Everybody Loves The Angels

Maybe not everybody. The Rangers (especially Mike Napoli) and the rest of the AL West might not be smitten with the Angels. In fact, I’d guess the American League as a whole isn’t completely enamored with the Halos. But the baseball media/experts sure are showing the love. The Angels figured to be a trendy World Series pick after signing Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson according to a pie chart I drew. What I didn’t expect, though, was just how many people were going to pick the Angels to win the World Series.

When ESPN released their staff picks for 2012 on Wednesday, the Halos were voted the prettiest girl at the dance. Of the 50 polled, 18 selected the Angels as champs followed by the Rangers (8), Rays (7), Tigers (6), Phillies (5), Yankees (3), Cardinals (2) and a lonely vote for the Red Sox. It might be worth noting the Red Sox were last year’s overwhelming favorite. Let’s just pretend I never wrote that last part.

The Angels even have a good mix of support from the ESPN staff. From ex-players (Aaron Boone, Doug Glanville, Barry Larkin, Mark Mulder) to former GM/managers (Jim Bowden, Terry Francona) to stat folks (Steve Berthiaume, Christina Kahrl, Mark Simon), there is a diversity of love for the Halos.

Speaking of the stat folks, the Fangraphs staff also made their predictions Wednesday. The Angels led the way again but in a much tighter margin. The Angels (7) and Rangers (6) were the clear cream of the crop with the Rays (3), Yankees (2), Phillies (1) and Diamondbacks (1) in the “also ran” ranks.

It must be contagious. On Tuesday night’s The Baseball Show podcast, we all picked the Angels to win the World Series. Scary, huh?