ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Angels offense has been one of extremes in 2025.
They have hit the fourth-most home runs in the league so far this season with 223, just five away from their total the season before, and the three teams ahead of them: the Yankees, Dodgers and Mariners, are all playoff teams.
Yet, the Angels’ seemingly explosive bats haven’t translated to nearly as much as one would expect in the box score. While nearing the top of the league in long balls, they are scraping the bottom in most other hitting categories. They have the 11th-least RBIs, second-least hits, eighth-least walks and the overall least doubles in MLB.
Bruno De Witt Zanotto – The Sporting Tribune
Jo Adell #7 of the Los Angeles Angels after his home run against the Kansas City Royals at the Angels Stadium on September 25, 2025 in Anaheim, California.
One category they are leading in to their own detriment is strikeouts, which they lead all of MLB in by a wide margin with 1,603 total.
The Angels have shown a continuous inability to connect with runners on base or to get hits beyond the long ball. As a result, their offense is sure to fill up a highlight reel, but their fireworks at the plate haven’t translated to the win column nearly as often.
Thursday night’s game 9-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals was a microcosm of the Angels’ 2025 in that way. All four of the Angels’ runs in the game came from the long ball. Jo Adell and Nolan Schanuel both sent out solo shots in the second and sixth innings respectively to keep the Angels competitive. Then, in the bottom of the eighth, Mike Trout sent home run number 401 deep over the center field fence for a two-run blast that brought the Angels just one run away, 5-4.
The home runs alone weren’t enough and just as they’ve done throughout the season, the Angels also struck out 13 times in the game, the 11th time in their last 13 games that they’ve had double-digit strikeouts as a team.
Even the three main offensive contributors, Trout, Adell and Schanuel, struck out more times than they scored in the game, combining for five. With the season coming to a close in just a handful of days the Angels will need to adjust their approach at the plate to put runners on base, and bring those runners home, to have a sustained level of success in 2026 and beyond.
The Angels have shown promise throughout 2025 that can be carried into next season, but the mentality of swinging big and missing big alone won’t carry them where they need to go.