AL West: Greatest Individual Season In Each Team’s History

In the American League, the West Division is the youngest in baseball, with just one team founded before 1961. But the AL West division has still had its share of legendary players and historical performances. Which ones were the greatest of all-time?

This year’s American League West seems at nearly the midway point in the season to be a one-team race, as the Texas Rangers continue to be one of the best clubs in all of Major League Baseball. But a look at individual performances shows that the Rangers’ rivals have a lot of firepower.

Entering play on Monday, the top two players in bWAR in MLB, and three of the top ten, all call the AL West their home. Mike Trout, Jose Altuve and Robinson Cano are all putting together All-Star seasons and trying to make winning the West anything but a foregone conclusion.

While the division is home to some of the youngest franchises in the game, historically speaking, Trout, Altuve, and Cano are carrying on a tradition of players that include 10 Hall of Famers, and representing teams that have won 10 world championships. While teams in the Midwest and East may have a big head start, the clubs that comprise the West have made a lot of history in a short amount of time.

With that in mind, we here at Call to the Pen wondered which players have had the greatest individual season for each of these teams. As it turns out, the names are among the biggest the game has known, and span the course of MLB history.

Next: The Halos have a real angel in the outfield.