LA Letdown

In 2012, Albert Pujols was hired to lead the team, but the Angels are not Albert Pujols' team.

In 2013, Josh Hamilton was hired to lead the team, but the Angels certainly never became Josh Hamilton's team.

In 2018, Shohei Ohtani was hired to lead the team, but it's not Ohtani's team either.

The Angels have had this habit of rejecting identity if it's imported from somewhere else. Even if you're an MVP in St. Louis or Texas, or...Japan, it matters what you prove in Anaheim, and those three, to this point, deferred to homegrown talent. For instance- Mike Trout came up through the Angels' farm system, as did Kole Calhoun and Garrett Richards. Only Andrelton Simmons has made a successful transition to LA, but for people like Albert, who are surefire HOFers, it's sad to see.

This season, which has seen Ian Kinsler, Justin Upton and Zack Cozart translate haphazardly to this roster, may have had the most letdown-ish quality. The A's have risen up and taken third place, and are coming for the first two spots as well. It's not like the Rangers are in any danger of lapping the Angels, but...at fourth place in a year that they should have been in at least second, it's pretty disappointing.

At this point, they need to work on resuscitating a youth movement, and getting some call-ups, especially in the pitching area, to stay healthy, or else the Rangers WILL come for them.

Coming Tonight: On the other side of LA, a former ROY tries to cement his status as a consistent player.