1982 California Angels season
The 1982 California Angels season was the 22nd season of the California Angels franchise in the American League, the 17th in Anaheim, and their 17th season playing their home games at Anaheim Stadium. The Angels finished first in the American League West for the second time in team history, with a record of 93 wins and 69 losses. However, the Angels fell to the Milwaukee Brewers in the ALCS in 5 games. This was future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson’s first season with the Angels.
Offseason
- December 6, 1981: Bob Boone was purchased by the Angels from the Philadelphia Phillies.
- December 7, 1981: José Moreno was selected by the Angels from the San Diego Padres in the rule 5 draft.
- December 8, 1981: Dave Smith was selected by the Angels from the New York Mets in the minor league draft.
- December 11, 1981: Brian Harper was traded by the Angels to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Tim Foli.
- January 22, 1982: Reggie Jackson was signed as a free agent by the California Angels.
- January 28, 1982: Dan Ford was traded by the California Angels to the Baltimore Orioles for Doug DeCinces and Jeff Schneider.
Regular season
- April 27, 1982: Reggie Jackson returned to Yankee Stadium with the Angels. He broke out of a terrible season-starting slump to hit a home run off former teammate Ron Guidry. The at-bat began with Yankee fans, angry at owner George Steinbrenner for letting Jackson get away, starting the "Reg-GIE!" chant, and ended it with the fans chanting "Steinbrenner sucks!" By the time of Jackson's election to the Hall of Fame, Steinbrenner had begun to say that letting him go was the biggest mistake he has made as Yankee owner.
Transactions
- April 11, 1982: Ron Jackson was signed as a free agent with the California Angels.
- May 12, 1982: Tom Brunansky, Mike Walters, and $400,000 were traded by the Angels to the Minnesota Twins for Doug Corbett and Rob Wilfong.
- August 2, 1982: Luis Tiant was purchased by the Angels from Tabasco of the Mexican League.
- August 31, 1982: The Angels traded a player to be named later to the New York Yankees for Tommy John. The Angels completed the trade by sending Dennis Rasmussen to the Yankees on November 24.
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Bob Boone | 143 | 472 | 121 | .256 | 7 | 58 |
| 1B | Rod Carew | 138 | 523 | 167 | .319 | 3 | 44 |
| 2B | Bobby Grich | 145 | 506 | 132 | .261 | 19 | 65 |
| 3B | Doug DeCinces | 153 | 575 | 173 | .301 | 30 | 97 |
| SS | Tim Foli | 150 | 480 | 121 | .252 | 3 | 56 |
| LF | Brian Downing | 158 | 623 | 175 | .281 | 28 | 84 |
| CF | Fred Lynn | 138 | 472 | 141 | .299 | 21 | 86 |
| RF | Reggie Jackson | 153 | 530 | 146 | .275 | 39 | 101 |
| DH | Don Baylor | 157 | 608 | 160 | .263 | 24 | 93 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Juan Beniquez | 112 | 196 | 52 | .265 | 3 | 24 |
| Ron Jackson | 53 | 142 | 47 | .331 | 2 | 19 |
| Rob Wilfong | 55 | 102 | 25 | .245 | 1 | 11 |
| Bobby Clark | 102 | 90 | 19 | .211 | 2 | 8 |
| Joe Ferguson | 36 | 84 | 19 | .226 | 3 | 8 |
| Mick Kelleher | 34 | 49 | 8 | .163 | 0 | 1 |
| Rick Burleson | 11 | 45 | 7 | .156 | 0 | 2 |
| Ricky Adams | 8 | 14 | 2 | .143 | 0 | 0 |
| Daryl Sconiers | 12 | 13 | 2 | .154 | 0 | 2 |
| Gary Pettis | 10 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 1 | 1 |
| José Moreno | 11 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Geoff Zahn | 34 | 229.1 | 18 | 8 | 3.73 | 81 |
| Ken Forsch | 37 | 228.0 | 13 | 11 | 3.87 | 73 |
| Tommy John | 7 | 35.0 | 4 | 2 | 3.86 | 14 |
| Luis Tiant | 6 | 29.2 | 2 | 2 | 5.76 | 30 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Mike Witt | 33 | 179.2 | 8 | 6 | 3.51 | 85 |
| Steve Renko | 31 | 156.0 | 11 | 6 | 4.44 | 81 |
| Bruce Kison | 33 | 142.0 | 10 | 5 | 3.17 | 86 |
| Dave Goltz | 28 | 86.0 | 8 | 5 | 4.08 | 49 |
| Angel Moreno | 13 | 49.1 | 3 | 7 | 4.74 | 22 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Doug Corbett | 33 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 5.05 | 37 |
| Andy Hassler | 54 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2.78 | 38 |
| Luis Sánchez | 46 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 3.21 | 58 |
| Don Aase | 24 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3.46 | 40 |
| Rick Steirer | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.76 | 14 |
| John Curtis | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6.00 | 10 |
| Stan Bahnsen | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.66 | 5 |
| Mickey Mahler | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.13 | 5 |
ALCS
Game 1, October 5
Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, CaliforniaGame 2, October 6
Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, CaliforniaGame 3, October 8
County Stadium, Milwaukee, WisconsinGame 4, October 9
County Stadium, Milwaukee, WisconsinGame 5, October 10
County Stadium, Milwaukee, WisconsinAwards and honors
- Fred Lynn, American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player
- Reggie Jackson OF, American League Leader Home Runs
- Rod Carew
- Bobby Grich
- Reggie Jackson
- Fred Lynn