandise. However, throughout the team's history in Anaheim, the uniforms have traditionally said "Angels" instead of the city or state name, depending on the team's geographic identifier at
10320-573: The condition of the baseball itself. The baseball used American rather than the modern Australian wool yarn and was not wound as tightly, affecting the distance that it would travel. More significantly, balls were kept in play until they were mangled, soft and sometimes lopsided. During this era, a baseball cost three dollars, equal to $ 52.72 today (in inflation-adjusted USD ), and owners were reluctant to purchase new balls. Fans were expected to throw back fouls and (rare) home runs. Baseballs also became stained with tobacco juice, grass, and mud, and sometimes
10449-422: The division through the decades. The peak of the rivalry was during the early part of the millennium as both teams were stellar and perennial contenders. But even then, there were only two down-to-the-wire finishes between the Angels and the A's during that time. During the 2002 season; both teams were proving to be contenders as The A's famous Moneyball tactics led them to a league record 20 game winstreak; knocking
10578-458: The eighth with a lead-off home run by Darin Erstad . After two more runners reached base safely in the eighth, Nen came in to relieve Tim Worrell and try to protect what was now a shaky one-run Giants lead. But Nen was unable to shut down the Angels' surge and gave up a two-run double to eventual series MVP Troy Glaus , which put the Angels ahead by one run. They hung on to win the game, and won
10707-445: The elite closers of the 1990s. During the 1997 postseason, Nen pitched in eight games, including two saves in the World Series , as well as 1 + 2 ⁄ 3 innings of scoreless relief in the 9th and 10th innings of Game 7 while the Marlins came back in the last inning, and subsequently won the World Series in the bottom of the 11th. Throughout the 1997 playoffs, Florida didn't lose a single game in which Nen made an appearance. In
10836-591: The first major league franchise on the West Coast. O'Malley also helped persuade the rival New York Giants to move west to become the San Francisco Giants. Giants owner Horace Stoneham had been contemplating a move to Minnesota amid slumping attendance at the aging Polo Grounds ballpark when O'Malley invited him to meet San Francisco Mayor George Christopher in New York. After Stoneham
10965-521: The franchise among the top draws in MLB. This notoriety has grown into international attention since 2012 with the signing of Albert Pujols and the emergence of superstars Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani , who cumulatively have won five AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards with the team; despite this, they have not appeared in the postseason since 2014. They also currently hold the longest active playoff drought of any MLB team at 10 consecutive seasons without
11094-484: The franchise name for $ 350,000, and continue the history of the previously popular Pacific Coast League team as his own expansion team in the MLB." After the Angels joined the MLB, some players from the Angels' PCL team joined the MLB Angels in 1961. As an expansion franchise, the club continued in Los Angeles and played their home games at Los Angeles' Wrigley Field (not to be confused with Chicago 's ballpark of
11223-574: The game and turning the momentum of the series for good (they went on to clinch the championship in Game 7). From 2004 to 2009, the Angels reached the postseason five times, sparking a renewal of the Rally Monkey's popularity. The Angels drew more than 3 million fans per year to the stadium from 2003 to 2019, at least 2 million per year since 2002, and a game average in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 of 40,000 fans at each game despite not making
11352-402: The halo and had a rather cartoon-like "ANGELS" script with a wing on the "A" over a periwinkle plate and crossed bats. With this change, the Angels' color scheme changed to dark blue and periwinkle. After a run with the "winged" logo from 1997 to 2001, Disney changed the Angels' logo back to a "Big A" with a silver halo over a dark blue baseball diamond. With this logo change, the colors changed to
11481-429: The hole " between the corner and middle infielders. Starting pitchers were no longer expected to throw complete games ; it was enough for a starter to pitch 6–7 innings and turn the game over to the team's closer , a position which grew in importance over these decades. As stolen bases increased, home run totals dropped. After Willie Mays hit 52 home runs in 1965, only one player ( George Foster ) reached that mark until
11610-479: The interlocking "CA" logo with some differences. The Angels used this logo from 1993 to 1996, during that time, the "CA" was either on top of a blue circle or with nothing else. After the renovations of then-Anaheim Stadium and the takeover by the Walt Disney Company, the Angels changed their name to the "Anaheim Angels" along with changing the logo and color scheme. The first logo under Disney removed
11739-471: The internet throughout North America and in several other countries. MLB has the highest total season attendance of any sports league in the world; in 2023, it drew more than 70.75 million spectators. MLB also oversees Minor League Baseball , which comprises lower-tier teams affiliated with the major league clubs, and the MLB Draft League , a hybrid amateur-professional showcase league. MLB and
11868-529: The juice of licorice, which some players would chew for the purpose of discoloring the ball. Also, pitchers could manipulate the ball through the use of the spitball (In 1921, use of this pitch was restricted to a few pitchers with a grandfather clause ). Additionally, many ballparks had large dimensions, such as the West Side Grounds of the Chicago Cubs, which was 560 feet (170 m) to
11997-488: The major and minor league levels, while also advising general manager Brian Sabean on an as-needed basis. In a ceremony before their July 9, 2005 game against the St. Louis Cardinals , the Giants honored Nen with a plaque commemorating his 300th career save. The plaque is now located on the public walkway behind the right-field wall of Oracle Park , not far from McCovey Cove . Italics denotes active player Major League Baseball Major League Baseball ( MLB )
12126-603: The major leagues. Satchel Paige was signed by the Indians and the Dodgers added star catcher Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe , who was later the first winner of the Cy Young Award for his outstanding pitching. MLB banned the signing of women to contracts in 1952, but that ban was lifted in 1992. There have been no female MLB players since then. From 1903 to 1952, the major leagues consisted of two eight-team leagues whose 16 teams were located in ten cities, all in
12255-572: The major-league status of the Union Association by pointing out that franchises came and went and that the St. Louis club was deliberately "stacked"; the St. Louis club was owned by the league's president and it was the only club that was close to major-league caliber. In December 2020, Major League Baseball announced its recognition of seven leagues within Negro league baseball as major leagues:
12384-549: The name of KHJ-TV and again from 1996 to 2005. Dick Enberg served as the Angels play-by-play announcer for KTLA from 1969 to 1978 and later won the Ford C. Frick Award in 2015 for his work with the team. Enberg was known for his signature "And the halo shines tonight" call after Angels wins in reference to the Big A sign . Former play-by-play announcer Victor Rojas (2010–2020) followed every Angels win by saying "Light that baby up," also
12513-471: The nature of professional baseball, putting a higher premium on speed and defense over home-run hitting power since the fields were often too big for teams to expect to hit many home runs and foul balls hit in the air could more easily be caught for outs. Teams began to be built around pitching—particularly their bullpens—and speed on the basepaths. Artificial surfaces meant balls traveled quicker and bounced higher, so it became easier to hit ground balls " in
12642-404: The next two seasons, Nen spent time rehabilitating from three surgeries for a torn rotator cuff that he had aggravated during the middle of the 2002 season. The tear went through 40 to 75% of his right shoulder. When his contract with the Giants ended after the 2004 season, Nen filed for free agency but was not picked up by any team. On February 20, 2005, Nen formally announced his retirement. He
12771-527: The northeastern and mid-western United States: New York City had three teams and Boston , Chicago, Philadelphia , and St. Louis each had two teams. St. Louis was the southernmost and westernmost city with a major league team. The longest possible road trip, from Boston to St. Louis, took about 24 hours by railroad. After a half-century of stability, starting in the 1950s, teams began to move out of cities with multiple teams into cities that had not had them before. From 1953 to 1955, three teams moved to new cities:
12900-508: The phrase "Light That Baby Up!" is used in reference to Angel Stadium's landmark 230-foot (70 m) tall letter "A" with a halo surrounding the top, which lights up every time the Angels win a home game. Other phrases associated with Angel wins include "Just another Halo victory!", popularized by late Angels broadcaster Rory Markas; and before that: "And the Halo shines tonight!" used by legendary broadcaster Dick Enberg . The Angels organization
13029-506: The pitching of starter Russ Ortiz , the Giants appeared to be cruising to an easy 5–0 victory in the critical Game 6 of 2002 World Series and their first World Series title since 1954 (when they were still the New York Giants). In the seventh inning, however, Ortiz ran into trouble and was relieved by Felix Rodríguez . Rodriguez then gave up a three-run home run to the Angels' Scott Spiezio . The Angels tacked on another run in
13158-468: The playoffs all four years. This is 2nd in all of MLB, only trailing the New York Yankees . In 2019, the Angels were fifth in MLB in attendance, with a total of 3,019,012 people. As of 2015, the Angels fans have set six Guinness World Records for the largest gatherings of people wearing blankets, wrestling masks, cowboy hats, wigs, Santa hats, superhero capes, and sombreros. They have also set
13287-519: The point that the 1942 season was nearly canceled. On January 14, 1942, MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis wrote to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt , pleading for the continuation of baseball during the war. Roosevelt responded, "I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going. There will be fewer people unemployed and everybody will work longer hours and harder than ever before. And that means that they ought to have
13416-536: The same name ), which had formerly been the home of the PCL Angels. The Angels were one of two expansion teams established as a result of the 1961 Major League Baseball expansion , along with the second incarnation of the Washington Senators (now Texas Rangers ). The team then moved in 1962 to newly built Dodger Stadium , which the Angels referred to as Chavez Ravine , where they were tenants of
13545-404: The season, in recognition of their upcoming move to the newly constructed Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim at the start of the 1966 season . When The Walt Disney Company took control of the team in 1997 , it extensively renovated Anaheim Stadium, which was then renamed Edison International Field of Anaheim. The City of Anaheim contributed $ 30 million to the $ 118 million renovation with
13674-476: The series following a win the next day. Nen pitched with full awareness that he was likely jeopardizing his career and remains admired by Giants' fans for his self-sacrifice. It was, in fact, his final appearance. The eight save opportunities (with seven saved) in one postseason is a record, tied in 2015 by Jeurys Familia ; the seven saves ties the mark with five other pitchers ( John Wetteland , Troy Percival , Brad Lidge , Koji Uehara and Greg Holland ). During
13803-706: The strongest clubs remained those based in the Northeastern United States. For professional baseball 's founding year, MLB uses the year 1869—when the first professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings , was established. A schism developed between professional and amateur ballplayers after the founding of the Cincinnati club. The NABBP split into an amateur organization and a professional organization. The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players , often known as
13932-405: The team officially planned to drop of Anaheim from its name and restore its original name Los Angeles Angels , as part of a new Angel Stadium lease negotiated with the Anaheim city government. Although the deal was never finalized, as of 2020, most official sources omit the of Anaheim suffix. On December 20, 2019, the city of Anaheim voted to sell Angel Stadium and the land around it to
14061-484: The team's current color scheme: predominantly red with some dark blue and white. When the team's name changed from the "Anaheim Angels" to the "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim", the logo changed only slightly, the name "ANAHEIM ANGELS" and the blue baseball diamond were removed leaving only the "Big A". For the 2011 season, as part of the 50th anniversary of the Angels franchise, the halo on the 'Big A' logo temporarily changed colors from silver to old gold, paying tribute to
14190-471: The team's name. In compliance with the terms of its lease with the city of Anaheim, which required Anaheim be a part of the team's name, the team was officially renamed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim . Fans, residents, and the municipal governments of both Anaheim and Los Angeles objected to the change, with the City of Anaheim pursuing litigation; nevertheless, the change was eventually upheld in court and
14319-432: The team. The broadcast features Terry Smith providing play-by-play commentary since 2002 and Mark Langston providing color commentary since 2012. KLAA replaced KSPN (710 AM), on which frequency had aired most Angels games since the team's inception in 1961. The station, then known as KMPC and owned by Gene Autry , aired games from 1961 to 1996. In 1997 and 1998, the flagship station was KRLA (1110 AM). In 1999, it
14448-623: The time. Local media in Southern California tend to omit a geographic identifier and refer to the team as the Angels or the Halos . Due to this agreement, Topps baseball cards have also omitted the geographic identifier from any of the team’s official trading cards. The Associated Press , the most prominent news service in the U.S., refers to the team as the Los Angeles Angels , the Angels , or Los Angeles . In 2013,
14577-621: The two league champions first played in 1903. The New York Yankees have the most championships with 27. The reigning champions are the Los Angeles Dodgers , who defeated the New York Yankees in the 2024 World Series . MLB is the third-wealthiest professional sports league by revenue in the world after the National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Baseball games are broadcast on television, radio, and
14706-454: The use of new, white baseballs whenever a ball became scuffed or dirty, helping bring the "dead-ball" era to an end. The following year, the New York Yankees made their first World Series appearance. By the end of the 1930s, the team had appeared in 11 World Series, winning eight of them. Yankees slugger Babe Ruth had set the single-season home run record in 1927, hitting 60 home runs; breaking his own record of 29 home runs. Afflicted by
14835-412: The wordmark, and the left shoulder. The Angels have historically developed rivalries with other AL West members: the Oakland Athletics , Seattle Mariners , Texas Rangers , and, to a lesser extent, the Houston Astros , who joined the division in 2013. The Angels also considered the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox rivals due to a total of seven postseason series against the two teams in
14964-482: The world record for largest gathering of people with selfie sticks. In 2009, the Angels were voted as the number one franchise in professional sports in Fan Value by ESPN magazine. In 2012, ESPN & Fan polls by ESPN ranked the Angels fifteenth in the best sports franchises, third best among MLB teams. The rankings were determined through a combination of sports analysts and fan votes ranking all sports franchises by
15093-399: Was "absorbing the available Negro Leagues numbers into the official historical record." The period between 1900 and 1919 is commonly referred to as the "dead-ball era". Games of this era tended to be low-scoring and were often dominated by pitchers, such as Walter Johnson , Cy Young , Christy Mathewson , Mordecai Brown , and Grover Cleveland Alexander . The term also accurately describes
15222-854: Was a result of players using steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs . In 1993, the National League added the Florida Marlins in Miami and the Colorado Rockies in Denver . In 1998, the Brewers switched leagues by joining the National League, and two new teams were added: the National League's Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix and the American League's Tampa Bay Devil Rays in Tampa Bay . Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in
15351-508: Was born in 2000 when the scoreboard showed a clip from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective , after which the Angels rallied to win the game. The clip proved to be so popular that the team hired Katie, a white-haired capuchin monkey, to star in original clips for later games. When seen, she jumps up and down to the House of Pain song " Jump Around " and holds a sign that says "RALLY TIME!" The Rally Monkey came to national and worldwide attention during
15480-413: Was followed by Park punching and kicking Belcher. Park was ejected from the game and subsequently suspended for seven games. On December 9, 2023, Angels star pitcher and hitter Shohei Ohtani signed with the Dodgers in free agency, signing the largest contract in professional sports history . The flagship radio station of the Angels is Orange, California -licensed KLAA 830 AM, a station owned by
15609-520: Was founded in 1869. The first few decades of professional baseball saw rivalries between leagues, and players often jumped from one team or league to another. These practices were essentially ended by the National Agreement of 1903, in which AL and NL agreed to respect each other's player contracts, including the contentious reserve clause . The period before 1920 was the dead-ball era , when home runs were rarely hit. Professional baseball
15738-407: Was known for an unusual delivery in which he tapped his toe on the ground before releasing the ball. His signature pitch, a slider , was nicknamed "The Terminator" with a velocity of up to 92 mph. In addition to the slider, Nen had a fastball that reached the upper 90s. A splitter rounded out Nen's pitching arsenal. Nen joined the Giants' baseball operations department as an instructor on both
15867-619: Was later referred to as "The Noble Experiment", Robinson was the first black baseball player in the International League since the 1880s, joining the Dodgers' farm club, the Montreal Royals , for the 1946 season. The following year, the Dodgers called up Robinson to the major leagues. On April 15, 1947, Robinson made his major league debut at Ebbets Field before a crowd of 26,623 spectators, including more than 14,000 black patrons. Black baseball fans began flocking to see
15996-580: Was made to curb gambling on games, which was leaving the validity of results in doubt. The first game in the NL—on Saturday, April 22, 1876 (at Jefferson Street Grounds in Philadelphia )—is often pointed to as the beginning of MLB. The early years of the NL were tumultuous, with threats from rival leagues and a rebellion by players against the hated "reserve clause", which restricted the free movement of players between clubs. Teams came and went; 1882
16125-449: Was persuaded to move to California, Time magazine put O'Malley on its cover. MLB Commissioner Ford C. Frick had opposed the meeting, but the dual moves proved successful for both franchises—and for MLB. Had the Dodgers moved out west alone, the St. Louis Cardinals —1,600 mi (2,575 km) away —would have been the closest NL team. Instead, the joint move made West Coast road trips economical for visiting teams. The Dodgers set
16254-622: Was replaced by KLAC (570 AM) for five seasons, including the 2002 championship season . In 2003, the Angels returned to KSPN, a partnership that lasted until 2007. Spanish-language Angels broadcasts are hosted on KWKW (1330 AM) with José Tolentino providing play-by-play commentary. Angels games are televised on cable channel Bally Sports West (BSW). The broadcast booth features Wayne Randazzo as play-by-play announcer since 2023 and Mark Gubicza serving as color commentator since 2007. Matt Vasgersian and Patrick O'Neal provide play-by-play commentary for select games, such as when Randazzo
16383-495: Was rocked by the Black Sox Scandal , a conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series . Baseball survived the scandal, albeit with major changes in its governance as the relatively weak National Commission was replaced with a powerful commissioner of baseball with near-unlimited authority over the sport. MLB rose in popularity in the decade following the Black Sox Scandal, and unlike major leagues in other sports it endured
16512-407: Was the first North American team to employ the use of thundersticks . The Rally Monkey is a mascot for the Angels which appears if the Angels are losing a game or if the game is tied from the 7th inning on, but sometimes earlier depending on the situation. The Rally Monkey appears on the scoreboard in various movies or pop culture references that have been edited to include him. The Rally Monkey
16641-472: Was the first season where the league's membership was the same as the preceding season's, and only four franchises survived to see 1900. Competitor leagues formed regularly and also disbanded regularly. The most successful was the American Association (1882–1891), sometimes called the "beer and whiskey league" for its tolerance of the sale of alcoholic beverages to spectators. For several years,
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