The Angels will induct former outfielder Garret Anderson into their Hall of Fame on Saturday, as Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register notes. Anderson hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since being released by the Dodgers in 2010, and he says he’s enjoyed his time away from the game, in which he hasn’t had to deal with the frustrations of failing. “I was a mess in the minors. If I struck out in my first at-bat, I was done. For a good player to become better, he has to put that aside,” he says. “I miss the one-on-one with the pitchers. I miss competing against Pedro Martinez, a guy who could make you miss. Other than that, I don’t miss anything. When it was over, I was going home to be with my family. The game was never my identity.” Interestingly, Anderson credits Mike Scioscia — who appears likely to remain with the Angels in 2017 — with instilling a winning culture that changed the Angels. “We had a third-place mentality,” he says. “We’d have good years but we wouldn’t get the player we needed, so that’s how we played. Then Mike Scioscia came in and after a while I realized, this guy really thinks we can win.” Here’s more from Anaheim.
- Third baseman Yunel Escobar could wind up on the disabled list, Jeff Fletcher of the Register tweets. Escobar left yesterday’s game after bunting a ball off his face. X-rays came back negative, but he is sore. The 33-year-old is batting a strong .320/.368/.402 in his first season with the Angels. He has a $7MM club option for next season.
- Angels pro scouting director Hal Morris is leaving the organization to work in athlete development for Fantex in San Francisco, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Fantex is the company that makes deals with athletes, paying them an upfront sum in exchange for a percentage of their future earnings and then offering shares of those players to investors. Its MLB players include Jonathan Schoop, Maikel Franco, Collin McHugh, Yangervis Solarte, Tyler Duffey and current Angel Andrew Heaney. Morris, the former Reds first baseman, was a candidate for the Angels’ GM job before the team hired Billy Eppler.