OK, I’ll admit it. When my editors approached me as part of The Athletic Los Angeles’ series honoring the best of the past decade and asked me to put together the best Angels’ team of the 2010s, I tried to cheat.



I mean, think about it. It’s the pipe dream of “Why don’t the Angels just build the team out of Mike Trout?” that has sparked many a random simulation in MLB The Show or sparked conversations on the game’s best player and his ability to impact a game.



Plus, given that the franchise’s last postseason victory came in a game started by John Lackey in 2009 (Trout had just wrapped up his season with the Cedar Rapids Kernels in short-season A-ball), it’s not as if there were a bevy of playoff heroes to choose from.



Now, don’t get me wrong, the Angels of the 2010s have included many a great individual seasons, as you’ll see, but it’s hard to get past the organization’s...