BBC SPORT | Other Sports | US Sport | Angels reach new heights



By Kevin Asseo BBC Sport Online's US reporter

By the time the season was 20 games old, the Anaheim Angels had already set a record.

Their statistics of six wins and 14 losses was the worst start to a season in the team's history.

It was not a big surprise, considering most baseball pundits had predicted a third or fourth place finish for the Angels in the American League West division.

Now, as the regular season nears its end, the Angels have set another record.

David Eckstein
Eckstein is unsurprised by his side's success

They have won more games than any other Anaheim team before them, breaking the previous record of 93 wins by the 1982 Angels.

And now they stand on the brink of the team's first post-season berth since 1986.

Angels' shortstop and leadoff hitter David Eckstein told BBC Sport Online that from the very beginning of the year, the Angels knew this could be a special season.

"We were very confident as a club. Especially when we went through spring training, we very happy with the way we were playing," Eckstein said.

"It was kind of unfortunate for us that we got off to a bad start. That was the one time of year we didn't play the type of baseball we're capable of playing."

"But we knew we were better than that if we got back to the way we were playing in spring training. And we definitely knew we were a team that could compete."

The Angels turned their season around quickly and got back into the play-off chase but a new challenge soon presented itself.

Rivalry

From mid-August through early September, the Oakland A's embarked on their historic 20-game winning streak, raising the stakes in the race for the AL West division championship.

The Angels were expected to quickly fade from the picture, as did the Seattle Mariners, but somehow they did not.

How did they keep pace with a team that was setting an all-time AL record for wins on the trot?

By ignoring the momentous achievement of their rivals, according to Eckstein.

"That's the one thing about this team - we go out and do our own thing. We don't really worry about the other team," he said.

Now the Angels have no choice but to pay attention to the A's.

The two sides are locked in a fight for the division crown that has become one of the best play-off races in recent memory.

We feel very confident - we feel like we have a chance to win every single night

David Eckstein

Although both are virtually guaranteed a post-season berth - one as division champion and one as the AL wild card team - the intensity of the games between the A's and Angels has been remarkable.

"I think it's the pride of winning the division,'' Eckstein said.

"We're in the same area in spring training. We play them 20 times. So between us we want to prove who is the better team.

"We take a lot of pride with us when we go out there and play them."

With a win on 19 September in their final game against the Angels, the A's won the season series 11-9, but for Eckstein and the Angels a bigger goal awaits - winning the first play-off series in Anaheim franchise history.

"We feel very confident. We feel like we have a chance to win every single night," Eckstein told BBC Sport Online.

"So if we get to the play-offs we're definitely going to take that same approach. Hopefully from there it will lead to the ultimate goal."


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