Righty swinging 2B Bobby Grich was as tough as they come. He always seemed to be dirty as he was a very tough guy. His best year with the Angels came back in 1979 when he made the All-Star team while finishing 8th in the voting for the MVP Award. Grich played in 153 games in 1979 and he was 157 for 534 (.294 avg, .903 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 30 homers, 101 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Grich played in 1,222 games in his 10 years with the Angels and he was 1,103 of 4,100 (.269 avg, .806 OPS) with 601 runs scored, 154 homers, 557 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Grich is #6 in Angels’ history in games played with 1,222. He is also #6 in hits (1,103), #6 in runs scored (601), #8 in doubles (183), #7 in homers (154), #7 in RBIs (557) and #3 in walks (630) in Angels’ history. Grich made it to 3 All-Star teams and he won 1 Silver Slugger Award in his 10 years with the Angels.

The Angels knew they really had something with righty reliever Troy Percival during his rookie year. He pitched in 62 games (0 starts) for the California Angels in 1995 and he was 3-2 with 3 saves, a 1.95 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. He only gave up 37 hits in 74 innings in 1995 and he had 94 whiffs. The Angels thought enough of him to make him the closer in 1996 and the rest is history. Percival’s best season came back in 2002 when he worked in 58 games (0 starts) for the Angels in which he was 4-1 with 40 saves, a 1.92 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He only gave up 38 hits in his 56 1/3 innings that year while whiffing 68 batters. Percival pitched in 579 games (0 starts) in his 10 years with the Angels and he was 29-38 with 316 saves, a 2.99 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He whiffed 680 batters in only 586 2/3 innings with the Angels while only allowing 393 hits, which shows just how dominating he was. Percival is still the Angels’ all-time leader in saves (316) and games pitched (579.

47-year old Bo Jackson was a freak of nature for a while as he was a good baseball player with the Royals and an outstanding running back with the Raiders…..at the same time. Eventually, though his body gave out in 1990 when he took a hit on the hip against the Cincinnati Bengals. He wound up needing a hip replacement. He fought his way back to the majors, but he never played football again. The last season of his major league career was spent with the California Angels and he did a good job for them. He played in 75 games for the Angels in 1993 and he was 56 for 201 (.279 avg, .851 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 13 homers, 43 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Jackson proved that he could overcome all odds to get back to the majors and that is something that has always stuck in my mind about him.

Giant righty swinging OF/DH Don Baylor really made a good impression in his six years with the Angels. In 1979, Baylor was a beast as he made the All-Star team while winning the American League MVP Award. Baylor playe din 162 games in 1979 for the Angels and he was 186 of 628 (.296 avg, .901 OPS) with 120 runs scored, 36 homers, 139 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. Baylor led the majors in both runs scored and RBIs in 1979. He also showed stunning discipline for a power hitter as he walked 71 times in 1979 while only whiffing 51 times. Baylor only played six years for the Angels but he played in 824 games in which he was 813 of 3,105 (.262 avg, .785 OPS) with 481 runs scored, 141 homers, 523 RBIs and 89 stolen bases. Baylor is #8 for the Angels all-time in homers with 141 and he’s also #10 in RBIs with 523.

59-year old starting pitcher Bert Blyleven has been elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame. Blyleven pitched in 81 games (80 starts) in three years with the California Angels (1989-1992) and he was 33-24 with a 3.92 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Blyleven finished his career with the Angels and he was pretty solid for them. In 1989, at the age of 38, Blyleven started 33 games in which he was 17-5 with a 2.73 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He finished in 4th place for the A.L. Cy Young Award in 1989 for the Angels. Blyleven pitched in 692 games (685 starts) in his 22 years in the majors and he was 287-250 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.