The LA Angels and the rest of the MLB world saw a historic Hall of Fame class voted in yesterday, January 22.
While the LA Angels did not have an inductee go in after having their first in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. last year, they knew most of the inductees all too well, such as division rival Edgar Martinez or playoff foe Mariano Rivera, who was the first player ever to go in unanimously.
So how well did the Angels perform against each of the four new members of the 2019 class? Well, let’s begin with Rivera, the best closing pitcher of all time and perhaps the most dominant player ever once the postseason begins.
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Sandman entered 56 games against the Angels, and faced 262 batters. Of teams that faced Rivera at least five times, no team was better against him than the Angels, who owned a .273/.312/.380 slash line when Rivera was brought into the game. All three of those numbers are league best marks, and Rivera’s biggest ERA against any single team came against the Angels, who were able to force a 3.75 ERA out of Rivera.
The Angels also fared well against the late Roy Halladay. While they weren’t the best club against Doc, the best pitcher of his generation was only able to hold them to a 4.32 ERA. However, Halladay was able to consistently find a way to beat the Halos, as his 8-5 record against them proved.
Most of that success against Halladay came early in his career, as the Angels put up 11 and 7 runs in Doc’s first and second starts against them, respectively. In his final eight starts (over four seasons) however, Halladay allowed only 16 runs against a peak Angels team.