2014 All Star Game Tribute: Los Angeles
Los Angeles holds a special place in America's heart. Not only is it the second largest metropolitan area in the US but it's the City of Dreams, it's Manifest Destiny realized. LA combines great weather and an unrivaled glitz and glamour that is home to a diverse population of Angelenos. Most notable though, is LA's designation as the entertainment capital of the world. It's in the entertainment business that the Earl Weaver Baseball Los Angeles Gargoyles were born out of.
Hollywood was dominated by a studio system in it's early days. The studio system was dominated by few large studios that dominated the production and distribution market of films, this, though, is frequently referred to as the Golden Age of Hollywood. Eventually Howard Hughes and the government helped disband the Golden Age of the studio system. Some of the major studios, like RKO did not survive but others like MGM were able to make it through precarious times. In 1969 the movie industry was going through a deep recession and MGM's largest shareholder, Kirk Kerkorian was determined to make MGM not only survive but expand into other areas. Kerkorian is currently LA's richest citizen and is one of the most important people in the shaping of Las Vegas in the early 1960s. Kerkorian decided to slash budgets in the movie making aspect of MGM and build large grand MGM resorts in Las Vegas and also, in a highly risky move, purchase a baseball team in the newly forming Earl Weaver Baseball League. Kerkorian was determined to make MGM into a total and full entertainment company, not just a movie making company. MGM solidifying an early stake in the league and in the 2nd biggest market was a real boon to the founders of EWB and many believe it allowed for the domino effect of others buying in.
By virtue of being the second largest market in the league, LA was rarely horrible in the early years. However, they rarely met expectations either. In fact, from 1970-1977 LA only had one playoff appearance and one pennant, both in 1972. Beyond that they were usually a 74 win team (3 times) and actually had a horrible 58 win season in 1976. What's absolutely amazing about that season is that they still produced the MVP winner, Hoshi Kobayashi. No MVP winner has ever come from a worse team than Kobayashi in 1976! Kobayashi's .334/17/104 looks absolutely modest by today's standards but Kobayashi WAS the dominant player in the league, leading almost every offensive category and especially the metric based ones. The leader in AL HRS that year.....Jose Castillo of MIN with 23. Remember too, 1976 was the year that both the Washington Admirals and Sherwood Johnston hiccuped allowing Carolina to win it all and stumped a three peat and five peat. Hoshi Kobayashi would go on to make the Hall of Fame and to this day is still one of the Gargoyles most popular former players.
Hoshi Kobayashi
The late 1970s did see a surge by LA in competitiveness as they aspired to be the counter weight to the powerhouse Admirals in the Mountain West. This period of time was marked by Kobayashi for a bit and Bong-ok Park, but most importantly was the emergence of Geoff McKnight and the return of Marcos Rodriguez. Rodriguez began his career in 1970 with LA until he was traded to Carolina for another HOF player, Willie Thomas. After winning the 1977 MVP, Rodriguez was traded back to LA from Carolina along with Jamie Rees who would also go on to have a very successful career. Marcos Rodriguez has 12 All Star appearances and is considered one of the best catchers to ever play in the league. Before the emergence of Vincent Carter, he was undoubtedly the league's best catcher. His battery mate throughout this period of time was Geoff McKnight, another HOF Gargoyle player. Geoff McKnight won 3 consecutive Bob Gibson Awards from 1981-1983!!!! McKnight's 1982 season was one of the best individual seasons that the league has seen by a SP as McKnight went 23-3 with a 1.78 ERA.
The above players, along with guys like Roy Abbott, Bob Wiederanders, Jeremiah Buckner, Marc Jackson, and HOF'er Charlie Olsen formed the core of the greatest LA team ever, the 1982 Gargoyles. The 1982 Gargoyles were able to rattle off a league leading 95 wins in what amounted to be a relatively tough Mountain West. Washington, although nowhere near their peak of the early 1970s, was still formidable and an 89 win team. Las Vegas was able to win 92 games behind star SP Jesse Quick. And for all the history buffs, 1982 was the year Angel Rosa won the Rookie of the Year in the AL with his amazing 59 Homeruns. It was a great time for baseball, LA, and MGM as they released one of the highest grossing films of the year, Poltergeist. LA would go on to sweep Carolina, defeat Las Vegas 4-1, and then defeat Pittsburgh 4-2 in the World Series. Many EWB afficionados to this day consider the 1982 LA team as one of the strongest in the history of the league.
The 1990s would continue to be gracious to the Gargoyles as they'd win the pennant again in 1983 and 1984 before having two years of missed playoffs. Then they started another run in the late 1980's with 4 straight Mountain West pennants from 1988-1991. This era saw some of the old stalwarts like Geoff McKnight, Roy Abbott, Marc Jackson, and Jeremiah Buckner continue to produce but it also ushered in some of the new notable Gargoyles like Roberto Guevara, Gonzalo De La Torre, Nelson Rowland, and most importantly Caleb Lang. Despite the four straight pennants, LA was not able to turn any of them into a championship. In both 1988 and 1990 LA would lose in the ALCS to Miami. In 1989 LA lost in the Wildcard round to Minneapolis and had to endure watching rival Washington turn the wildcard spot into a World Series Championship.
1991 was a different story though. The Gargoyles had acquired a hard luck reputation much like the Atlanta Braves in real life. Yet in 1991 they added Caleb Lang, who would eventually go on to become the greatest Gargoyle hitter to ever don a uniform. In his first full season Lang led LA to the 2nd best offense in the AL, an Angel Rosa Award, and almost an MVP Award. His offensive force combined with LA's AL leading pitching allowed LA to win 100 games and defeat a 93 win Portland team and a 92 win Las Vegas team in the Mountain West (WAS had a measly 71 wins if you were wondering). LA had a miraculous 4-3 series victory over the Sunbelt champs, New Orleans and then swept Chicago 4-0 to advance to the World Series. Oh what a World Series it was to be! The New York versus LA matchup was a dream come true for the Yugma Network and fans allover the spectrum. NY was led by German Ortiz on offense and former Gargoyle Bob Wiederanders in the pitching department who had just won the 1991 Bob Gibson Award at age 36! Wiederanders would struggle that postseason but NY wouldn't and would end LA's dream season in a 4-1 series victory.
The LA 1991 story was a hit though and all season it seemed as if they had a lucky force on their side, even the players began to believe. MGM capitalized on this and a clever screenwriter wrote a movie script based on this 1991 season and called it "Gargoyles in the Outfield." The premise was that there were Gargoyle spirits helping the baseball players but they were only visible to a boy. The manager Ray Harrington, played by Danny Glover, kept the boy around as a good luck charm. You'll have to watch the rest yourself but as always it had a "Hollywood ending" unlike real life. The 1994 movie was a hit among kids of that generation.
Ray Harrington and Danny Glover have a striking resemblace!!!!
The 1992 Gargoyles are most notable for having the highest recorded Algorithm score ever.....and failing to live up to it. 1992 brought the end of the pennant run of the previous 4 years and was a disappointment to all. The Gargoyles finished 81-81 and missed the playoffs. Many blamed the distraction of the Hollywood and celebrity life as Tawny Kitaen was all over the tabloids for marrying and causing the problems of Gonzalo De La Torre. There were also rumours of Alyssa Milano and young star SP Nelson Rowland. The glitz and the glamour of the success of the 4 previous years hurt the focus and morale of this team. Though many will tell you that the resurgence of traditional power Washington, and the emergence of future powers Miami and Omaha were the real reason LA started to fall. In any case, 1992 marked the beginning of a disappointing era in Gargoyle baseball as perpetual underachievers which for the most part continues to this modern day.
LA would return to the playoffs in 2002 as an 83 win Mountain West Pennant Winner! They were knocked out in the first round. The 2003 team would win the Mountain West pennant with 82 wins!!!! They were knocked out in the first round. Needless to say, this was also a bottom for the Mountain West as a whole, not just LA. Finally in 2005 the Gargoyles were able to summon some magic again by making the Wildcard spot with 89 wins, finishing 2nd behind Washington in the Mountain West. That 2005 LA team had middle of the road AL offense and slightly above average AL pitching. Their top offensive players were an aging Caleb Lang at 38 and a 32 yr old Dan Hicks at catcher. Their pitching staff saw career years by both Adrian Ramos and Bob Tuttle. They didn't even have a true closer, giving the role to journeyman MR Harry Andrew. Somehow though, that team was able to upset a strong Montreal squad in the 1st round 4-3 and then upset the Admirals 4-3 ! Truly a miracle. Yet even an act of Satan could not conquer the 2005 Atlanta Confederates and their amazing pitching. The LA Gargoyles fell 4-2 in the World Series. Since then they've had one additional playoff appearance but have continued the curse of 1992, the curse of the Algorithm and Bimbos, which condemns them as being an underachieving team marked with ineptitude. Current GM Aaron Carrrmmichaell continues to preside over that atmosphere with an iron fist of incompetence.
LA is a proud franchise, no one can doubt that. Their birth into the league was not only crucial but brought with it the Hollywood that the EWB so desperately needed and desired. LA has ushered several players into the Hall of Fame and has been a home to innumerable baseball stars. The 1980s were their decade to be sure and many people in their late 20s, 30s, early 40s remember the eighties with great fondness and no discussion of the eighties is complete without the Gargoyles. It's unfortunate that they were never able to produce a World Series for Caleb Lang who is without a doubt Mr. Gargoyle and one of the most sympathized athletes in any sport, along with Dan Marino, as a great who never won it. The current run of ineptitude is unfortunate and the league as a whole is better off with a strong LA. Here's a toast to the City of Angels and to the Gargoyles that this All Star Game and Ceremony will usher in a new glorious Golden Age of Gargoyles!