Los Angeles Angels shortstop Jose Iglesias has made a name for himself with his highlight reel plays on the field. However, he has quickly become a popular figure within the clubhouse, often seen joking around and celebrating with the likes of Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout.
His bat hasn’t been off to a great start, as he’s slashing just .226/.250/.290, but he has come up clutch for the Angels at several points on offense and defense. He’s doing all of this on the field while simply having a fun time with his teammates off of it.
This has become a theme for the Angels in the first part of the 2021 season, as everyone is clearly enjoying playing alongside one another. Iglesias credited the chemistry in the clubhouse for the early success, even if it’s something that doesn’t show up on a stat sheet, according to Daniel Guerrero of MLB.com:
“Chemistry is something that doesn’t show up on a computer or anything that shows up in the numbers,” José Iglesias said in Spanish. “But it’s something that is extremely important. It’s ridiculously important.”
Iglesias said building this chemistry was easy at the start of Spring Training. He added that the team’s success is due to the positive vibes inside the clubhouse.
“Independent from the talent on the field, when there is an energy of upstanding people, I think everything is fluid,” Iglesias said in Spanish. “We have a group of really good people and that is showing off on the field.”
While there haven’t been any recent Angels teams that disliked one another, the 2021 group does seem to have a different energy. The additions of Iglesias, Dexter Fowler, and brand new pitchers appear to have meshed well with the stars and other players already on the roster.
The chemistry was instantly apparent in Spring Training, and it has transferred to the regular season, where the Angels are playing some truly great baseball.
Hopefully when losses eventually come, as they do with all 30 MLB teams, the energy and positivity can remain at this level. If so, it means this team truly believes they have a chance to contend in a potentially crowded American League picture.
David Fletcher excited that close games are going Angels way
The Angels have hovered around .500 in games separated by two runs or less in the past two seasons, and that’s something David Fletcher wanted to fix in 2021. While it’s still extremely early, the trend appears to be going a new direction, as the Halos are 4-1 in five games with a margin of victory of one or two.
