All-Time Greats: Los Angeles Angels

This evening I'm starting a new series called the "All-Time Greats". I will be looking at the 10 best position players, and 10 best pitchers all-time for every organization in baseball. To start if off we are going to look at the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I will be starting with just the offense.

1) Jim Fregosi 

Jim Fregosi played 10 seasons with the Angels, and accumulated 44.1 rWAR during that time period. His best year was during 1964 when he had a 137 wRC+, and 8.1 rWAR. 1970 he had 7.7 rWAR, the only other time he surpassed 6 rWAR.

2) Brian Downing

Brian Downing arrived in Los Angeles in 1978 just as he was entering his prime at age 27. During his 12 year stint with the club he totaled 37.7 rWAR. His best season was in 1979 where he managed to have 6.1 rWAR. During his time in LA he showed exceptional power, and a good ability to get on base.

3) Tim Salmon

During his 14 year tenure in LA, Salmon managed to put together an exceptional career. He was an above average power hitter, and showed good plate discipline. Overall me put together a couple of seasons with a rWAR over 5, and finished with 37.6 rWAR by the time he called it quits.

4) Bobby Grich

Bobby Grich played the last half of his career in LA, and put together some nice seasons for them, even as he reached his middle thirties. His best season as an Angel came in 1979 when he totaled 6 rWAR. That year was also the year where he showed the most power, posting a .243 ISO. In total he had 35 rWAR with the club

5) Garret Anderson

During his time with the Angels, Garret Anderson was somewhat erratic. He'd have a down year and than follow it up with a better year. In 2003 he posted 6.1 rWAR, had a career high .345 OBP, as well as a 128 wRC+. Overall Anderson accumulated 28.6 rWAR with the Angels.

6) Darin Erstad

Coming in at number six is Darin Erstad. Erstand had 28 rWAR with the Angels, and the majority of that came in 2000 when he had 7.7 rWAR. That year he showed good power, and abnormally high OBP. In 2002 he had 6 rWAR, and besides those two seasons he never had more than 3 WAR during his career.

7) Vladimir Guerrero 

Despite only playing 6 seasons with the Angels, Guerrero managed to get 24.9 rWAR during his time with the club. He had over 7 rWAR one season, and had over 5 WAR twice. His best season was in 2004 when he had 7.4 rWAR, and showed tremendous power.

8) Chone Figgins

Chone Figgins had his best season in LA during his last season, in 2009. During that season he had 6.6 rWAR.  A big part of that was due to his outstanding defense, he had a 16.6 UZR. He also had a career high .395 OBP. During his time with the team he totaled 20.8 rWAR.

9) Troy Glaus

As a 23 year old in 2000 Troy Glaus busted onto the scene, and made his presence known. He had 7.6 rWAR, and showed displayed tremendous power, posting a .320 ISO. After 2000 he managed a couple 4 rWAR seasons before being traded to Arizona in 2008. All together he had 20.6 rWAR in Los Angeles.

10) Jim Edmonds 

With the Angels Edmonds had a handful of good years. He showed good power, while also maintaining good plate discipline. His best season was 1995 where he had 5.8 rWAR. With the Angels he had 20.4 rWAR.

With that the batting portion of the Angels all-time greats has come to a close. Look for the pitching portion in the coming days.

*Albert Pujols wasn't included because he obviously hasn't logged any time with the club*