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American League West
Alex Johnson dies at 72; Angels' troubled batting champ
Alex Johnson, the only batting champion in Angels' history, died Saturday of complications from cancer. He was 72. His death was announced by the James H. Cole Home for Funerals in Detroit. Johnson hit .288 in 13 major league seasons, but it was his two volatile years with the Angels that defined him. In 1970, Johnson hit .329 to win the American League batting title, beating out Boston Red Sox slugger Carl Yastrzemski on the last day of the season. In 1971, he was suspended five times and became the face of a dysfunctional team. The Major League Players Assn. filed a grievance, which became a landmark case that forced baseball to treat mental issues on par with physical...
Related "American League West" Articles
Alex Johnson dies at 72; Angels' troubled batting champ
Alex Johnson, the only batting champion in Angels' history, died Saturday of complications from cancer. He was 72.
His death was announced by the James H. Cole Home for Funerals in Detroit.
Johnson hit .288 in 13 major league seasons, but it was his two...
Angels' Joe Smith and Huston Street are artful relievers
They're slingshot-wielding relievers in a game of flame throwers, two stick-and-move artists among punch-out specialists.
Angels closer Huston Street and setup man Joe Smith won't wow you with stuff. Street mixes a 90-mph fastball with a slider and...
Angels open camp with some question marks
Washington had the best record in the National League and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season. The team's go-for-it off-season response was to sign ace Max Scherzer for seven years and $210 million.
The Angels had the best...
Dontrelle Willis will attempt comeback with Brewers
Dontrelle Willis is going to try to return to the majors leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The team signed the left-handed pitcher on Wednesday to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training.
Once known as the...
Angels get promising pitcher in Howie Kendrick trade
A quiet winter meetings for the Angels got loud in a hurry late Wednesday night when the club traded veteran second baseman Howie Kendrick to the Dodgers for promising left-hander Andrew Heaney, who had been acquired from the Miami Marlins earlier in...
Forget Lakers' woes — these SoCal teams' seasons were memorably bad
As brutal as this season has been for the Lakers, who are on pace for one of the worst records in the 55-year Los Angeles history of the franchise, it could be a lot worse.
Kobe Bryant and (Bad) Co. are nowhere near as dreadful as that Clippers club that...
Joe Maddon return to Angels appears unlikely
Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said he spoke to Joe Maddon on Wednesday yet had no indication that Maddon was on the verge of opting out of his contract as manager of the Tampa Bay Rays.
When told of the news Friday morning, Scioscia said, “Wow, really?...
Andrew Friedman quashes speculation about Joe Maddon joining Dodgers
Andrew Friedman made his first major statement as the Dodgers president of baseball operations Friday, reiterating that Don Mattingly will manage the team next season, even with Joe Maddon suddenly available to replace him.
Maddon, who worked under...
Angels' Jerry Dipoto won't copy Royals' blueprint
It wasn't just shrewd management in the front office and on the field that enabled Tampa Bay to overcome its small-market limitations to win two American League East titles and two wild-card berths from 2008 to 2013.
"Part of our success is we...
Angels pick up closer Huston Street's 2015 option for $7 million
The Angels wasted no time making two of their easiest decisions of the off-season Thursday, exercising closer Huston Street’s $7-million option for 2015 and declining a $4.5-million option on injured reliever Sean Burnett.
Street, acquired from the San...
Angels expect to extend free agent austerity program another winter
It’s open season on baseball’s free agents, but don’t expect the Angels to do any big-game hunting. It figures to be another winter of prudent spending for the club that lavished $317.5 million on Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson in December of 2011 and $125...
Angels send Hank Conger to Astros, get a reliever from Rays
Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto checked two items off his off-season to-do list Wednesday, acquiring a veteran left-handed reliever and the type of young, cost-controlled starting pitcher he covets.
Within two hours of trading backup catcher Hank...
Faith, family, community keep Angels' Albert Pujols grounded
After a Sunday morning filled with hitting, fielding, throwing and base-running drills at Albert Pujols' baseball camp, dozens of kids gathered around home plate at Orange High for a brief chat and question-and-answer session with the Angels first...
Matt Williams, Buck Showalter are managers of year in MLB
Matt Williams, who led the Washington Nationals to the best record in the National League in his first season as a manager, and Buck Showalter, who led the Baltimore Orioles to their first division championship since 1997, were honored Tuesday as managers...
Orioles and Royals fans have long-suffering history in common
Cal Ripken Jr. remembers well the pleasures of playing in Kansas City the last time the Royals were contenders — the smart, respectful fans who adored their team but would also applaud an opponent's standout catch.
"Playing in Kansas City was a...
Angels starter C.J. Wilson's night is over quickly
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — C.J. Wilson gave up a pair of one-out singles in the first inning Sunday night before striking out cleanup batter Eric Hosmer on three pitches. He walked Billy Butler to load the bases, and Vinnie Pestano started warming up in the...
Royals make things extra tough for Angels with 4-1 win in Game 2
The Angels rallied in the wake of a season-ending injury to their best pitcher, Garrett Richards, in August and got so hot they turned a four-game American League West deficit on Aug.10 into a runaway division title.
They toiled through a six-month...
Angels learn that regular-season success doesn't carry over
Kole Calhoun and Mike Trout worked their way around the perimeter of the spacious visiting clubhouse in Kauffman Stadium on Sunday night, exchanging hugs with teammates and coaches.
It was so quiet in the wake of Kansas City's three-game American...
Angels swept out of postseason in 8-3 loss to Royals
At the end, some Angels lingered on the top step of the dugout as the rain fell and the Royals hugged on the mound.
The official end of the Angels’ 2014 season was a Mike Trout strikeout, but they were done much earlier than that.
They were finished...
The Times' baseball rankings
Last week’s ranking in parentheses, statistics are through Friday’s games:
1. ANGELS: Guess who batted .583 in their last playoff series? Jeff Mathis, 2009 ALCS. Really. (1)
2. WASHINGTON: Last D.C.-based team to win a postseason series: Walter...
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