26 Days Until Opening Day

Opening Day, April 1, 2013 is 26 days away. There have been one hundred walk off home runs in Angels history. This is the story of #26, the first of two in a row and the first time of three pairs of back to back walk offs that have occurred in Angels history!

August 18, 1975 - The Brewers had a 3-2 lead over the Angels and relief pitcher Jim Brewer when leadoff batter Bob Sheldon tripled to begin the inning. Don Kirkwood relieved, allowed the inherited runner to score and got out of it with a 4-2 deficit. He pitched the top of the ninth as well.

With the score 4-2 Brewers in the bottom of the ninth inning, starer Tom Hausman was set for a complete game before a one out single saw Milwaukee manager Del Crandall switch pitchers, bringing in Tom Murphy. Bruce Bochte singled and represented the tying run. Dick Williams brought in Rudy Meoli to pinch run, but all Meoli would do was trot behind the runner in front of him and the batter behind him. Leroy Stanton hit a three-run come form behind walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to win it for the Angels. Final Score: Angels 5, Brewers 4.

The day after this game would see another walk of home run hit, and like all baseball games, the circumstances and story were radically different. It would be the first of thee times in Angels history where a walk off home run was hit in back to back games. All three time it was against the same team, which may be more of an indicator of a terrible bullpen on the part of the visitors than some awesome walk off hitting prowess of a particular Angels club.

This was the third walk off home run in the angels career of Leroy Stanton, which put him one behind the then-club leader Jim Fregosi, he of four walk off home runs under the Halo. But as the years marched on, there would be others.