Angels Spring Training Roster and Trivia

Your guide to who is who at the Angels Spring Training...

1. 40-Man Roster Angels: Pitchers
   22 -Trevor Bell - born the day of the "Donnie Moore Game" (10/12/86)
   68 -Ysmael Carmona - has been on the 40-Man roster for three years without ever making a top 20 prospects list.
   38 -Bobby Cassevah - edged out Downs at 6.4 to 6.5 H/9 for best on team (39.2 IP to 53.2 IP)
   37 -Scott Downs - same birthday (but one year older) as Robb Quinlan (Saint Patrick's Day)
   24 -Dan Haren - born one week before Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham died.
   32 -LaTroy Hawkins - born five days before Harry Truman died.
   49 -John Hellweg - ranked as the #4 Angels Prospect by Halos Heaven's Ryan Ghan.
   40 -Kevin Jepsen - wearing the most powerful pitching jersey number in Angels history: Frank Tanana, Troy Percival and the Bartolo Colon Cy Young season all carried #40.
   58 -Michael Kohn - the Angels had the day off on the day he was born in 1986; they had just swept Texas in Arlington and split the S&Q State ahead of Hurricane Bonnie with sole possession of first place in the American League West.
   52 -Fabio Martinez Mesa - is a Scorpio
   59 -Brad Mills - wears the jersey number once worn by reliever Esteban Yan
   56 -Ariel Pena - was born on Cher's 43rd birthday
   43 -Garrett Richards - born on the 20th birthday of future Hall-of-Famers Jeff Bagwell AND Frank Thomas
   54 -Ervin Santana - you wanna know more ? Hey, buy the rights.
   21 -Hisanori Takahashi - the Angels tried to trade him in the offseason and nobody wanted him.
   63 -Rich Thompson - comes from the land down under
   51 -Jordan Walden - is a Scorpio
   36 -Jered Weaver - is represented by the Scott Boras Agency of Newport Beach, California
   57 -Jerome Williams - Hawaiian-born players traditionally take jersey #50 (for the fiftieth state) but it is retired in the Angels organization for Jimmie Reese.
   33 -C.J. Wilson - is a Scorpio
   
2. Catchers
   16 -Hank Conger - wears the jersey number of Angels great Garret Anderson
   17 -Chris Iannetta - born the exact same day and year as Bobby Wilson
   46 -Bobby Wilson - born the exact same day and year as Chris Iannetta
   
3. Infielders
   19 -Alexi Amarista - at 5' 7", the shortest player in camp.
   2 -Erick Aybar - has started 548 games at SS for the Angels, 4th best all time. If he doubles that number for the franchise, he would be in 2nd place behind Jim Fregosi.
   6 -Alberto Callaspo - on the day he was born, the San Diego Padres signed Bobby Brown. And before you scream "If only they had kept him away from Whitney" ...it was a different Bobby Brown.
   13 -Maicer Izturis - was born the exact same day and year as Sean Burroghs and is having a better career than the one-time first-round pick.
   35 -Luis Jimenez - nickname is Lucho
   47 -Howie Kendrick - when Howie was a prospect I emailed him a question on some feature at the Angels website and asked him what jersey number he wanted to wear in the major leagues. He answered that he preferred a jersey with any single digit. Wow! Still waiting.
   8 -Kendrys Morales - has like forty nicknames on this site's game threads when he is hot. Hopefully they all reappear this season.
   5 -Albert Pujols - I kinda hope this guy makes the team.
   18 -Andrew Romine - if Steve Physioc were still our announcer we'd be reminded that his brother plays for the Yankees once per inning anytime the guy was on the bench, let alone in the game. Oh wait, I just did exactly what i accused Phyzz of doing.
   20 -Jean Segura - one of four players in camp born in the 1990s.
   44 -Mark Trumbo - shares a birthday with Albert Pujols and Ethel Merman.
   
4. Outfielders
   53 -Bobby Abreu - was born amidst the Watergate Scandal. But he was in Venezuela and has an airtight alibi.
   25 -Peter Bourjos - his jersey number has the best position player lineup in club history.
   48 -Torii Hunter - he's nine days older than A-Rod, ten times nicer, a hundred times cleaner.
   28 -Jeremy Moore - who is with me on a late-season Figgy-style pinch-runner steal of home?
   27 -Mike Trout - youngest player on the 40-Man roster.
   10 -Vernon Wells - overpaid.
   
5. Non-Roster Invitees: Pitchers
   91 -Ryan Brasier - back in 2009, Matt Palmer wore #91 in Spring Training and made the club later in the season.
   86 -David Carpenter - isn't it funny how all these 70s revival hipsters never try to revive the Carpenters but that was all you really ever heard on the radio besides the Bee Gees in the 70s? Weird.
   41 -Eric Hurley - More people in Orange County wear clothing with his name than all other Angels players combined.
   87 -Matt Meyer - don't bet against a 27-year old lefty.
   45 -Francisco Rodriguez - only dude on the team from Mexico.
   70 -Matt Shoemaker - you could build a franchise around this man's moustache.
   81 -Daniel Tillman - let's watch Keith Olberman with the KTLA sports report from the day Daniel was born, including an update on rookie Jim Abbott in Spring Training.
   65 -Loek Van Mil - if it ain't Dutch, it ain't much.
   
6. Catchers
   96 -Jett Bandy - one of four players born in the 1990s and easily the coolest name in Tempe.
   62 -Robinzon Diaz - your momma made a typo.
   97 -Carlos Ramirez - remember when Police Academy 5 was the #1 movie at the box office? If Carlos pans out, at least something good will have happened the weekend of March 19, 1988.
   98 -Alberto Rosario - you might say it is impossible for him to outperform the other Albert on the team but by all means, let the kid try!
   
7. Infielders
   3 -Jorge Cantu - Wood's jersey, but hey, also Babe Ruth's!
   79 -Taylor Lindsey - youngest player in camp, three and a half months younger than Trout.
   31 -Efren Navarro - make us forget Zimbalist!
   72 -Darwin Perez - what is the subset of Angels fans who also have a Darwin anti-fish logo on their car?
   
8. Outfielders
   77 -Kole Calhoun - the David Letterman Top Ten List from the day Kole was born (10/14/87)

   Top 10 Ways to Make Vice President George Bush More Exciting
   10. Kill a man with his bare hands on network TV
   9. Divorce Barbara; marry 13-year-old cousin
   8. Stick tongue inn Sam Donaldson's ear during press conference
   7. Disappear into Alaskan wilderness with Rosanna Arquette; return with necklace made of bear teeth
   6. Change campaign slogan from "Bush in '88" to "Party with the Bushmeister"
   5. Answer questions on "Meet the Press" with "I'm too drunk to remember."
   4. Bend standing microphone into pretzel-shape; give to cub reporter as souvenir
   3. Nickname him George "The Sexecutioner" Bush
   2. Start hanging with Earth, Wind & Fire
   1. Shorter speeches, tighter pants

   
   55 -Doug Deeds - if he promises me that his At-Bat music will be AC/DC's Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap he will get a hell of a lot more ink in his favor on this blog.
   39 -Ryan Langerhans - former Mariner wearing the sacred Robb Quinlan jersey number.
   76 -Matt Long - in a publicity stunt that worked, radio stations around the world played the newest single by Whitney Houston I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) at 9 AM on 4-30-87, the day Matt was born.

In case you are wondering... yeah this took all day...