Are The Angels Finally, Actually… Good?
The Lead
Audible
3.7 • 2.1K Ratings
🗓️ 6 May 2022
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Despite being loaded with talent — including two of the two best players in baseball in Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani — the Los Angeles Angels have struggled to put things together in recent seasons. After a red hot start, is that changing? The Athletic’s Sam Blum joins us to explain what’s different about the Angels this season — and what’s not. Also: the story of what’s gone wrong — live on the air — with Angels TV broadcasts in 2022.
Follow Sam Blum’s coverage of the Angels: https://theathletic.com/author/sam-blum/
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey, prime members, you can listen to the lead, add free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. |
| 0:09.0 | Drilla Words is back for another season exclusively on Amazon Music. |
| 0:14.0 | We asked people to bring in three words of meaning and significance to their lives. |
| 0:19.0 | We used that as a springboard for conversation. |
| 0:21.0 | And then at the end of the show, we asked them for a word that they'd be happy never to hear again. |
| 0:26.0 | So that's Drilla Words with made John Bishop and Tony Pitts listen to it every Friday exclusively on Amazon Music. |
| 0:42.0 | For a long time now, the Los Angeles Angels have been a team with a lot of star power. |
| 0:47.0 | Guys like Mike Trout or Shohei O'Tani, maybe you've heard of them. |
| 0:51.0 | But they haven't had the wins to show for it. So far this year, that reality has been changing in a hurry. |
| 1:11.0 | Today, the Athletic Sam Blum tells us the new formula for success in LA. |
| 1:15.0 | The Outfielder with an unlikely hitting approach at the center of it, and whether this whole thing is sustainable. |
| 1:22.0 | Plus, the story behind Angel's TV broadcasts gone wrong. |
| 1:35.0 | From wondering, I'm Tiffany Oshinsky. It's Friday, May 6th, and this is The Lead. |
| 1:41.0 | Sam Blum, welcome back to The Lead. |
| 1:45.0 | Yeah, thank you so much for having me again, Tiff. |
| 1:47.0 | Of course. Well, before we get into all of the Angels success this season, I wanted to ask you about something that's maybe even more important. |
| 1:55.0 | Apparently for the very first time ever, the New York and LA teams that Yankees met, Stodgers Angels, are all leading their division at the same time. |
| 2:05.0 | Has word gotten to the Angels Clubhouse that, you know, they need to hold up their end of the bargain? |
| 2:10.0 | Well, the interesting thing is that I always find this so fascinating is that they're called the Los Angeles Angels to begin with. |
| 2:15.0 | I don't know if we'd be having the same conversation if they were still the Anaheim Angels, but you know, obviously they have a lot of resources behind them. |
| 2:23.0 | So you'd expect teams like that to be at the front of the division, to be leading the division. |
| 2:27.0 | But obviously baseball has had a lot of parity over the last five, six, seven years, teams like the A's and Rays, Brewers, you know, smaller market teams really doing well. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Audible, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Audible and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.