LA Angels

The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team. They are based in LA’s metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball. They are a member club of the American League’s West division. Since 1966, the team has played its home games in Anaheim at the Angel Stadium. The franchise was founded in Los Angeles by Gene Autry in 1961. It was one of the MLB's first two expansion teams and the first to originate in California. Deriving its name from an Angels franchise that played earlier in the Pacific Coast League. They are nicknamed “The Halos” and won the World Series championship in 2002 making them one of three MLB franchises to win their sole appearance in the World Series.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS HISTORY

The team was initially based in Los Angeles until 1966 when they moved base to Anaheim. Due to this, the franchise came to be known as the California Angels from 1965 to 1996. The "Los Angeles Angels" originates from the first LA-based sports team, the Los Angeles Angels, through the Pacific Coast League, which is now an affiliate minor league of MiLB. The Angels franchise was established in MLB in 1961 after Gene Autry bought the rights to the team name from Walter O'Malley, the former Los Angeles Dodgers owner. As an expansion franchise, the club continued in LA as the "Los Angeles Angels," and played their home games at the Wrigley Field.

The Angels were one of two expansion teams established as a result of the 1961 Major League Baseball expansion. In 1962 the team moved into the newly built Dodger Stadium, which the Angels referred to as Chavez Ravine, where they were tenants of the Los Angeles Dodgers through 1965. The team's founder Gene Autry, owned the franchise for 36 years. During Gene's ownership, the team made the playoffs three times but could never win the pennant.

The team has gone through several name changes in its history, first changing the name to the California Angels on September 2, 1965, with a month still left in the season. When The Walt Disney Company took control of the team in 1997, it renovated the Anaheim Stadium, which was later renamed as Edison International Field of Anaheim. The Los Angeles Angels have used ten different logos and three different color combinations throughout their history. Their first two logos depict a baseball with wings and a halo over it with the letters "L" and "A" on top in different styles. The original team colors were predominantly blue with a red trim. This color scheme would be in effect for most of the franchise's history lasting from 1961 to 1996.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS IN RECENT YEARS

The team was renamed the Anaheim Angels. Under the leadership of manager Mike Scioscia, in 2002 the team won their first pennant and World Series championship which was also the team’s first and only World Series appearance. Arturo Moreno added "Los Angeles" to the team's name in 2005 but due to the terms of its lease with the city of Anaheim, which required "Anaheim" to be a part of the team's name, the team was renamed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Although the deal was never finalized, as of 2020, most official sources omit the "of Anaheim" suffix. On December 20, 2019, the city of Anaheim voted to sell the stadium to Arte Moreno for $325 million.

The Angels-Rangers rivalry has been said to have developed over a domination in the west division, and there has been more animosity between the two teams due to players who have played for both teams which include Nolan Ryan, Mike Napoli, Darren Oliver, Vladimir Guerrero, C. J. Wilson, and Josh Hamilton and the rivalry with the Los Angeles Dodgers has been referred to as the Freeway Series because of the freeway system linking the two teams' home fields. The Freeway Series rivalry developed mostly over the two teams sharing similar regions and fans having been split due to neighboring counties. Currently, the team has 2 of the best players in the league playing with them namely Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS PAST 10 SEASONS MLB RECORD

MAJOR LEAGUE TITLES

LOS ANGELES ANGELS CURRENT ROSTER

Owner: Arte Moreno

Home Ground: Angel Stadium

Coaching Staff: