The Los Angeles Angels hoped that the 2024 MLB season might be the one in which they finally turn things around. Instead, it started worse than any other before and led to a team meeting organized by the new manager Ron Washington.
The Angels went 0-2 to start the new season, which is bad but not something teams usually hold meetings for. However, Washington believed his clubhouse needed one because of the fashion in which those losses came.
In the season opener against the Baltimore Orioles, the Angels suffered an 11-3 loss. Then, in the second game of the series, they were hammered 13-4. This 24 runs is the franchise gave up in a two-game stretch in its history.
“Just wanted to let them know they’ve played only two games and we can’t get off track,” Washington said via ESPN. “Our focus is on a 162-game championship season. Not two games. The two games haven’t gone like we wanted, but we just got to make certain that we come to the ballpark ready to go.”
The Angels don’t seem to be panicking just yet, but they also don’t want their crisis to go any deeper.
“No one’s hitting the panic button. We’re not happy with it by any means. Just come and trust the process and work tomorrow,” said catcher Logan O’Hoppe.
The Los Angeles Angels haven’t been in the postseason since 2014, marking the longest active playoff drought in the MLB. They also finished at the bottom of AL West four times in the last six seasons.
