In Angel news, I find it funny when former Angel players land elsewhere, suddenly the media "discovers" them and they become All-Star players? Edmonds is a good example, and Eckstein is another. You would think that the Cardinals developed both of them from the press you read. It is apparent to me that good/great players on the Angels get little national recognition. When they move on to other teams, it's like they appeared by magic and the media and baseball fans suddenly sit up and take notice.
I feel badly for players like Tim Salmon (one of the greatest hitters in baseball the last 10+ years), Garrett Anderson (who had to be voted in by the PLAYERS to the All-Star game this year, who thankfully appreciate him more than the fans), Shields, Molina, Erstad, etc. They'll never get national recognition unless they move on to "higher profile" teams (how did St. Louis end up as a higher profile team anyway?)
Angel players have been hosed many times by the national media. Lansoford and Joyner's rookie seasons, Nolan Ryan's 1973 season should have garnered him a Cy Young (31 wins, 1 no hitters, 2 one hitters, still MLB record of 383 Ks).
FACT: If Garret Anderson played for the Yankees or Red Sox, he'd have finished in the top 5 for AL voting.
FACT: If Erstad was on the Yankees, he'd be considered the best first baseman in the league. Erstad would be the Yankees new Jeter and a darling of the national media.
Like it or not, there is a media bias against west coast teams. One of the big problems is that Baseball Tonight is usually on while LA games are being played (unless LA is playing back east or against a central team). I guess it's too much both for EasternSPortsNetwork (ESPN) to have a show the next day that covers yesterday's games. Just skip over the west coast games.
posted by .:mike 11:09 AM