gold star for USAHOF
Committee Chairman

Committee Chairman

Kirk Buchner, "The Committee Chairman", is the owner and operator of the site.  Kirk can be contacted at [email protected] .

Dick Schofield was a highly sought-after player in the 1981 Draft and was taken third overall by the California Angels.  Schofield first played for the Angels in 1983, but it would be clear that his biggest asset would be his defense.  Fortunately, he was very good at it.

Schofield never had a season where he had over 126 Hits (1988) and only had at least three digits three times (1986-88).  He did post three seasons of Defensive bWAR over 2.0, and he was one of the most underappreciated defensive players in the mid-80s.  

He was traded to the Mets in 1992 and won a World Series Ring with Toronto before returning to the Angels in a bench role in 1995 for two years.  Schofield did have a 10.7 Defensive bWAR for the Angels, which is currently sixth all-time in Angels history.

36. Bob Boone

Bob Boone is far greater known for his time in Philadelphia, where he helped them win the 1980 World Series, though don't sleep on what he did with the Angels.

Boone was with California for seven seasons and only had 742 Hits with an OPS of .620.  That is poor offense, but the Angels did not acquire him for his bat.  At present, Boone’s Angels Defensive bWAR of 14.7 is the highest in franchise history and is higher than what he did in Philadelphia.  An All-Star in 1983, Boone led all American League Catchers in Total Zone Runs five times, Putouts five times, and Caught Stealing Percentage twice.  He never finished less than fifth in Caught Stealing Percentage with California, and he added four Gold Gloves in his trophy case.

Playing with the Angels until he was 40, he left for Kansas City as a Free Agent, playing two more years before retiring.  

Albie Pearson was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1958 with Washington, but his arrival to the Angels in 1961 as part of the Expansion Draft was not met with a lot of fanfare as his two previous years with the Senators and Orioles were not great.  With Los Angeles, he was able to recapture some of that rookie magic, albeit for a brief time.

Standing at only 5' 5" and the shortest man in baseball at the time, Pearson was a Major League starter again, and the Outfielder batted .288 with a .420 OBP in his 1961 comeback season.  He followed that with a league-leading 115 Runs Scored in 1962 and was an All-Star in 1963, posting career-highs in Hits (176) and Batting Average (.304).  After an injury-plagued year in 1964, Pearson declined and was released in 1966.

With the Angels, Pearson had 618 Hits with a Batting Average of .275.

After 33 Games with St. Louis, Adam Kennedy was traded to the Anaheim Angels, sending Jim Edmonds the opposite direction.  Kennedy would become the Angels' starting Second Baseman the year after (2000) and would be so until 2006.

Kennedy was not a great hitter but was excellent with the glove.  From 2001 to 2005, he had at least 1.0 in Defensive bWAR, peaking with 2.0 in 2005.  With the bat, he did enough, batting at least .266 each year as an Angel and batted .312 in their 2002 World Series Championship year.  He was especially good in the ALCS, blasting three Home Runs with a 1.357 OPS.

Kennedy left the Angels to return to St. Louis in 2006 as a Free Agent, and with Anaheim/Los Angeles with 935 Hits, 123 Stolen Bases, and a .280 Batting Average.