Mike Scioscia: Angels Offense Best Since 2002
Over the past few seasons, the achilles heal for the Angels has been a lackluster offense that has failed to not only get runners on base, but to also drive them in.
However, this year appears to be quite the exception for Mike Scioscia’s bunch, as they currently have one of baseball’s most prolific offenses, as evident by their league-leading .305 batting average with runners in scoring position. Scioscia is so confident in this year’s team that he has actually called it, the Angels’ best offense since 2002, the year they won their franchise’s first World Series title.
“I’ve never been on a team where our total offense has been on target like this one,” said Scioscia in a recent article by ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian. “I haven’t seen our offense like this since 2002 [when the Angels won the World Series]. This has not been the template for our club in recent years when we’ve won with really strong starting pitching, a good ‘pen and defense. But this year, our offense has been different. We have exploded on the offensive side this year.”
What is so remarkable about their offensive production is that GM Tony Reagins and Scioscia were able to improve the offense dramatically without spending millions on veterans like their American League counterparts, the New York Yankees. They signed Juan Rivera, who has a .314 batting average, 18 home runs, and 61 RBIs, to a three-year $12 million contract and Bobby Abreu, who has a .322 average, 9 home runs, and 77 RBIs, to a one-year $5 million deal. Instead of signing Mark Teixeira, who inked an $180 million contract with the Yankees, they brought in Kendry Morales, who has a .293 average, 23 home runs, and 71 RBIs , to play first base.
Combined with the improved play of young, budding stars in Erick Aybar and Mike Napoli and the experienced leadership and bats of veterans Chone Figgins and Torii Hunter, the Angels have quietly developed one of the most dangerous offenses in baseball to the point where Southern California could be partying like it’s 2002.
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