Checking in with GA
November 5th, 2008, 3:35 pm · 15 Comments · posted by Mark Whicker, ocregister.com
Garret Anderson said Wednesday that he was “surprised but not surprised” by the Angels’ decision not to pick up his option, and that he hadn’t yet been in contact with the Angels or any other club.
“I was a little surprised because of what I’d been able to do over the years for the club,” Anderson said, “but I was not surprised because I kept reading and hearing that they weren’t going to pick up the option. You read things over and over again, pretty soon you begin to think it’s reality.”
Anderson does not have an agent, but said he might consider hiring one if other clubs begin calling. He doesn’t expect to use one if he’s only negotiating with the Angels, who have given no indication that they’re going to pursue their alltime leader in hits and RBIs.
Asked if he had a preference when he thinks about other clubs, he said, “Whether they have a chance to win is one consideration, but mainly it’s going to be whether I have a chance to play every day. I think I can still do that, but we’ll just have to wait and see.”
He did have an opinion on whether the Angels should sign Francisco Rodriguez, who set an alltime major league record with 62 saves in 2008.
“I’ve been on the other side of it and I’ve seen what a closer can do,” Anderson said. “The numbers speak for themselves, but what he does is show you that he’s not scared to take the ball. He wants to be out there with that responsibility, even after he gets his head beaten in. You can’t really put a price on that.”
November 5th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
The Angels should dump Mathews and keep GA. Probably not an everyday player anymore but still valuable as a DH/4th outfielder. Class act person.
November 5th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Angels should be ashamed of themselves!
Garret Anderson is the best situational hitter in ALL of MLB! In the three stats below with runners in scorring position, he is better than A-Rod (Highest Paid) than Josh Hamilton (Most RBIs) and Chipper Jones (Highest Average) in 2008.
Garret Anderson:
Average with runners in scorring postion with two outs: 356 #1
Average with runners in scorring poistion: 338 #2
Average with runners on: 362 #1
He is also the number one (#1) in combined stats of all MLB players EVER that made it to the age of 36.
Double check my numbers (if you have to) and pay this class-act his due! He deserves the royal treatment because he truely is baseball royalty.
Tim Pacific, Las Flores
November 6th, 2008 at 6:38 am
Depending on what goes down with Tex - GA might still be back next year. However, regardless of stats this is a good time to get our young and upcoming players some playing time. Oakland is rebuilding right now with some major talent - we need to develop ours while hopefully having Tex and another top free agent around to keep us still rising to the top in the AL West. Sometimes a club needs a new face and a new direction - this is the best time to make some changes and with our strong pitching and timely hitting keeping us in the top tier of MLB’s best.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:21 am
Good job Tony Reagins..That was a smart move. I don’t understand why so called Angel fans don’t want to get better each year. I bet you want the Angels to sign TEX right, but were do you think the $$ is going to come from. I’m personally not happy just winning a divsion title and losing in the first round in the playoffs every year. You have to free us some big bucks to get a great player such as TEX, or even Manny. Only a true fan will understand that.
November 6th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Ashamed? For what?
Garret doesn’t hustle.
Maybe it is because his body is shot or because he is lazy… I don’t know. But I do know he DOES NOT run all the way to first base and lets balls drop in left field. Baseball is a business and he gets paid truckloads of money to perform.
Sometimes the truth hurts…
November 6th, 2008 at 10:15 am
I love GA. He’s one of my favorite Angels of all time behind Timmy Salmon and Nolan Ryan. But the Angels would have been out of their minds to exercise his option this year.
Having said that, they should be ashamed of themselves if they haven’t even contacted him. They certainly owe him that much and more.
Show a little class Reagins and pick up the phone!
BTW - Go Halo’s.
November 6th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Hes number one in combined stats of all MLB players ever that made it to age 36? Hmm, somehow I thought if I typed it again myself it would magically make sense.
November 6th, 2008 at 11:29 am
DUMP FRANKIE!
Don’t need the obvious attitude you can see building…
first indicator of attitude - $$$$$$$$$$$$$.
November 6th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
The Angels have/had in Garret Anderson a class-act player. There is more to his value than just his stats. He is an incredible role model for minority children in the greater L.A. area. If parents are smart, they will encourage their children to follow players like Anderson and take them out to the games to watch these men who are heros on and off the field. How many of those types do we have in L.A. Kobe??? Gimme a break!
November 6th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Oh Tim, it’s about putting together the best team possible. Garrett Anderson’s past is his past, not his future. The Angels have an abundance of outfielders and Garrett Anderson is simply expendable. They should have traded him a long time ago. He is a very lazy player and his outfield play is a detriment to the team. As a hitter, there were several occasions this past season that Garrett stopped running on a play only to find that he could have had extra bases. He says its just his body language. Well, it’s more than that, and his lazy play costs the team. On the flip side, Reggie Willits hustle’s his butt off on every play like David Eckstein use to. Give me any of those guys any day over Anderson. Thanks for your contributions Garrett and good luck with your new team.
November 7th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Oh my WORD! Runners in scoring position people! With runners in scoring position he has a higher average than Manny, Vlad, Teix and anybody on the Yankees or Boston! I’ll also say this- he is the smartest player in the entire MLB! Willits??? Do you know how many balls got by Willits this year because of idiotic hustle? Not one got by Garret and he has NEVER “cost the team” for any thing he has ever done on defense or offense. Willits bat 194 in 2008! GA never bat 194 in his life!
Angels let GA go and they will NOT make it to the playoffs in 2009- Guaranteed!
November 7th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Carlos…let me spell it out for you…C O N S I S T E N C Y. 14 years of consistency.
November 9th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
GA needs to stay an Angel he wants to be here… He puts up numbers every year and he is a smart player who knows his limits in the outfield and doesnt give up extra basses diving for the impossible. If you cant give him a position DH him remember “Batting Titles and NUMBERS”
November 10th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Here’s the part that irritates me. They have a guy under contract for 3 more years at $30 million who IS NOT better than GA. In My opinion, and I don’t think you’ll get much arguement, they should eat GMJ contract, and let him go. Then resign GA, and stick him out there for another 600 AB’s. You hit him in the #2 hole again, all year, in front of TEX, who they will resign, and he’ll have a very good year
GMJ was a mistake. Pure and simple. Admit it, and set things right.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Thanks Tom and Danny! Finally, someone who knows baseball. Here are two more stats to support the argument that we should NOT be having…
The five stats that count the most in baseball:
Men on, 2 outs: 366
Men on 3rd < 2 outs: 480
RISP w/2 outs: 356 (Runners in Scoring Position)
RISP: .338 (Runners in scoring position)
Runners On: .362
GA’s Average .380
M. Holiday: 281
V. Guerrero: 277
A. Rodriguez: 287
M. Ramirez: 368
C. Jones: 325
Ichiro Suzuki: 287
Does this not prove that he is the best pure hitter in baseball?
Someone give me a name that you think might come close to GA’s numbers…please, because I can’t find anybody who is better with men on base.