The Angels’ Season Has Started
Longtime fans of the Los Angeles Angels keep wondering every spring, “Will this be the year the Halos make the postseason,” only to have their hopes dashed on the doorstep of despair.
This season the Angels have a new manager, former catcher Kurt Suzuki who was born in Hawai’i and attended Cal State-Fullerton before getting into professional baseball. Suzuki was an impressive catcher, winning the World Series with the Washington Nationals in 2019.
Now he managers the same team he ended his playing career with, looking to see his squad make it into October. That would be great news for the fans and the players and coaches, especially outfielder Mike Trout who has stayed with this team since coming into the league in 2012.
One of the greatest players of his generation, he only made the playoffs once in his career, 2014 when the Halos were swept in the first round by the Kansas City Royals.
(Claudia Gestro)
At the time of this writing Los Angeles isn’t too far out from first place in the division and this could be a good start for them. In an interview with reporter Claudia Gestro, Suzuki said, “Everybody has that belief, no doubt” when she asked the manager about the team’s belief they can make a playoff run this season.
Important for him and the team is to focus on each day and each game one at a time. “If we worry about making the playoffs we put a lot of pressure on ourselves.” He told Gestro.
One of the important qualities of a manager is to stick up for his players. There was a bench-clearing brawl that started when Atlanta Braves pitcher Reynaldo López threw a brush-back pitch high and in on Jorge Soler who had hit6 a home run off López earlier in the game. The Angels slugger charged the mound and the melee got under way. Both Soler and López received five game suspensions. Soler spoke with the media after the game.
After the game Suzuki was clear about who started the fight, Braves pitcher Reynaldo López. “I don’t blame Jorge one bit. You get thrown at your head, you have a family, a career. It’s dangerous.”
As the season moves forward the manager says fans can expect to see their Halos would, “… Play hard, play together and they’ll play to win.”
Their upcoming schedule can be found here.
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