Mike Witt is going to be inducted into the Angels Hall of Fame later today, so it's as good of a time as any to remember the man with the solid arm, and wispy mustache. Most will remember the perfect game he pitched on September 3, 1984, against the Texas Rangers. On top of that, in his later years, he became the only pitcher to have also been involved in a combined no-hitter, when he was relieving for Mark Langston.
Here's the last out of his complete game for he Halos:
In Rev's Top 100 Angels of All Time countdown, he had some extra nuggets of Witt knowledge to drop, just to illustrate why he's having a ceremony later this afternoon:
#22 - MIKE WITT, P
Besides these spectacular benchmarks, Witt had a three-season run as one of the best pitchers in baseball - He accrued over 14 Wins Above Replacement in 1984, 85 and 86. He was the undisputed ace of the 1986 Western Division staff with an ERA of 2.84 in 269 Innings, with an ERA+ of 144 (Twelfth best single season by an Angels arm) and 6.2 WAR (15th best ever by an Angels pitcher in one year). He won Game 1 of the ALCS against Boston, handily beating Roger Clemens (who would every award for his amazing season). In Game 5 manager Gene Mauch took Witt out of the game in the ninth inning with the lead and the sky fell.
Quite the prestigious career he had with the club. Of course, it's also important to remember his biggest role on this team. Not on the diamond, but as an actor. In the January 15, 1985 episode of hit TV show The Jeffersons, titled "The Unnatural", George and Weezie Jefferson head to a Yankees game. The Yankees happen to be playing the Angels, and when Reggie Jackson hits a homer right to George he drops it ("toaster glove George!"), and is ridiculed by the entire crowd. Weezie later sneaks into the Angels locker room to meet Reggie Jackson and convince him to talk to George, and build up his confidence. Hilarity ensues, naturally, especially at the expense of Weezie running into SO. MANY. SEXY. ANGELS. Including seeing one Mr. Mike Witt, in his Wittday suit, as he was taking a shower:
And just for good measure, here's obligatory, shirtless hunk Brian Downing, making Weezie breathless.
Mike Witt in the Angels Hall of Fame is a-ok by me. He'll be going in with another thrower of a perfect game, Dean Chance. Although Chance's was only 5 innings long. Of course, Tim Salmon is also getting immortalized today. Should be a great ceremony to watch.