No. 76: Greatest seasons in Angels history: Rod Carew, 1982

Rod Carew, 1982

Stats: .319/.396/.403/.799, 3 HR, 44 RBI, 167 H, 88 R, 25 2B, 121 OPS+

Baseball Reference WAR: 4.7

FanGraphs WAR: 4.3

Combined WAR: 4.5

Rod Carew was an Angel for the final seven years of his 19-year big-league career. His best season with the Angels came in 1982. He was an All-Star (one of 18 total times during his career) and finished 26th in the MVP voting.

At the age of 36, Carew was still near the leaderboard in the American League. He had the third best batting average and his on-base percentage was the fourth best in the league.

Over the final 50 games, Carew was arguably the best hitter in all of baseball. From August 8 through October 3, he hit .356/.410/.455/.865. In 48 starts, Carew had 72 hits and scored 38 runs. He also had more walks than strikeouts during that time as well. He also dominated against right-handed pitching that season. In 420 plate appearances, he posted a slash of .355/.430/.443/.873. In only 192 plate appearances against lefties, he posted a slash of .241/.321/.315/.635.

Get caught up on the rest of the “All-Time Angels” lists!

• 100 Greatest Angels of All-Time
• 100 Greatest Seasons in Angels History