The Angels have had just eight different seasons of 40-plus home runs in franchise history. Until 2015, there had been just one man to accomplish that feat. Troy Glaus was the only slugger to do that among Angels home run leaders, as he did it in consecutive years (which we’ll talk about more in a minute).
But since 2015, there have been six other occurrences of this, accomplished by three different players. Let’s dig into some of the details.
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Glaus is not only the Angels’ single-season home run leader, folks. He’s also on the Diamondbacks‘ single-season leaderboard. But for the purposes of today, we’re going to focus on the bombs he launched while playing in the AL West.
Those 47 taters came in his first full season in the big leagues, so he wasted no time making an impact. The former third-overall draft pick was mostly a picture of consistency in the power department for the Angels. He never hit double-digit dingers in a month, but he also never hit fewer than seven. Although June and July were on the tougher side for him (both months had an OPS in the .800 range), he sandwiched that around performances that included an OPS greater than 1.000.
Most of his counting stats were racked up against right-handers (he faced them 512 times in 2000). However, Glaus still managed to slug 17 homers in just 166 plate appearances against lefties (he posted a 1.354 OPS in that scenario).
In the midst of marveling at Shohei Ohtani‘s 2021 AL MVP campaign, it was easy to overlook the fact that he nearly set a new single-season franchise record for homers. But seriously, he came *that* close to making it happen, which would’ve just added to the ridiculousness of his performance.
Those 46 dingers came in 639 plate appearances, and I like to point out that over his first three big-league seasons (967 plate appearances), Ohtani slugged 47 homers. So, he nearly doubled his career total in the span of one season. This number is also a franchise record for designated hitters. Not bad.
While he did step to the plate 47 fewer times in the second half, it would’ve been hard to sustain the pace he was on prior to the All-Star break. In advance of the midsummer classic, he slashed .279/.364/.698 with 33 home runs and 70 RBI. Following that breather, he slashed .229/.382/.458 with 13 home runs and 30 RBI. But still, it didn’t matter because the damage was done. Between what he did on the mound and at the plate, he was the easy choice for AL MVP.
To get a full look at what he’s done thus far during his career, take a stroll through memory lane by looking at Shohei Ohtani’s home runs through the years.
Would any Angels list be complete without Mike Trout? No, and that’s definitely the case here since he’s already the franchise’s all-time home run leader. The 2019 campaign was the seventh time in eight seasons that Trout finished in the top two of MVP voting (he finished fourth the one time he didn’t). This one ended with him earning the honor for the third time.
As Trout typically does, he excelled in just about every situation imaginable during 2019. Whether he was home or away, or playing in the first half or second half, his OPS was over 1.000. While he only appeared in six September games, he also secured a 1.000-plus OPS each month. July sticks out in this case because he slashed .286/.392/.821 with 13 home runs and 29 RBI.
It’s not surprising that Los Angeles typically wins when Trout plays well (he slashed .343/.480/.805 in victories), but it’s not like he was completely silent in losses. When the Angels came up short, he still managed a .250/.405/.515 line with 33 extra-base hits (15 doubles, 18 home runs).
We were robbed of Angels franchise history for Shohei Ohtani. While he was still playing with a torn UCL, an oblique injury ended his season prematurely. His last game was on September 3rd, leaving him just three dingers shy of Glaus’ record.
Injuries stink.
This was another MVP-caliber performance from the two-way superstar. In addition to those 44 homers, he collected 95 RBI, 102 runs scored, 26 doubles, and 20 stolen bases while slashing .304/.412/.654 in just 497 plate appearances. He entered the All-Star break with 32 homers. It was the second time he reached 30 dingers prior to the midsummer classic.
Ohtani was effective all year. But what really put him on his eventual path was a ridiculous month of June. Across 126 plate appearances, he slashed .394/.492/.952 (!). This included 15 homers, seven doubles, three triples, 29 RBI, and 27 runs scored.
The 2015 season was special for Trout because it was the first time he surpassed the 40-homer plateau, which he accomplished as a 23-year-old. July was once again his best month. The outfielder hit .367/.462/.861 with 12 homers and 24 RBI. He didn’t hit more than eight homers in any other month.
If runners were in scoring position when he stepped to the plate, chances were the Millville Meteor would come through in the clutch. In this specific situation, Trout slashed .352/.508/.693 with eight homers and 49 RBI. It also didn’t matter what time of the game he stepped to the plate. Whether it was within the first three innings (1.057 OPS), innings 4-6 (.945), or the last third of the game (.980), Trout was always ready to do damage.
What’s the best way to follow up a breakout campaign like Glaus’ in 2000? Well, the obvious answer is to slug another 40-plus dingers. Although his season-long OPS dropped more than 100 points (1.008 to .898), the sweet-swinging third baseman took home his second straight Silver Slugger Award after posting 40 homers and 100 RBI again.
He didn’t have one particular month where he launched double-digit home runs but landed between six and eight per month for the duration of the season. I also love looking at how close his first- and second-half numbers were. Prior to the All-Star Game, he posted a .877 OPS with 22 homers and 54 RBI. After the midsummer classic, his OPS went up to .922 and was paired with 19 homers and 54 RBI. Baseball, man. Gotta love it.
Here’s what the rest of the Angels’ top 23 single-season home run leaders look like:
To find the seasons that currently fall outside of this list, check out FanGraphs.
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