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When Carew missed seven weeks with a hand in jury, the Angels found one bright spot: the play of his substitute, Willie Mays Aikens, named for the famous centerfielder and born the month that Mays and the Giants were destroying the Cleveland Indians in the 1954 World Series. Angel luck being what it is, Aikens later wrecked his knee, and is out for the year. The last straw was the injury to Pitcher Jim Barr (10-12), one of eight Angels who have signed contracts of over $1 million. After the team clinched the Western title last week, a young fan waved a placard at Barr, who swiped at it. Of course, he damaged the knuckles of his pitching hand, and will miss the playoffs.
One result of all the carnage was that the Angels played less than .500 ball after the mid-season All-Star break and limped home with fewer than 90 wins. Even the great Carew is not playing up to par. This year his batting average sagged to .317, mostly because his hand has not yet healed. Still, there are bright spots, which management hates to mention because every silver lining seems to contain a cloud. For one, Southern California now has something to do besides hunt for gas stations: Angels' attendance was up nearly 50% from last year to 2,523,575, one of the best home gates in league history. For another, some of those ailing pitchers may be back. In the season's final week, Tanana and the ever inconsistent Ryan pitched strong games. So did Knapp and Dave Frost. It was, in fact, the first time since 1975 that the staff had turned in four complete games in a row. Says Bobby Grich: "Our pitching staff has showed up just in time."
The smart money says the Angels are a flawed team: too many injuries, no shortstop, little speed, middling defense. Still, the offense can erupt against any pitcher. Says Slugger Baylor: "We put a lot of sixes and sevens on the Scoreboard." One thing the Angels do have is the peppy slogan required of all Cinderella teams. For the 1969 Mets it was "You gotta believe"; for the 1979 Angels, "Yes, we can." After last week's clincher, Manager Jim Fregosi unveiled a T shirt with the inevitable updating: YES, WE DID. If the team can say that at the end of October, lots of folks outside Anaheim will believe in Angels too.