Oct. 30, 1962 - Bill Rigney, who helped raise the Los Angeles Angels from infancy to a pennant contender in two years, was named the American League manager of the year today by UPI. The 41-year-old former Giant infielder and manager was credited with a major role in one of the most remarkable construction jobs in baseball history — the job of building the Angels from scratch into a pennant threat. Rigney took over as manager of a club that did not even have any players on Dec. 12, 1960. The Angels surprised baseball experts by winning 70 games in their first season. Then they positively astonished the experts by becoming a pennant threat in 1962 and remaining one until mid-September. They ultimately finished in third place, 10 games behind the Yankees.
Opmerkingen