MLB Showdown Obsession

  The Angels have been a quirky team where they never really changed locations or nicknames, but they've been known as different identities since their beginning in 1961. From the LA Angels, they soon became known as the California Angels. Then after a while they took the name Anaheim Angels, then Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim...then eventually back to their original identity as the LA Angels. Time is a flat circle in that case, but along the way they've had a few legendary players call California their home, with a couple of notable names perhaps on the way. #11 - Jim Fregosi When the Angels and the Washington Senators were selecting players in the 1960 Expansion Draft, Fregosi was grabbed up by the Angels, and late in the inaugural season, he was called up and became the teams 1st star player. All 6 of his all star seasons (1964, 66-70) came as a member of the Angels as did his Gold Glove season of 1967. In an era where middle infielders were terrible hitters, Fregosi was an ...

 History was made in 1961 and '62, when baseball expanded for the first time. One of those new teams were the Angels. None of the expansion teams were very good, but the journey to relevance in baseball must always start with mediocrity. While the Mets would shock the baseball world with a miracle in 1969 , the other expansion teams needed a bit more time to get their acts together to make a proper postseason run. A decade after the Mets, the Angels were ready to make a run of their own. For 1979, the Angels had an ensemble of all stars to compliment their HoF pitcher Nolan Ryan, but the offseason trade for Rod Carew put them over the top in the AL West. Jim Fregosi was in his first full season as Manager for the team he used to star for, and it seemed that at last all the stars had aligned for the Angels as they put up an 88-74 record to claim the West by 3 games over the Kansas City Royals. Playoff baseball had finally come to Anaheim, but unfortunately their opponent wasn't ...

 Japan may have been the 2 time champions going into the 2013 WBC, but neither time were they unbeatable. The Dominican Republic had a chance to dominate in a way that no other country would be able to say that "they got lucky!" The Dominican Republic began by beating Venezuela 9-3, followed with a 6-3 win over Spain then just to flex handed Puerto Rico a 4-2 loss to sweep Pool C. Round 2 began with a 5-4 nailbiter win over Italy, then came the United States for the biggest test yet in the tournament. DR passed the test with a 3-1 win, punching their ticket to the semi-finals. Pool 2 play ended with a rematch against Puerto Rico, which DR won again 2-0 to sweep yet another group of games. As the only undefeated team remaining, Dominican Republic pushed aside the Netherlands 4-1 to lock up a spot in the championship game. Japan, meanwhile, finally lost a game that mattered as Puerto Rico set up a third battle, this time with more than just bragging rights on the line. Edwin En...