#28 08/18/09 – Progressive Field, Cleveland - All 9 Angels Finish at .300+ BA

The game appeared to be your typical 5-4 victory. At first glance, it didn’t appear to be special in any way except that it produced the first victory of Trevor Bell’s career.

But then you take a closer look at the game end batting averages of the nine Angels in the line-up: Chone Figgins, 3B - .308; Bobby Abreu, RF - .310; Juan Rivera, LF - .310; Vladimir Guerrero, DH - .313; Kendry Morales, 1B - .303; Torii Hunter, CF - .307; Maicer Izturis, 2B - .300; Mike Napoli, C - .300; and Erick Aybar, SS - .313.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, this was the first time a team had finished a game with its entire line-up batting .300+ at least 100 games into the season since 1934. Alas, it would only last for that one game. Napoli, who went 2 for 4 in the game to reach the .300 plateau, would see his batting average steadily drop over the final month and a half and end up at .272. In fact, the only Angels who would end up at .300+ at season’s end were: Morales (.306), Aybar (.312), and Izturis (.300). Nevertheless, the Angels would bat a team record .285 on the season (including a record .297 with runners in scoring position). They also scored a team record 883 runs with a record 1,604 hits on their way to 97 wins, and their third straight divisional championship.