A haphazard history of Halos at the hot corner
From SABR member Geoff Young at Baseball Prospectus on January 17, 2012:
Quick: Name 10 men who played third base for the Angels in their first 51 seasons. Troy Glaus is easy. He is the franchise leader in games played at the position and was played there fairly recently. Doug DeCinces logged almost as many games, although you might remember him more as a member of Earl Weaver’s Orioles. Jack Howell, who followed DeCinces, ranks third with an even 600 games. Chone Figgins? Sure, he’s another recent guy who ranks fourth in games played at the hot corner. Rounding out the top five is Paul Schaal, whose greatest claims to fame are:
- Attending the same high school as former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, former Dodgers star Duke Snider, and musician Keb‘ Mo’
- Owning Bert Blyleven (Schaal hit .361/.489/.611 with two homers in 45 plate appearances against the Hall of Famer)
- Enjoying a successful post-baseball career as a chiropractor in Kansas
So that’s five. How about five more? You’re forgiven for forgetting that Aurelio Rodriguez’s career started in Anaheim, or that Kelly Gruber’s ended there.
I always think of Rodriguez as a member of the Detroit Tigers, but he logged more than 1,000 plate appearances for the Angels. As reader dianagram pointed out to me via Twitter some time ago, he’s also the shared record-holder for most different vowels in a first name by a big-league player.
Read the full article here: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15839
Originally published: January 17, 2012. Last Updated: January 17, 2012.