When the California Angels signed outfielder Don Baylor as a free agent before the 1977 season, Angel fans didn’t have much to cheer about. Sure we had Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan who is one of the greatest pitchers in not only Angels history but MLB history as well. However, the Angels had not finished over .500 since 1970. Furthermore they had never finished higher than third place and have never made the playoffs.
While Don Baylor was not the only reason for the Angels climb from mediocrity in 1979 to their first AL West title, he was the catalyst/leader of the pack.