Jim Edmonds Is The Greatest Player The LA Angels Ever Developed

Eric Denton - LA Angels Insider.com

For most Angel fans, the debate of who is the best player the Angels ever produced typically comes down to Garret Anderson (.293, 286 HR .787 OPS) or Tim Salmon (.282, 299 HR .884 OPS).

There is no doubt that Anderson and Salmon will both one day be in the Angels Hall of Fame, and both players are worthy of having their jersey's retired. However, neither is the best player the franchise drafted and developed.

That player is the man who roamed center-field between them—Jim Edmonds.

Drafted locally out of Diamond Bar HS in the 7th round of the 1988 draft, Jim Edmonds went from a player with an unremarkable minor league record to a Gold Glove winning, power hitting All-Star centerfielder for the Halos and St. Louis Cardinals.

Edmonds hit for a decent minor league average of .297, but his on base mark was only .340 and slugging .441. In 1993, his last year in the minors, Edmonds homered 9 times (a minor league career-high) and drove in 74 runs.

Edmonds received his September cup of coffee that summer and made Buck Rogers squad out of spring training in 1994, playing left field and first base. Marcel Lachemann, in his first spring training as manager in 1995, decided Edmonds would be the team's starting centerfielder.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Edmonds would go on to hit .290 with 121 home runs and an OPS of .856 with two Gold Gloves and an All-Star appearance for the Angels. He was one of the Angels most productive player in six of his seven seasons, hitting 25 or more home runs in four of those years.

Edmonds might be better remembered by Angel fans for his outstanding defense in center field, the highlight coming in 1997 when he made "The Catch ," a remarkable diving play in Kansas City that resembled a wide receiver's end zone grab more than the normal diving play an outfielder would make.

In 1999, Edmonds would miss the majority of the season due to a shoulder injury. With the Angels uncertain they would be able to re-sign the impending free agent star, Angels general manager Bill Stoneman traded Edmonds to the St. Louis Cardinals just days before the 2000 season began.

From an non-Angel fan's perspective, Bill Stoneman made what is possibly the worst trade in Angels history based on a talent for talent swap. He sent Edmonds to the Cardinals for pitcher Kent Bottenfield (7-8, 5.71 in 2000) and Adam Kennedy.

Bottenfield was a complete disaster for the Halos, while Kennedy played seven seasons for the Angels, including his ALCS MVP performance, and three home run outing in Game 5, as a key member of the 2002 World Series Champion team.

Edmonds talked to LA Angels Insider.com (click link for podcast section) about his fondness for the Angels franchise, the fans, and his former teammates and how his trade ended up being for the best for him personally and professionaly, and for the Angels because it led to their World Series win.

After his trade to the Cards, Edmonds went on to greater heights. He hit 42 home runs twice, with seasons of 39, 20, 28 and 29 mixed in. He added six more Gold Gloves, three more All-Star appearances and a silver slugger award.

It's hard to recall an Angels draft pick having had such a stellar major league career. Now at 40 years of age, Edmonds has returned to MLB, after sitting out a season, with 385 career home runs and a .903 OPS.

The Angels scouting department will be hard pressed to find another trio of players with the abilities of Anderson, Edmonds, and Salmon. Salmon's career came to a close in 2007, and Garret and Jim's will be ending sooner rather than later.

It would be fitting if the best outfield in Angels history was inducted as a group into the Angels Hall Of Fame.