Those High-Flying Angels

Gene Autry's costly cripples climb into the playoffs

The New York Mets had Marvelous Marv Throneberry, who once hit a triple and was called out for failing to touch both first base and second base. The Los Angeles (now California) Angels had to make do with Marv's brother Faye, whose sturdy incompetence lacked flair. Such distinctions make history. The expansionist Mets went on to develop a kind of loser's chic and a national reputation for lovably clubfooted play. The expansionist Angels, alas, were merely terrible.

Created in 1961, the Angels were quickly eclipsed by the immensely successful Dodgers and shunted off to Orange County's Anaheim as a natural extension of neighboring Disneyland. For most of their history, the Angels have been losing in relative privacy. Last week, however, that klutzy tradition came to an end. By beating the Kansas City Royals 4 to 1, the Angels finally did for the Big Orange what the 1969 Mets did for the Big Apple: win their first title after endless years of frustration. Said Angels Owner Gene Autry, former cowboy and current millionaire: "It's just part of a dream. The next part is to get to the World Series."

That may take some doing. As the American League's new Western division champions, the Angels must defeat the Baltimore Orioles this week to make the World Series. Baltimore is baseball's General Motors of 1979, with the best pitching staff in the majors, smooth defense and nine wins over the Angels in twelve games. The Angels, however, are an explosive team, adept at scoring one more run than their ailing pitching staff gives up. The team is batting .282, and its run production (5.4 per game) is the highest in baseball. Designated Hitter Don Baylor, the league's likely Most Valuable Player, has an awesome 138 runs batted in and 35 home runs. In the infield, Rod Carew, the game's best hitter, plays alongside All-Star Second Baseman Bobby Grich and Star Prospect Third Baseman Carney Lansford. Dan Ford, a journeyman outfielder with the Minnesota Twins, has had a big first year with the Angels, driving in and scoring more than a hundred runs. Bespectacled Catcher Brian Downing, a lifetime .246 hitter, this year has been Clark Kent-turned-Superman, batting .323.

Of that list only Lansford is a homegrown product of the Angel's farm system. Most of the stars are hired guns corralled by Autry in the free-agent market. In 1976, Autry spent some $5.2 million signing Grich from Baltimore and Baylor and Joe Rudi from Oakland. "The saddlebags are empty," Autry declared in his best country-boy manner, "and all I have left is the horse." With that, Autry settled back to enjoy what he thought would be a well-purchased pennant. Then came the injuries. Rudi fractured his wrist and Grich herniated a disc. Both missed most of the season and the Angels staggered home fifth.

Autry reached down into his saddle bags for another $10 million, but the disasters continued. Ace Pitchers Nolan Ryan and Frank Tanana were injured. The brilliant Lyman Bostock, acquired from Minnesota, was shot to death be fore the end of his first season. This year's cripples include Tanana, Downing, Carew, Bert Campaneris, Pitcher Chris Knapp and Ace Reliever Mark Clear (11-5), whose recent ineffectiveness, says Manager Jim Fregosi, is due to "arm problems."

When Carew missed seven weeks with a hand in jury, the Angels found one bright spot: the play of his substitute, Willie Mays Aikens, named for the famous centerfielder and born the month that Mays and the Giants were destroying the Cleveland Indians in the 1954 World Series. Angel luck being what it is, Aikens later wrecked his knee, and is out for the year. The last straw was the injury to Pitcher Jim Barr (10-12), one of eight Angels who have signed contracts of over $1 million. After the team clinched the Western title last week, a young fan waved a placard at Barr, who swiped at it. Of course, he damaged the knuckles of his pitching hand, and will miss the playoffs.

One result of all the carnage was that the Angels played less than .500 ball after the mid-season All-Star break and limped home with fewer than 90 wins. Even the great Carew is not playing up to par. This year his batting average sagged to .317, mostly because his hand has not yet healed. Still, there are bright spots, which management hates to mention because every silver lining seems to contain a cloud. For one, Southern California now has something to do besides hunt for gas stations: Angels' attendance was up nearly 50% from last year to 2,523,575, one of the best home gates in league history. For another, some of those ailing pitchers may be back. In the season's final week, Tanana and the ever inconsistent Ryan pitched strong games. So did Knapp and Dave Frost. It was, in fact, the first time since 1975 that the staff had turned in four complete games in a row. Says Bobby Grich: "Our pitching staff has showed up just in time."

The smart money says the Angels are a flawed team: too many injuries, no shortstop, little speed, middling defense. Still, the offense can erupt against any pitcher. Says Slugger Baylor: "We put a lot of sixes and sevens on the Scoreboard." One thing the Angels do have is the peppy slogan required of all Cinderella teams. For the 1969 Mets it was "You gotta believe"; for the 1979 Angels, "Yes, we can." After last week's clincher, Manager Jim Fregosi unveiled a T shirt with the inevitable updating: YES, WE DID. If the team can say that at the end of October, lots of folks outside Anaheim will believe in Angels too.

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