Big Daddy Vladdy

In 2004, Vladimir Guerrero's stellar stat line, including 39 homers, 126 RBI and a career high 124 runs scored, together with the "bonus" of 15 stolen bases, demonstrated to voters that he was, indeed, the American League's Most Valuable Player. His 206 season hits tied a career high that he set just two years prior. None of his other stats were his best. Yet combined, they were better than every other player in the American League in 2004.

What a start!

In the inaugural game for the Angels franchise, Ted Kluszewski and Bob Cerv smashed back to back home runs to help lead Los Angeles to their inaugural Opening Day victory over Baltimore. The homers were given up by Milt Pappas in the top half of the first inning. What a start for a franchise! Kluszewski was a 15-year vet playing in his first and only year with the Angels but the final year of his career. Cerv would only play 18 games with the Angels before being traded back to the Yankees, where he started his career.  Pappas didn't make it out of the 2nd before surrendering 6 runs.

First Angel Team to 100

The franchise has had one team finish with 100 wins. In 2008 the Halos won exactly 100, finishing 21 games in front of second place Texas who didn't even finish .500.  It would be the first year for Torii Hunter in an Angels uniform and Tony Reagins as General Manager. It would be the same year that Fransisco Rodriguez would break the Angel's single season saves record by reaching 58.
It was a well built team with all five starting pitchers reaching double digits in wins lead by 17-7 Joe Saunders. Offensively, no one had a career year, but there was a different hero every night whether it was Guerrero, Hunter, or Anderson.
The Angels' best record versus any opponent during the regular season was against the Red Sox where they went 8-1. However they would get knocked by the Red Sox in the ALDS 3-1. 

Fact #13 - Single game strikeout record is no surprise

It should be a no-brainer of who holds this title in a nine inning game for the Angels. In 1974, Nolan Ryan set the record for strikeouts in a single game with 19 against the Boston Red Sox which lead the Angels to a 4-2 victory. Only 24 times has a pitcher reached 18 K's in 9 frames and Nolan did it twice, both times as an Angel. Now there are extra inning games to consider as well. On June 8, 2004, five Angel pitchers combined for 26 strikeouts in 17 innings against the Brew-crew. However it resulted in a 1-0 loss. To top that, only nine times has a pitcher gone a complete extra-inning game and surpassed 18 strikeouts, and only one pitcher has done it multiple times. You guessed it; Nolan Ryan did it three times including a 13 inning, 19 strikeout performance against the Red Sox (again) in that same season. Not to mention all three of those times were in an Angels uniform. He would not reach this feat in any other organization even though he continued to be great as a Met, Ranger, and Astro.

Fact #12 - It's all Frank in '77

1977 was the season of finishing for Angels' pitcher Frank Tanana. Just a normal 240+ inning marathon for Tanana, but a remarkable streak of 14 consecutive complete games including five shutouts is a remarkable feat that may never be touched again in this franchise. He was given the nickname "Frank Tanana Daiquiri" by famous broadcaster Christ Berman of ESPN. Tanana finished with 20 CG's and 7 SO on the year. His final stat line was 15-9 with a 1.54 ERA. Amazingly this was only good enough for 9th in the Cy Young race. Tanana was always known as a southpaw work-horse with reliable junk. In the previous two seasons, Tanana went complete games in a 13 inning game agains't Catfish Hunter and the Yankees, and then a 15 inning adventure against the White Sox. Both games resulted in no-decisions. 

The Angels would finish a dismal 74-88, however it would be only the first year for both Don Baylor and Bobby Grich on the Angels' roster.

Fact # 11 - Mound Dominance

The lowest team ERA posted in franchise history was done by the 1964 Angels with an earned run average of 2.91. Dean Chance enjoyed his Cy Young award after going 20-9 with a 1.65 ERA in over 278 innings pitched. Other starting pitchers who contributed to this great season from the rubber were starters Fred Newman and Bo Bolinsky who both had sub 3.00 ERA's along with relief pitcher Bob Lee who had a 1.51 ERA in 64 appearances.
Only the Chicago White Sox would better the Angels in this category in 1964 with an ERA of just 2.72. Joe Horlen, Hoyt Wilhelm, Juan Pizarro and Gary Peters led the Sox to 98 wins, just one shy of the AL Champion New York Yankees.

Fact #10 - The first Angel

The first player picked in the 1961 expansion draft by the Angels was New York Yankees pitcher Eli Grba. Eli would start the franchise's first game in 1961 and would pitch a complete game in a 7-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
Grba would pitch only five major league seasons, finishing with one winning season. In his first season with the new Halos, Eli would finish 11-13 with a 4.25 ERA while throwing over 211 innings. It would be the only time in his short career he would have double digit wins and losses. It would also be only the second time in his five years he would throw over 100 innings.
His career would end with the Angels in 1963 at the age of 28. However he will always be remembered for being the first drafted, first to throw a pitch, and first to get a halo victory.