A few weeks ago, I browsed an online sports card shop. I found a lucky bag product. In a lucky bag, you can find an autograph card and a jersey card. For me, that product looked quite interesting and I decided to order some.
After opening the first pack, I found a card, which is a thick one. And I was wondering what I would get. It turned out to be a Darin Erstad patch card and it’s numbered to 100. The card is from the 2003 Upper Deck. On the front, it’s an authentic piece of a jersey patch worn by Darin Erstad. The patch looks good. While seeing this card, I began to think about Erstad’s career.
Erstad played 14 seasons in the majors, hitting .282/.336/.407 with 124 home runs and 699 RBI. Additionally, he had 179 stolen bases and collected 1697 hits. He spent most of his career with the Angels. Well, he played for the California Angels, the Anaheim Angels and the Los Angeles Angels. Erstad played for the Angels from 1996 to 2006. In those 11 seasons, he slashed .286/.341/.416 with 114 home runs and 625 RBI. In the Angels uniform, he collected 1505 hits and stole 170 bases. And those numbers are still on the leaderboard of several hitting categories.
Firstly, looking at leaders in hits, Garret Anderson played 15 seasons for the Angels and he’s the only player who collected 2000+ hits in the Angels uniform. Moreover, Tim Salmon spent 14 seasons with the Angels and collected 1674 hits. And now, Mike Trout has 1651 hits thus far in his career. Furthermore, Brian Downing played for the California Angels from 1978 to 1990 and had 1588 hits. Erstad’s 1505 hits are the 5th most in the franchise history.
Secondly, let’s look at stolen bases. In franchise history, only 2 players have reached 200 stolen bases. Chone Figgins played 8 seasons for the Angels and stole 280 bases. Additionally, Mike Trout now has 200+ steals as well. Gary Pettis played for the Angels from 1982 to 1987 and stole 186 bases. Luis Polonia spent 4 seasons with the Angels and had 174 steals. Erstad’s 170 steals are the 5th most in team history.
In addition, let’s now focus on the RBI. Garrett Anderson and Tim Salmon each collected 1000+ RBI while playing for the Angels. Moreover, Mike Trout now has 900+ RBI. Perhaps, we will see him reach 1000 RBI this year. Brian Downing had 846 RBI in the Angels uniform. Furthermore, Albert Pujols played 10 seasons for the Angels and he collected 783 RBI. Erstad’s 625 RBI are now 6th most in Angels history.
Finally, Darin Erstad had 240 hits in 2000 and he was the hits leader in the majors that season. 240 hits rank the 13th most in a single season. That record is actually quite rare. After Erstad collected 240 hits in 2000, only one player surpassed his record. That player is Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki, who had 242 hits in 2001 and finished the 2004 season with 262 hits.
Looking back at Erstad’s career, of course, the best moments were with the Angels. He spent most of his career with the Angels and achieved several great things such as winning the World Series in 2002 and being the hits leader in 2000. Well, his career numbers aren’t good enough to be a Hall of Famer. But he certainly played a key role in franchise history. In particular, winning the World Series in 2002 is surely a key moment of the team's history.
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