2020 Angels in review: Brian Goodwin

Brian Goodwin spent the first half of the season with the Angels, but was dealt to the Cincinnati Reds at the trade deadline. With the Angels falling out of playoff contention, it was one of a handful of moves they made.

Goodwin was one of the best hitters for the Angels through the first portion of the season. Through his first 21 games, Goodwin was hitting .303 with an OPS of .984, one of the highest in the American League among outfielders. His final nine games with LA were really a struggle, as he barely hit above .100 and struck out in nearly half of his plate appearances.

Overall, he appeared in 165 games over two years for the Angels and proved to be a very solid outfielder for them. He played great defense and posted an OPS of just under .800 during his time as a Halo.

Although his highlight tape won’t wow you, Angels fans and a lot of baseball fans will probably remember Goodwin most from when he stood up (or kneeled) for racial inequality at the beginning of the season.

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

“It’s an important issue,” Goodwin said when asked about kneeling during the National Anthem early in the year. “It’s something that needs to be addressed. When you have the stage to address it, you need to use it. As of right now, I have the stage and the support from the Angels. It would be a detriment for people who knew me for me not to take advantage of it.”

Goodwin added more, saying that what’s going on in America with social inequality isn’t anything new. It isn’t something that just came about. It’s something that has been going on for a very long time.

“The more attention we can bring to the issue, the more traction we can get, the more voices we can have heard,” he said. “That’s strength and numbers. Once you finally have everybody on the same page and all these people backing it, you have to push the issue. It’s important now while we have the whole world watching us. Especially with the shutdown, maybe not having as much time to be distracted by other issues. It’s the only thing we’re getting to see. Now is as good a time as any to use our platform and voices.”

Not only did Goodwin leave a positive impact with the Angels with his bat and glove, he did it with his voice and actions as well, which is much more important.

2020 particulars

Age: 30

Stats: .242/.330/.463/.793, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 23 H, 12 R, 116 OPS+

Salary: N/A

Game of the year

Goodwin had a number of really good games in 2020, but his best with the Halos came early in the season on July 29. He finished with two hits, with one being a double and one being a home run. His two hits tied a season-high and his three RBI tied a season-high as well.

Roster status

Goodwin has four years and 19 days of service time. He will be 2nd-Year arbitration eligible next year.