The 1934 Los Angeles Angels season was the 32nd season in the history of the Los Angeles Angels baseball team. They won the Pacific Coast League (PCL) pennant with a 137–50 record, the best record in league history. Jack Lelivelt was the team's manager. The team played its home games at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles.

Season summary The Angels entered the season as the PCL's defending champions, having won the pennant in 1933. They jumped out to an early lead in the standings, and in June, the PCL directors voted to split the season into two halves. When the first half ended on June 24, the Angels had a record of 66–18 for a .786 winning percentage and were 18 games ahead of the second-place team. Los Angeles then won the second half of the season with a 71–32 record, 12 games ahead of the second-place team. For the entire season, the Angels went 137–50, setting PCL records for wins and winning percentage (.733). They led all teams with a .299 batting average, 127 home runs, 1,118 runs, 991 runs batted in, 1,935 hits, 326 doubles, 2,762 total bases, and 195 stolen bases.

Right fielder Frank Demaree was voted the league's most valuable player. In 186 games, he had a .383 batting average, 45 home runs, and 173 runs batted in to win the PCL triple crown. He also led the league with 190 runs, 269 hits, 51 doubles, 463 total bases, and a .660 slugging percentage. Other than the 1934 season, Demaree spent his professional baseball career in the National League from 1933 to 1943."Frank Demaree Minor Leagues Statistics & History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020. Center fielder Jigger Statz hit .324 and stole 71 bases. Left fielder Marv Gudat appeared in all 188 games for the 1934 Angels and compiled a .333 batting average. All three members of the outfield (Demaree, Statz, and Gudat) were later inducted into the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.

The team also included three pitchers who won 20 games. Fay Thomas had a 28–4 record, a 2.59 earned run average, and 204 strikeouts, leading the PCL in wins and strikeouts. His .875 winning percentage set a league record for pitchers with at least 20 decisions. Thomas was also later inducted into PCL Hall of Fame. Mike Meola compiled a 20–5 record, and Lou Garland went 21–9. Most of the 1934 Angels players appeared in Major League Baseball during their careers.

At the end of the regular season, the PCL arranged a seven-game series between the Angels and an all-star team from the rest of the PCL. The Angels won the series, billed as the "Little World Series", four games to two.

The 1934 Angels were selected as the greatest minor league team in baseball history by Minor League Baseball. In 2003, the 1934 Angels were selected as the best team in the PCL's 100-year history by a panel of minor league experts.

Player statistics

Batting Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; AVG = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H AVG HR RBI RF Frank Demaree 186 702 269 .383 45 173 CF Jigger Statz 183 760 246 .324 6 66 LF Marv Gudat 188 758 242 .319 4 125 1B Jim Oglesby 188 725 226 .312 15 139 2B Jimmie Reese 180 733 228 .311 3 85 C Gilly Campbell 145 459 140 .305 17 97 3B Gene Lillard 171 592 171 .289 27 119 SS Carl Dittmar 151 517 152 .294 3 73

Pitching Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; PCT = Win percentage; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L PCT ERA SO Fay Thomas 41 295 28 4 .875 2.59 204 Lou Garland 41 249 21 9 .700 2.67 91 Mike Meola 42 248 20 5 .800 2.90 93 John Campbell 48 283 19 15 .559 2.63 80 Roy Henshaw 38 196 16 4 .800 2.76 120 Emmett Nelson 29 171 14 5 .737 2.53 72 Dick Ward 20 137 13 4 .765 2.63 54

References

Further reading "The Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League: A History, 1903-1957", Richard Beverage (McFarland 2011) "The Greatest Minor League: A History of the Pacific Coast League, 1903-1957", by Dennis Snelling (McFarland 2011)