One new MLB The Show legend for each team: American League West
By Noah Wright
Los Angeles Angels
Bobby Grich
Bobby Grich is one of the best players not in the Hall of Fame. For 17 seasons, Grich was one of the best second basemen in the game for the Baltimore Orioles and LA Angels. However, his best seasons were with the Angels from 1977 through 1986 where he was a .269/.370/.436 batter, had 154 home runs, went to three All-Star games, and led all primary second basemen in home runs with 154, 23 more than Davey Lopes who had the second most in that stretch.
1979 was Grich’s best non-strike shortened season. He batted .294/.365/.537 with 30 home runs, and a 141 wRC+. Grich struck out just 13.8% of the time with a 9.7% walk rate. He ranked 20 among all batters in OPS, wRC+, and wOBA. Any Grich card would have outstanding fielding at the keystone, and decent speed. He wasn’t much of a base stealer, so his stealing would be low. He’d also likely have secondaries at the other three infield positions, but with 95+ fielding, he’d be able to play all three and still get a diamond badge at his base level.