Best duos in Los Angeles Angels history

In Major League Baseball, it takes more than one skilled player to field a championship contender. It takes talent all over the field at a variety of positions, both in terms of pitchers and hitters. While having a star pitcher and a star hitter at the same time is no guarantee of success, it does put your team in a position to have the type of season that fans will talk about for generations.

While it's not quite the same as the NBA, where one standout duo can take a team from the cellar to playoff contention, it's not uncommon for an outstanding season from a pitcher and position player duo to add 20 wins or more, according to Baseball Reference's wins above replacement player metric. The number is designed to illustrate the difference between a star player and the type of player that would be considered "replacement level"—that is, one who could be easily signed as a midseason free agent or called up from the minor leagues.

The following is a list of the top pitcher/position player duos in Los Angeles Angels history. Using wins above replacement, Stacker compiled a list of the seasons in franchise history that had a pitcher and hitter with the most combined value. Note that, for the purpose of capturing and examining the game's "modern era", only seasons after 1969 were used for this list.

#10. 1998 Anaheim Angels
- Jim Edmonds: 4.7 WAR (#43 position player in 1998)
- Chuck Finley: 7.2 WAR (#5 pitcher in 1998)
- Total: 11.9 WAR

#9. 2014 Los Angeles Angels
- Mike Trout: 7.7 WAR (#1 position player in 2014)
- Garrett Richards: 4.4 WAR (#17 pitcher in 2014)
- Total: 12.1 WAR

#8. 1990 California Angels
- Lance Parrish: 4.5 WAR (#30 position player in 1990)
- Chuck Finley: 7.7 WAR (#2 pitcher in 1990)
- Total: 12.2 WAR

#7. 1973 California Angels
- Frank Robinson: 4.8 WAR (#27 position player in 1973)
- Nolan Ryan: 7.7 WAR (#5 pitcher in 1973)
- Total: 12.5 WAR

#6. 2016 Los Angeles Angels
- Mike Trout: 10.5 WAR (#1 position player in 2016)
- Matt Shoemaker: 2.1 WAR (#79 pitcher in 2016)
- Total: 12.6 WAR

#5. 2013 Los Angeles Angels
- Mike Trout: 8.9 WAR (#1 position player in 2013)
- Jered Weaver: 3.7 WAR (#27 pitcher in 2013)
- Total: 12.6 WAR

#4. 2018 Los Angeles Angels
- Mike Trout: 9.9 WAR (#2 position player in 2018)
- Jaime Barria: 3.1 WAR (#37 pitcher in 2018)
- Total: 13 WAR

#3. 1977 California Angels
- Bobby Bonds: 5.1 WAR (#26 position player in 1977)
- Frank Tanana: 8.3 WAR (#3 pitcher in 1977)
- Total: 13.4 WAR

#2. 1993 California Angels
- Tim Salmon: 5.3 WAR (#27 position player in 1993)
- Mark Langston: 8.5 WAR (#3 pitcher in 1993)
- Total: 13.8 WAR

#1. 2012 Los Angeles Angels
- Mike Trout: 10.5 WAR (#1 position player in 2012)
- Jered Weaver: 4.3 WAR (#17 pitcher in 2012)
- Total: 14.8 WAR