Mike Trout, Jorge Soler and Zach Neto hit home runs, Ryan Zeferjahn worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning and the Angels held on for a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night.
Zeferjahn hit a batter and walked two in the ninth before retiring Edgar Quero on a groundout for his first save this season and his third in 10 career opportunities. The right-hander struck out rookie home run leader Munetaka Murakami — tied with the Yankees’ Aaron Judge at 14 — with a runner on first to get the final out in the eighth.
Trout hit his 11th homer of the season and the 415th of his career with one out in the first off Erick Fedde (0-4) after Chicago scored two runs off Sam Aldegheri in the top half.
Neto homered for the first time since April 10, a tiebreaking two-out shot in the fifth for his sixth of the season. Trout walked for the second time before scoring from first on a double by Nolan Schanuel to make it 4-2 and chase Fedde. Trout reached base four times with a single in the eighth.
Neto ended an 0-for-23 slump with a third-inning single before getting picked off.
Chase Meidroth hit his second homer leading off the seventh against Sam Bachman to get Chicago within 4-3. Both Colson Montgomery and Miguel Vargas extended their on-base streaks to 18 games for the Sox.
José Fermin (1-1) pitched a scoreless fifth for the win. Aldegheri gave up two runs on four hits in four innings in his sixth career start.
Fedde yielded four runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings.
The top four hitters in the Angels’ lineup drove in a run for the first time since June 18, 2021, against the Tigers.
Murakami’s two-run blast in the fourth inning kept the Japanese rookie tied with New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for the major league lead in home runs. Murakami also hit his first double of the season in the sixth, singled and scored in the eighth, finishing three for four with two RBIs and three runs scored.
Davis Martin gave up five hits in seven shutout innings, with 10 strikeouts and no walks. He improved to 5-1 and lowered his ERA to 1.64. The right-hander escaped his only jam in the seventh, getting Josh Lowe to fly to deep center with runners on first and third.
Andrew Benintendi added four hits — all singles — and an RBI for the White Sox, who have won six of their last seven games.
Nolan Schanuel and Travis d’Arnaud had two hits apiece for the Angels, who have lost 13 of 15 and have the worst record in the majors at 13-23.
Angels starter José Soriano looked nothing like the ace who went 5-1 with an 0.84 ERA in his first seven starts and became the first Angel to win AL pitcher-of-the-month honors since Matt Shoemaker in August 2014.
Soriano, slowed by neck stiffness in his previous start, gave up a season-high five runs and eight hits in four innings, striking out five, walking three and needing 88 pitches to record 12 outs. The right-hander looked out of whack mechanically in the first, throwing nine of his first 11 pitches for balls and walking two. Run-scoring singles by Chase Meidroth and Benintendi gave Chicago a 2-0 lead.
Soriano escaped two-on, two-out jams in the second and third innings before being tagged for three runs in the fourth. Murakami followed Sam Antonacci’s single by clubbing an up-and-away 98-mph fastball an estimated 429 feet to center for a two-run homer. Vargas followed with a solo shot to right-center to make it 5-0.
Up next: RHP Erick Fedde (0-3, 3.24 ERA) will start for the White Sox on Tuesday night. LHP Sam Aldegheri (1-0, 5.40 ERA) is expected to start for the Angels.
Mark Vientos hit two homers and drove in four runs and right-hander Clay Holmes allowed one run in 6⅔ innings as the New York Mets beat the Angels 5-1 on Sunday.
Holmes (4-2) allowed four hits with three walks and six strikeouts as the Mets took two of three games from the Angels and won a series for just the second time since April 7. New York also won two of three against Minnesota (April 21-23).
The Mets used Bo Bichette at shortstop Sunday, one day after Ronny Mauricio fractured his left thumb and was placed on the injured list. Shortstop Francisco Lindor also is on the injured list with a calf strain.
Jorge Soler had an RBI single for the Angels and right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (2-1) gave up two runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings with three walks and six strikeouts. Los Angeles had ended a season-high seven-game losing streak Saturday. The Angels are 2-12 since April 18.
The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Zach Neto and Mike Trout worked walks to open the game against Holmes and Soler hit a one-out run-scoring single to center.
As Holmes settled in, the Mets grabbed a 2-1 lead in the fourth when Vientos hit a towering two-run homer 427 feet, halfway up the rock pile beyond the center field fence.
The Angels were in the game until the eighth inning when Tayler Saucedo hit Brett Baty with his first pitch of the inning and was replaced by Nick Sandlin. Carson Benge had an RBI double to right for a 3-1 lead and Vientos followed with another two-run home run, this time to left.
The Mets’ outfield made a pair of spectacular plays, with left fielder MJ Melendez making a diving catch in the sixth inning and Benge making a diving catch in right for the second out of the ninth.
Up next for the Angels: RHP Jose Soriano (5-1, 0.84 ERA) will pitch in Monday’s series opener against White Sox RHP Davis Martin (4-1, 1.95 ERA).
For Blake Bowen and his JSerra High baseball teammates, their final week of the high school baseball season could not have gone any better.
The 6-foot-4 senior hit three home runs during a three-game sweep of Santa Margarita. But the Lions finished their season on Friday with an 11-17 record, which means there will be no postseason.
“Too little, too late,” coach Brett Kay said.
Bowen came on strong, finishing with nine home runs and a .360 batting average. His ability to hit the ball hard and far should make him a high draft pick this summer.
“It’s the best power I’ve ever seen for a high school player,” Kay said.
Bowen is a former football player who began focusing only on baseball after transferring to JSerra from Riverside King. He plays baseball like he did in football — with an aggressiveness.
“Once he comes into his own, he’s going to be special,” Kay said.
The Lions had a young team that was hurt by injuries. One of the impressive young players was freshman Joey Koenig, who showed he can hit and will get a chance to pitch in the future.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com
The Zion Phelps story is going to be told over and over at Loyola High to show students what can happen when someone discovers potential and decides to take a chance to bring it out.
In his first year running track after bragging during the football season that he was the fastest student at Loyola, Phelps proved on Thursday he’s also the fastest 100-meter runner in the Mission League by winning in a school-record time of 10.49 seconds at the Mission League finals at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
“I’m beyond grateful,” he said after embracing Loyola coach Sharaud Moore.
A junior defensive back, Phelps let Moore bring out his track talent, and now he has options in track and football.
Loyola’s Ejam Johannes offers the “shoosh” sign after anchoring the winning 4×100 relay team. He also won the Mission League 400 and 200 titles.
(Craig Weston)
Another Loyola athlete stepping forward in preparation for next weekend’s Southern Section Division 1 prelims was Ejam Yohannes. He ran anchor leg for the 4×100-meter relay team that beat Notre Dame for the first time in three years with a time of 40.75. At the finish, he put a finger over his lips and gave a “shoosh” sign. He also won the 400 meters in 47.05 and the 200 meters in 20.85, the fourth-best wind legal time in the state this year.
Notre Dame’s JJ Harel qualified in three events — going 6 feet, 10 inches in the high jump, 22-5¼ in the long jump and also qualifying in the triple jump.
The strangest moment of the day came in the Mission League 100 girls’ final. Nalia Keyes of Chaminade and Maya Rios of Bishop Alemany tied for first place, each finishing with a time of 12.46.
“It’s weird,” Rios said of her first ever race tie.
In the Marmonte League final, Demare Dezeurn of Westlake ran the 100 meters in 10.39 seconds to outduel Jaden Griffin of Newbury Park (10.50) and Kingston Celifie of Calabasas (10.56). Dezeurn played football for Palisades in the fall after transferring from Bishop Alemany last season.
Baseball
Sylmar 10, Kennedy 0: Rickee Luevano hit a grand slam for Sylmar.
Westlake 10, Newbury Park 3: Dylan Lee homered and Holden Backus had two hits and three RBIs.
Bishop Amat 3, La Serna 2: Ray Castro threw six innings and also had an RBI single.
Temecula Valley 3, Vista Murrieta 1: Grayson Martin gave up one hit and struck out seven in six innings.
Oaks Christian 17, Calabasas 8: Ryan Sheffer hit two home runs and finished with four RBIs.
Softball
Garden Grove Pacifica 4, Cypress 1: Jenna Valladares had an RBI triple and Shay Kletke threw a complete game.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 16, Louisville 0: Jackie Morales had three hits and six RBIs.
Harvard-Westlake 14, Chaminade 11: It was a wild Mission League game that ended on a walk-off grand slam by Kale’a Tindal in the bottom of the ninth inning. Chaminade scored five runs in the seventh to tie the score 9-9. Both teams scored runs in the eighth to make it 10-10. Chaminade took an 11-10 lead in the top of the ninth on an RBI single by Siena Greenlinger. Tindal finished with four hits and four RBIs. Dylan Fischer had a home run, two doubles, a single and four RBIs.
Murrieta Mesa 8, Great Oak 0: Tatum Wolff threw six innings, striking out 10 and walking none. She also hit a home run.
Colson Montgomery homered in the second off Angels starter José Soriano (5-1), ending his shutout streak at 25 2/3 innings. The right-hander gave up three runs and six hits over five innings, raising his major league-leading ERA from 0.24 to 0.84.
Davis Martin (4-1) outpitched Soriano, giving up one run and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. Martin struck out seven and walked one.
Sean Newcomb fanned three in 1 1/3 scoreless innings and Seranthony Domínguez worked a hitless ninth for his seventh save.
Josh Lowe homered for the Angels, and Jo Adell had an RBI single.
It was only last week when Huntington Beach was unbeaten in the Sunset League and running away with the the league title. Now Newport Harbor (13-3) is closing fast, pulling to within one game of the Oilers (14-2) after Gavin Guy threw a five-hit shutout on Tuesday to beat the Oilers 1-0.
Guy struck out eight and walked. one. Keoni Wun drove in the game’s only run in the third inning with an RBI single. The two teams close the regular season with games Wednesday at Huntington Beach and Friday at Newport Harbor.
Marina 5, Fountain Valley 1: Jaxon Vilardi threw the complete game for Marina.
Edison 16, Corona del Mar 3: Cody Kruis had three hits and five RBIs for Edison, including three doubles.
St. John Bosco 7, Mater Dei 0: Julian Garcia struck out 10 in six innings while giving up no hits and Jaden Jackson and James Clark each hit home runs to help the Braves clinch at least a share of the Trinity League championship. Jack Champlin added two RBIs.
JSerra 8, Santa Margarita 7: Blake Bowen hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh for JSerra.
Orange Lutheran 3, Servite 0: Cooper Sides gave up three hits in six innings and Marcus Greis got the save.
Sierra Canyon 11, Loyola 2: Brayden Goldstein hit a home run and double, Theo Swafford had three hits and Carl McMullen had three hits and three RBIs for the Trailblazers.
Harvard-Westlake 12, Chaminade 3: Nate Blum had three hits, Ira Rootman contributed two hits and two RBIs and James Tronstein homered for the Wolverines.
Bishop Alemany 5, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 3: Mikey Martinez had two hits for the Warriors and also got the save.
St. Francis 4, Crespi 2: Caysen Sullivan struck out six in 6 1/3 innings.
Ganesha 2, Palos Verdes 1: Logan Schmidt gave up two hits in five innings with eight strikeouts and no walks.
Brentwood 7, Viewpoint 0: Jack Kaplan threw a perfect game with 15 strikeouts.
Santa Monica 6, Culver City 5: The Vikings scored three runs in the sixth and two in the seventh to clinch the Ocean League championship. The Vikings are 23-0 in league play the last two years.
Temecula Valley 16, Vista Murrieta 0: The Golden Bears clinched the Southwestern League title. Taden Krogsgaard threw a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts and one walk.
Newbury Park 5, Westlake 4: Jack Klein had an RBI single in the sixth for the Panthers. Jaxson Neckien and Cade Atkinson each had two hits for Westlake.
Agoura 12, Thousand Oaks 2: Tyler Starling had three hits, including a home run, and Jordan Tagawa also had three hits for Agoura.
Calabasas 10, Oaks Christian 9: With two out in the top of the seventh, Oaks Christian had a chance to tie when the pitch went to the backstop. But it was retrieved and Oaks Christian’s runner was tagged out at the plate trying to score, ending the game. Michael Morales had three hits for Calabasas. Robert Sheffer hit two home runs for Oaks Christian. Luis Puls had a home run and six RBIs.
San Clemente 6, El Toro 0: Bob Erspamer struck out seven in five scoreless innings and Dax Conrad had two hits and two RBIs.
Softball
Murrieta Mesa 13, Great Oak 0: Tatum Wolff hit a three-run home run and also threw five shutout innings with nine strikeouts and no walks.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 3, Sierra Canyon 1: Nadia Ledon had two hits and Aliyah Garcia gave up two hits in six innings.
JSerra 5, Santa Margarita 2: Liliana Escobar struck out 14 for JSerra.
Mater Dei 6, Orange Lutheran 5: Aly Carrillo and Tulutululelei Sale each hit home runs in the Trinity League upset for the Monarchs.
Chaminade 11, Louisville 0: Finley Suppan struck out seven with no walks in six innings. Kyriel Fletcher had three hits.
Birmingham never wins the West Valley League baseball championship. But the Patriots are certainly putting themselves within striking distance of first-place El Camino Real.
They remained one game behind El Camino Real after an 8-0 win over Granada Hills on Tuesday in which Carlos Acuna gave up one hit in six innings and struck out 11. He also had two hits. Sebastian Valadez and Toni Mendoza each had two hits and two RBIs.
El Camino Real and Birmingham play a two-game series beginning April 29.
Harvard-Westlake 2, St. Francis 0: Junior Justin Kirchner threw six scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts and Ira Rootman had a home run and two RBIs.
Loyola 9, Bishop Alemany 3: Sophomore Austin Junk had a three-run home run and double and Luca Marucci also homered in the Cubs’ Mission League win. Mikey Martinez homered for Alemany.
Chaminade 12, Crespi 5: Bronson Jackson, Isaiah Hearn and Robby Morgan each hit home runs in the Mission League win. Kystan Bell had three hits for Crespi.
St. John Bosco 6, Servite 0: Julian Garcia showed off overpowering stuff, striking out 12 with no walks while giving up two hits to help the Braves (17-5, 9-1) remain in first place in the Trinity League. Jaden Jackson had two hits and two RBIs.
Orange Lutheran 6, Santa Margarita 3: The top-ranked Lancers scored four runs in the seventh to overcome a 3-2 deficit. Hamilton Friedberg had three hits and three RBIs and CJ Weinstein added three hits.
Newbury Park 6, Calabasas 5: Jack Laubacher had two hits and three RBIs in the Panthers’ eight-inning win.
Westlake 5, Thousand Oaks 3: The Warriors stayed in first place in the Marmonte League. Jaxson Necklen hit two home runs and Blake Miller added a home run, double, single and two RBIs.
Newport Harbor 8, Fountain Valley 1: Gavin Guy threw six innings in the Sunset League win.
Huntington Beach 6, Los Alamitos 3: Jared Grindlinger hit two doubles to keep Huntington Beach unbeaten in the Sunset League.
Gahr 2, Warren 1: Andres Gonzalez hit a two-run home run in the first inning for Gahr.
La Mirada 6, Downey 1: Michael Burgueno went four for four and Jacob Oropeza contributed two doubles.
San Clemente 4, Aliso Niguel 1: Bob Erspamer gave up two hits with six strikeouts in a complete game.
With more than 40 years of coaching experience, Tom Harp of Granada Hills sure knows how to pull off upsets in boys volleyball.
His team created some uncertainty for the City Section playoffs by knocking off the likely No. 1 seed, Chatsworth, on Monday with a five-set victory, 24-26, 23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 15-12.
“It was an amazing match,” Harp said. “It was some of the hardest spikes I’ve seen in a long time from both teams.”
RJ Francisco of Granada Hills had 19 kills and setter Shawn Meza contributed 46 assists. Granada Hills pulled into a first-place tie with Chatsworth in the West Valley League after losing to the Chancellors earlier this season.
Baseball
Sylmar 7, Sun Valley Poly 0: The Spartans moved two games ahead of the Parrots in the Valley Mission League race. Matthew Torres threw a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts. Rickee Luevano had two hits and three RBIs. Tim Sepulveda added two hits.
El Camino Real 6, Chatsworth 2: It was a big day for JJ Saffie, who had a home run, double and two singles for the Royals. RJ De La Rosa had a triple.
Cleveland 2, Taft 0: Joshua Pearlstein threw 6⅓ scoreless innings, with Elliot Schoenwald getting the save. Sebastian Castaneda had two hits.
Banning 5, Narbonne 3: Oscar Chavez (4-1) threw a complete game and AJ Herrera went three for three to lead Banning.
Carson 2, San Pedro 1: Noah Sandoval threw a complete game for Carson.
San Fernando 1, Verdugo Hills 0: Alex Torres threw the shutout with seven strikeouts and no walks.
South Hills 4, Alta Loma 3: Gabriel Guerrero threw 1⅓ innings of scoreless relief to get the save for South Hills.
Long Beach Millikan 6, North Torrance 3: Austin Brett struck out seven in five innings.
Corona Centennial 15, King 8: Sophomore Ethan Miller hit two home runs and finished with five RBIs. The Huskies hit four home runs and rallied from a 5-3 deficit.
Corona 16, Eastvale Roosevelt 6: Sophomore Logan Pascarella had two hits and five RBIs and Trey Ebel added two hits and three RBIs to lead Corona.
Etiwanda 12, Chino Hills 11: Derick Kim hit a walk-off, two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning for Etiwanda. Jacob Jimenez hit a grand slam for Chino Hills. LJ Roellig had four hits, including three doubles, for Etiwanda. Jaxson Milius had three hits and three RBIs.
Softball
El Camino Real 3, Birmingham 1: Audrina Gonzalez struck out eight in seven innings. Gonzalez had an RBI double and Madison Franklin added an RBI triple.
San Pedro 13, Narbonne 0: Jenna Ortega had three hits, including two doubles.
Senior Jayden Rojas of Bell unleashed his best pitching performance of the season on Friday, giving up one hit and no walks while striking out 14 in a 1-0 win over Roosevelt. He also drove in the game’s only run with an RBI single in the fifth inning.
Rojas retired the first 18 Roosevelt batters until giving up a leadoff single in the seventh to break up his perfect game.
“I wanted to attack,” Rojas said. “I felt more confident throwing fastballs.”
Bell improved to 19-3 and 5-1 in the Eastern League.
“He was dialed in on the mound,” coach Frank Medina said. “Extremely efficient. He is usually plagued by 3-and-2 counts and walks, but today he had no walks and most of his 14 strikeouts came on four or less pitches. He was nasty.”
Granada Hills 5, Cleveland 2: The Highlanders are surging in the West Valley League after completing a two-game sweep of the Cavaliers this week to move into third place. Nicholas Penaranda had three RBIs and Foss Bohlen threw 5 1/3 innings of hitless relief.
Birmingham 2, Chatsworth 0: Nathan Soto threw six shutout innings and closer Aidan Martinez got three strikeouts in the seventh. Martinez also had three hits.
El Camino Real 5, Taft 3: The Royals broke a 3-3 tie with two runs in the top of the ninth to stay one game ahead in the West Valley League. RJ De La Rosa had two hits and two RBIs.
Carson 6, Banning 2: The Colts won the Marine League game. Nate Ruan, Noah Sandoval and Xavier Alllen each had two hits.
St. John Bosco 6, Santa Margarita 1: Noah Everly hit two home runs to help the Braves complete a three-game sweep of Santa Margarita.
Sierra Canyon 9, St. Francis 2: Brayden Goldstein homered, Cody Gallegos had three hits and Charlie Cummings had a two-run single.
Bishop Alemany 14, Chaminade 13: A bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh ended a wild game. Chaminade scored five runs in the top of the seventh for a 13-7 lead. Alemany scored seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to win. Eli Stephens hit two home runs and had six RBIs for Chaminade. Chase Stevenson had a two-run double for Alemany in the seventh.
Harvard-Westlake 10, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 4: The Wolverines took over first place in the Mission League with a three-game sweep. Freshman Nathan Englander hit a two-run home run and Ethan Price had a home run and two RBIs. Freshman Louis Lappe had two RBIs.
Loyola 12, Crespi 2: Matt Favela finished with two hits and three RBIs.
Cypress 2, El Dorado 0: Tate Belfanti struck out eight and gave up two hits for Cypress.
Los Alamitos 4, Corona del Mar 1: Logan Anderson threw a complete game and Parker Sanchez contributed two doubles.
Huntington Beach 11, Fountain Valley 1: Jared Grindlinger, Owen Bone, Ely Mason and Brayden Wood each had two RBIs.
Arlington 8, Paloma Valley 1: Carter Johnson had a three-run home run for Arlington.
Palos Verdes 3, Mira Costa 2: Kai Van Scoyoc had two hits and two RBIs and also threw five innings in Palos Verdes’ win.
Oaks Christian 7, Thousand Oaks 6: Jack Brinkman threw a scoreless seventh to pick up the save and Carson Sheffer homered for the Lions.
Newbury Park 8, Agoura 2: Carson Richter had a three-run home run and Jack Laubacher added a solo home run to power the Panthers.
Westlake 9, Calabasas 6: Leadoff hitter Blake Miller had three hits and three RBIs. Evan Barak hit a two-run home run for Calabasas.
Saugus 8, Hart 6: Joey Nuttall had three hits and four RBIs for Saugus, including a home run. Hayden Rhodes hit a home run and double for Hart.
Valencia 6, West Ranch 0: Steve Genovese threw a three-hit shutout.
Corona 9, Corona Centennial 3: Anthony Murphy hit two home runs and Tyler Ebel added another home run for Corona.
Corona Santiago 3, King 0: Troy Randall had two hits and picked up a two-inning save.
Norco 18, Eastvale Roosevelt 0: Jacob Melendez had four RBIs and Dylan Seward and Zion Martinez each had three hits for Norco.
Softball
El Camino Real 14, Taft 2: Madison Franklin had a home run, a double and four RBIs.
Orange Lutheran 7, Mater Dei 1: Sierra Nichols finished with four hits in the leadoff role and Carlie Snyder homered.
Garret Anderson, the often misunderstood and always lethal Angels slugger who starred in the 2002 World Series, has died of a heart attack. He was 53.
Anderson’s most memorable moment was belting a decisive three-run double in Game 7 of the only World Series ever played by the Angels. Yet consistency over 17 seasons — 15 with the Angels and one each with the Dodgers and Atlanta Braves — was the hallmark of the taciturn left fielder.
“The Angels Organization is mourning the loss of one of our franchise’s most beloved icons, Garret Anderson,” owner Arte Moreno said Friday in a statement. “Garret was a cornerstone of our organization throughout his 15 seasons and his stoic presence in the outfield and our clubhouse elevated the Angels into an era of continued success, highlighted by the 2002 World Series Championship.
Garret Anderson, who hit the game-winning three-run double, runs with the World Series championship trophy after the Angels beat the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 of the World Series in Anaheim on Oct. 27, 2002.
(Kevork Djansezian / Associated Press)
“Garret will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Angels fans for his professionalism, class, and loyalty throughout his career and beyond. His admiration and respect for the game was immeasurable.”
Nicknamed “G.A.,” Anderson is the Angels leader in games (2,013), at-bats (7,989), hits (2,368), total bases (3,743), extra-base hits (796), doubles (489) and runs batted in (1,292). And he achieved it all without fanfare.
“Garret didn’t seek the limelight,” said Mike DiGiovanna, The Times’ Angels beat writer throughout most of Anderson’s career. “A classic lunch-pail guy. He was a superstar, he just didn’t act like it.”
Fans occasionally booed Anderson for a perceived lack of hustle. He didn’t dive for fly balls and on rare occasions failed to run hard when he hit a ground ball.
His teammates, however, backed him without hesitation, saying he was one of the smartest players in baseball and made the game look easy through hard work.
“He doesn’t dive for balls because he gets there quicker than most guys,” center fielder Darin Erstad said in 2003.
Fans cheered in shock when Anderson made a diving catch against the Minnesota Twins in 2002.
“But, see, that’s what I’m talking about,” he said. “I never should have had to dive for that ball. I got a bad jump. I study hitters. I have an idea of where the ball is going. I don’t dive because I don’t have to.”
The Angels’ Garret Anderson watches the ball after hitting a two-run homer against the Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh inning of a game in Anaheim on July 4, 2008.
(Mark Avery / Associated Press)
Anderson’s understated demeanor fit well in an Angels clubhouse stocked with young, rowdy personalities.
“We have so many emotional guys on this team, Garret is a calming force,” teammate Tim Salmon said in 2003. “He’s criticized for a lack of emotion, but I think it’s good.”
For his part, Anderson possessed a wry sense of humor and wasn’t above poking fun at himself.
“Interesting,” he told The Times Bill Plaschke with a faint smile. “I used to be called lazy. Now that we win a World Series, I’m called graceful.”
After Anderson retired in 2010, he worked as a television analyst for the Angels.
Garret Joseph Anderson was born June 30, 1972, in Los Angeles. He attended Granada Hills Kennedy High, where he starred in baseball and basketball. He remained close to his baseball coach, Manny Alvarado.
“I’ve lost a handful, some of them at a young age, but this one we had a relationship for a long time,” Alvarado said Friday. “I have a ton of memories, some of them from day one and some just recently. The one thing that comes to mind he was kind of an old soul. A lot of major leaguers have a lot to learn from him.
“He was very humble and always picked up the phone. He made it to a lot of alumni games, was very generous.”
Anderson was drafted in 1990 by the Angels in the fourth round and made his major league debut July 27, 1994 versus Oakland before going on to become one of the most productive players in franchise history.
Anderson had a stretch of eight consecutive seasons appearing in at least 150 games for the Angels and played in at least 140 games in 11 of his 17 major league seasons. He was inducted into the Angels’ Hall of Fame in 2016.
“Teammates and fans came to appreciate him for his consistency,” DiGiovanna said. “He was like a metronome.”
In addition to his World Series Game 7 heroics, Anderson batted .300 with four doubles, two home runs and 13 RBIs during the 2002 postseason. He finished fourth in American League Most Valuable Player voting that year.
In 2003, he became the first player since Cal Ripken Jr. to become both the Home Run Derby champion and MVP of the All-Star Game. Anderson batted .293 with 287 home runs in his career.
His final season came with the Dodgers in 2010. At age 38 he batted only .181 but provided a settling influence on young Dodgers stars Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier.
The Angels will honor Anderson by wearing a memorial patch on their jerseys the rest of the season. There will be a moment of silence and a tribute video before Friday’s game.
Anderson is survived by his wife, Teresa, daughters Brianne and Bailey and son Garret “Trey” Anderson III.
Times staff writers Eric Sondheimer and Bill Shaikin contributed to this story.
Wednesday was a day for big-time performances in the Big VIII League from Norco, Corona and Corona Santiago.
Jordan Ayala of Norco struck out 10 in five innings and finished with two hits and three RBIs in an 8-0 win over Eastvale Roosevelt.
Danny De La Rose went five for five with five RBIs in Corona’s 16-2 win over Corona Centennial. Logan Pascarella, Trey Ebel and Jesiah Andrade hit home runs.
Striker Pence hit a grand slam and finished with six RBIs in Corona Santiago’s 17-1 win over King. Troy Randall also homered and had two hits.
St. John Bosco 8, Santa Margarita 1: The Braves’ first four batters combined for nine hits. James Clark had three hits. Jaden Jackson homered.
Servite 9, Mater Dei 6: Eli Rubel contributed two hits and two RBIs for the Friars.
Orange Lutheran 3, JSerra 2: The No. 1 Lancers overcame a 2-0 deficit and won it on a walk-off sacrifice fly in the seventh.
St. Francis 3, Sierra Canyon 2: Jack Smith threw two innings of shutout relief to get the save for St. Francis. Cody Gallegos had two hits and two RBIs for Sierra Canyon.
Loyola 13, Crespi 4: Matthew Favela had two hits and three RBIs and Jack Murray drove in three runs for the Cubs.
Harvard-Westlake 1, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 0: Evan Alexander struck out 11 and gave up one hit to help the Wolverines pull into a first-place tie with the Knights.
Chaminade 7, Bishop Alemany 0: Jackson Schroeder struck out eight with no walks in six innings and Isaac Hearn had a double and triple for the Eagles.
Ganesha 15, Bassett 0: Logan Schmidt struck out 14 of the 15 batters and hit two home runs in front of scouts ready to make him a first-round draft pick this summer.
La Mirada 1, Warren 0: Kaden Corns threw five scoreless innings for La Mirada.
West Ranch 4, Valencia 2: A three-run rally in the seventh included a home run from Connor Clayton.
Banning 4, Carson 2: Jacob Fernandez hit a two-run single in the seventh to hand Carson its first Marine League defeat.
Palos Verdes 1, Mira Costa 0: Jonah Cohen threw the shutout striking out six with no walks.
Huntington Beach 3, Fountain Valley 1: Jared Grindlinger gave up two hits in five innings to keep the Oilers unbeaten in the Sunset League.
Birmingham 8, Chatsworth 3: Carlos Acuna threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and Adian Martinez had two hits and three RBIs.
El Camino Real 7, Taft 3: RJ De La Rosa went three for three with two RBIs and Ryan Glassman had three hits and two RBIs to lead El Camino Real. Jackson Sellz threw a complete game, striking out six with no walks.
Cypress 4, El Dorado 1: Landon Smith threw 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for Cypress.
Garden Grove Pacifica 3, Anaheim Canyon 2: Jack Waeger had two hits and two RBIs.
Royal 7, Camarillo 6: Tristen Hogan broke a 6-6 tie with an RBI single in the seventh. Matthew Stout homered.
