National Outlet Grades Angels Just Above a Complete Failure in First Half

Maren Angus-Coombs | Jul 19, 2024

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Angels built up some momentum toward the end of the first half leading into the All-Star break. However, it couldn't help them out of the giant hole they dug through the first two months.

The Angels have gone 20-17 dating to June 3 but at 41-55, the Angels enter the second half of the season trailing the first-place Seattle Mariners by 12.5 games in the American League West and trail the third AL Wild Card spot by the same deficit.

Newsweek published its midseason grades for all 30 Major League Baseball teams on Thursday and the Angels were graded as to be expected. They haven't been a complete failure but are pretty close.

"The Angels have steadily been the fifth-worst team in the league, but the main issue is they entered the year planning to contend," writes Noah Camras. "A full-on rebuild would do the Angels such good — and yet, they just won't give in."

Camras gave the Angels a whopping D- on the A-through-F grading scale.

Despite their near-failure of a first half, manager Ron Washington has been proud of the way his club has dealt with adversity this year. He believes his team is continuing to grow.

“It’s just fun watching these guys grow, it really is,” Washington said. “When we lost Trout and those guys early in the year, the spotlight was on all those young kids. In my heart, those young kids stepped up and grew faster than we expected them to. I’m proud of the way they handled it. And now we’re starting to get those guys back and the dynamic is changing.”

Washington hopes his team builds on its July and carries its momentum into the second half.

“The only thing we’re trying to tackle in the second half is finding sustainability and consistency,” Washington said. “As far as getting to this point from Day 1 to right now, it's been about growth and trying to learn how to grind, trying to learn how to win. Hopefully in the second half a lot of that will come into play.”