Angels Reach 89 Wins 6 Straight Years

by mattwelch on Sep 22, 2009 11:14 AM PDT

With yesterday's victory in Texas the Angels reached the 89-win mark for the 6th consecutive year. This, despite being picked to win about 84 each year by the PECOTAs of the world.

Anyhoo, how rare is that? Consider this -- only 8 other franchises have ever done it in baseball HISTORY. Here's a list, ordered by most recent to least:

Yankees 2009
Braves 2000
Athletics 1975
Dodgers 1956
Indians 1955
Cardinals 1947
Giants 1913
Cubs 1912

You're talking about some of the most celebrated teams in baseball history here. Charlie Finley's mustache gang, the Boys of Summer, Musial's Cardinals, McGraw's Giants, Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance. More importantly, note who's NOT there -- the Big Red Machine never won 89 for 6 straight. The Pirates have won a ton over the years (at least until they let Barry Bonds go), but 89 wins in 6 consecutive? Nope. The Tigers had an all-Hall-of-Fame outfield, the Orioles had Earl Weaver, the Blue Jays had a very good 12 years or so, and I've heard a certain broadcast network talk about a team from Massachussetts ... nope.

So tip your cap to Mike freaking Scioscia, and Arte, and Vladimir Guerrero, and Chone Figgins, and John Lackey, and the rest of 'em. And for those of you who are, say, 25 or younger ... man, do you people have it good.

UPDATE: See a more detailed/accurate list here.

This Fan-Post is authored by an independent fan. Tell us what you think and how you feel.

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Comments

PECOTA

is worthless. They can’t predict the happenings of a ninja and a Skeeosha!!

First we had a Salmon and now we have a Trout, let's see the same results.

by angelskid2210 on Sep 21, 2009 8:36 PM PDT reply actions

Man. That list is unreal.

~Till the Halo burns out...

by Zu Long on Sep 21, 2009 8:51 PM PDT reply actions

This team and franchise is GREAT!

:-D

RIP Nick Adenhart.

"When the Babe tries to call his shot, I hope Nick puts one in his ear."
--RallyMonkey5

by Clutch on Sep 21, 2009 8:56 PM PDT reply actions

You're quite the sales guy..........

………….and I appreciate it.

by wumbug on Sep 21, 2009 9:51 PM PDT reply actions

I share the sentiment

The Angels are fantastic, and there is no shortage of superlatives to describe the job that Mike Scioscia and Arte Moreno have done. I must point out, however, that MLB expanded the season from 154 games to 162 games in 1961. To make comparisons to other franchises prior to 1961, you would have to account for the fact that 89 wins now is equivalent to 84 or 85 wins then.

by Brody on Sep 21, 2009 9:56 PM PDT reply actions

Footnote:

by wumbug on Sep 21, 2009 10:00 PM PDT up reply actions

The fact that we're one of only 4 teams to do it AFTER 1961 says plenty by itself.

#34 Forever
Plugging the upside since 2006.
Never give up, never surrender!

by TheOptimist on Sep 21, 2009 10:05 PM PDT up reply actions

You could also make a complaint about strike-shortened years

I figure if someone cares enough they can do the math.

by mattwelch on Sep 22, 2009 9:38 AM PDT up reply actions

Woofrickinhooo is all I have to say...

and I agree with you…my 18 yr old son only knows Angels success, what a life!

Miss you Nick...! RIP

by K3YEROUT on Sep 21, 2009 9:58 PM PDT reply actions

And if it weren't for 2003

We would have had 8 consecutive.

Great post!

by TheAntiSox on Sep 21, 2009 10:01 PM PDT reply actions

I'm actually kinda shocked the late 90's-early 2000s A's didn't manage

this trick, but they missed by a hair in ’99 and 2005.

#34 Forever
Plugging the upside since 2006.
Never give up, never surrender!

by TheOptimist on Sep 21, 2009 10:03 PM PDT reply actions

Great post

Surely Ken Burns can find room for you on his 10th inning of the Baseball documentary series.

Don't call me Desmond!

by highlandhalo on Sep 21, 2009 10:26 PM PDT reply actions

here is a slam dunk guarantee

inning # 10 will be ALL bahstin all the time. He never mentioned the Phillies in 9 frickin’ chapters of his first cockumentary, he is soooo biased and do NOT get me started on his documentary “the history of TImes Square billboards” oops, I mean “jazz” oh god…..

by Rev Halofan on Sep 21, 2009 10:58 PM PDT up reply actions

The Murderers Row Yankees didn't make it?

Angels baseball. We do what we must, because we can -- HaloDutch

by red floyd on Sep 21, 2009 10:42 PM PDT reply actions

Well, following Brody's lead above...

Starting with the 1926 season, the Yankees did not lose anything less than 86 games until 1944, when they won 83. That is 18 consecutive seasons.

The worst thing is the day you realize you want to win more than the players do. - Gene Mauch

by Stirrups on Sep 21, 2009 11:27 PM PDT up reply actions

The Yankkes have done it several times

The 2009 next to there name indicates the last time they have done it. They currently have a streak of 9 seasons going. They have a streak of 9 seasons from 1931 – 1939 and a streak of 12 seasons from 1947 – 1958

We're putting the band back togehter.

by billhune on Sep 22, 2009 7:41 AM PDT up reply actions

We are the Bigger Redder Machine

Captain, there are doubt's...

by Match Day 5 on Sep 22, 2009 5:17 AM PDT reply actions

I am glad to be the age of 20 where...

Mike Scioscia has been the only manager of the Angels that I have seen during my baseball watching years. :D

The Big Red Machine V.2 is coming this Fall 2009. Go Halos!

by Slyintine on Sep 22, 2009 6:50 AM PDT reply actions

same here

Aybar is a nowhere man, Sitting in his Nowhere Land, Making all his nowhere plans for nobody.

by princeton11loveshalos on Sep 22, 2009 11:59 AM PDT up reply actions

I disagree

And for those of you who are, say, 25 or younger … man, do you people have it good.

Without all of the losing, these winning years would not have been as sweet. Your buddy Neel’s column from 2002 is meaningless for those folks, but damn near brought me to tears the first time I read it. To this day I don’t care about the Lakers until playoff time, primarily because all they did when I was a kid is win. The highs don’t mean anything unless you’ve got a good base of lows to build on.

Also, I’d point out that winning 89 games was a lot harder for all of those teams before the 1975 A’s.

by LA Seitz on Sep 22, 2009 8:09 AM PDT reply actions 6 recs

Rec'd

I may be only 25, but I remember the 90’s teams. Losing might not have taken it’s toll like it would now, but I knew we weren’t playing for a championship, and that’s what matters. 2002 was as sweet for me as it was for my dad.

This team is our extended family, That's why we love them no matter what the record, no matter what the score.

by halofan4life on Sep 22, 2009 8:21 AM PDT up reply actions

P.S.

That article gav me goosebumps.

This team is our extended family, That's why we love them no matter what the record, no matter what the score.

by halofan4life on Sep 22, 2009 8:27 AM PDT up reply actions

Rec'd.

Never read that column, but is so true.

I remember listening to KMPC during the ’79 run. I remember ’82. I still have heartbreak from ’86 and ’95.

And to (mis)quote Churchill again…

Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the Angels and MLB last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’

Angels baseball. We do what we must, because we can -- HaloDutch

by red floyd on Sep 22, 2009 8:32 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Never read that article, but sure do remember the heartbreak. And I also remember the final catch of the final game that 2002 season. I thought of dad at that moment, a man who died having never seen the Angels take the World Series, yet he religiously listened every night on KMPC….

by firebird81 on Sep 22, 2009 9:05 AM PDT up reply actions

I very distinctly remember reading that column

And loving it. I’m only 27, but I remember the losing of the late ’80’s, early ’90’s. I learned baseball during those years pretending I was asleep, but really listening to Dick Schofield, Lance Parrish and Jack Howell strike out on my Walkman.

And it’s true, being around for those losing years made winning so much sweeter.

I feel the need, the need...for speed!

by Gorbachav5 on Sep 22, 2009 11:34 AM PDT up reply actions

Somebody frame that quote please. Outstanding.

by Nashdiesel on Sep 22, 2009 2:23 PM PDT up reply actions

Angel history

I am old enough to remember much too much of it.

I remember days when guys like Felix Torres were the future of the team.

I know some folks are impatient with simply making the playoffs, but I cherish each and every winning season and the postseasons which come with them. Too much of my life was spent wandering in the barren desert of a perpetually rebuilding team.

"He's not a Rhodes Scholar to begin with''~Theo Epstein, talking about Papelbon

by George Kaplan on Sep 22, 2009 10:18 AM PDT reply actions

I remember when we didn't have people named "torres" in our farm system...

because we didn’t bother scouting in Latin America.

We had some lousy prospects back then.

by Nashdiesel on Sep 22, 2009 3:30 PM PDT up reply actions

Remarkable considering

It wasn’t until 2006 until the Angels had three winning seasons in a row for the first time in team history. What has happened since this management team took over has been one serious upgrade.

by California Cajun on Sep 22, 2009 10:47 AM PDT reply actions

I am 25 on the button....

and maybe its because my Dad starting taking me to games when I was TWO, and maybe its because I was abnormally into baseball for a kid in elementary school, but I remember some pretty friggin horrible years myself.

At age 12, I remember thinking, “This team will probably never win a World Series in my lifetime.” But we got ours!!!

Now, I know that the crappy years I suffered cannot even begin to amount to the time spent following this team by someone older than me who has been with the team since the 70’s or hell, since ‘61. I just wanted to note that I remember a few horrible teams, bad uniforms and atrocious trades for has-beens and never will-be’s.

I also remember some good times though…like watching those K’s pile up everytime Finley was on the mound or hearing the crowd chant “Chili, Chili, Chili!”

Do it for Nick '09

by BryanHarvey'sMoustache on Sep 22, 2009 11:15 AM PDT reply actions

I thought you were quite a bit older than 25 because of the way you write, most of the time.

THIS… IS… ANAHEIM!!

by opiejeanne on Sep 22, 2009 11:31 AM PDT up reply actions

Thanks Opie!

I’ll take that as a complement. I guess you can say that my writing is my strength. I wrote for my college paper and I have been doing editorial/freelance writing since graduating. Unfortunately, there isn’t much $ in it nowadays.

Do it for Nick '09

by BryanHarvey'sMoustache on Sep 22, 2009 1:42 PM PDT up reply actions

Chili dogs and Snow cones.

For some reason that sticks with me.

Let's do this for Nick Adenhart, Courtney Stewart, and Henry Pearson.

by AlanFalcon on Sep 22, 2009 11:33 AM PDT up reply actions

The team has just been lucky six years in a row

"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you." - Woody Hayes

by johnnyangel101 on Sep 22, 2009 1:19 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

LOL...

rec’d.

Do it for Nick '09

by BryanHarvey'sMoustache on Sep 22, 2009 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions

Congrats, Angel fans

The Angels truly is “THE Big-Red Machine”

by PHAT JULIO on Sep 22, 2009 3:06 PM PDT reply actions

Im 26....

but I remember the 90’s quite well………including one year ending in a 5 that nearly caused me to stop watching baseball forever, for fear of losing my sanity.

"In every adversity there lies the seed of an equivalent advantage. In every defeat is a lesson showing you how to win the victory next time." (Robert Collier)

by norcaliangelsfan on Sep 22, 2009 3:47 PM PDT reply actions

There were some years that almost soured us on baseball in general, but not on the Angels.

The strike in 1981 was one but the lockout in 1990 was especially destructive.

1981 was the last year we bought season tickets with two other couples, mostly because of the strike. We continued to go to games but only about half as many as before. We look back on the 79 – 81 seasons very fondly and those seats were great. We saw them win that one game against Baltimore in the ALCS in 79.

In 1980 they were terrible, won 65 and lost 95, but we loved them anyway. A year like that though , just one single year like that, helps bring it all into perspective.

THIS… IS… ANAHEIM!!

by opiejeanne on Sep 22, 2009 5:27 PM PDT up reply actions

Oh and PS

Soth, Arte, Ninja and Stoneman rule!

"In every adversity there lies the seed of an equivalent advantage. In every defeat is a lesson showing you how to win the victory next time." (Robert Collier)

by norcaliangelsfan on Sep 22, 2009 4:26 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

26...

And I like the fact that my formidable years were built on more difficult seasons. During 2002 when everyone liked to mock the supposed “bandwagon” Angel fans, knowing my history helped prove that most of us have street cred.

On a side note, these numbers might explain why rghan (my brother) became so obsessed with the minor leagues, you should always look forward when times are tough!

by angelgal on Sep 22, 2009 4:50 PM PDT reply actions

well if I wasnt in the midst of a divorce..........

I think I would propose right here on the spot.

"In every adversity there lies the seed of an equivalent advantage. In every defeat is a lesson showing you how to win the victory next time." (Robert Collier)

by norcaliangelsfan on Sep 22, 2009 5:19 PM PDT up reply actions

thanks for the warm fuzzy, matt

by ladybug on Sep 22, 2009 5:54 PM PDT reply actions

Props should also go to "Fan Since 1981"

who, earlier this morning, made this point here, in the wrap-up thread for last night’s game, about 4 1/2 hours before matt’s post.

The worst thing is the day you realize you want to win more than the players do. - Gene Mauch

by Stirrups on Sep 22, 2009 6:06 PM PDT up reply actions

then warm fuzzy props to 'Fan' too.....there's enough fuzz to go around! :-)

by ladybug on Sep 22, 2009 6:45 PM PDT up reply actions

Fantastico

When I'm not at the stadium, I'd rather be watching my Halos back in Costa Rica!

by Dono Romantico on Sep 22, 2009 6:12 PM PDT reply actions

Only 27

But the 90s, 1995 specifically, made 2002 that much sweeter.

As someone else mentioned, I’ve always been a Lakers fan, and that means nothing until the second round of the playoffs most years.

Even if I was a fan during the Ceballos/Van Exel years. shudder

R.I.P. Nick Adenhart - Always an Angel

by Kernel on Sep 23, 2009 8:21 AM PDT reply actions

Even if I was a fan during the Ceballos/Van Exel years. shudder

Me too. That was rough.

Angels baseball. We do what we must, because we can -- HaloDutch

by red floyd on Sep 23, 2009 9:00 AM PDT up reply actions

I loved the Ceballos Van Exel years.

But I guess that’s because that’s just when I started getting into the Lakers — these days I’m all for them winning, especially over Boston, but I’m not likely to watch or listen to a game.

Let's do this for Nick Adenhart, Courtney Stewart, and Henry Pearson.

by AlanFalcon on Sep 23, 2009 10:14 AM PDT up reply actions

Eddie Jones, FTW!

I’m not a big Cedric fan, but you gotta love the Ceballos – Lake Havasu trip mid-season. Classic.

I love this team.

by Downing Rules on Sep 23, 2009 10:17 AM PDT up reply actions

I grew up during the Jerry West/Elgin Baylor/Gail Goodrich years.

Most of the ’70s was a disappointment. Then Showtime came. Then Ceballos/VanExel. Then the Shaq/Kobe and then just Kobe.

Angels baseball. We do what we must, because we can -- HaloDutch

by red floyd on Sep 23, 2009 11:54 AM PDT up reply actions

I wish I had been a Lakers fan for Showtime.

I remember thinking “Magic” Johnson was amazing, but I can’t say I knew any more about Basketball than that.

Let's do this for Nick Adenhart, Courtney Stewart, and Henry Pearson.

by AlanFalcon on Sep 23, 2009 12:05 PM PDT up reply actions

"The Lake Show"

remember that stupid name for that 1995 season? Lame.

I love this team.

by Downing Rules on Sep 23, 2009 4:30 PM PDT up reply actions

To the big-mouthed Yankee bitch...

sitting in F112 Row M last night…

You’re fat and if my dog had your face, I’d shave his ass and teach him to walk backwards.

Congrats, your overpaid team of rent-a-champs finally beat the Angels at the Big A

(There, I feel much better)

God needed a starter. RIP #34

by 3rd Echelon on Sep 23, 2009 9:29 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs

she was that bad?

I love this team.

by Downing Rules on Sep 23, 2009 10:18 AM PDT up reply actions

She was a Yankees fan at an Angels Yankees game where the Yankees won.

Also, apparently, she was ugly.

Let's do this for Nick Adenhart, Courtney Stewart, and Henry Pearson.

by AlanFalcon on Sep 23, 2009 11:01 AM PDT up reply actions

Same comment could have applied to most of the rows in most of the sections...

…and I’d rather hear an endlless loop of “Copacabana” sung by the “It’s a Small World Choir” on helium that to hear that IDIOTIC “Hip-hip, Jorge!” ONE…MORE…TIME.

My wife and I started answering with “GO AWAY!” in place of “Jorge”…then “THREW IT AWAY” after the Mathis-like effort in the 8th.

Don’t they make places for people like this…called prisons? Or “duh Bronx”?

by sothball on Sep 23, 2009 11:15 AM PDT up reply actions