Tim Salmon

Timothy James Salmon (born August 24, 1968), nicknamed "King Fish", is an American former professional baseball player and current sportcaster. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1992 to 2006 with the California / Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels as an outfielder and designated hitter. Salmon was an integral member of the Angels team that won the 2002 World Series. He is an analyst for Bally Sports West's Angels Live pre-and-postgame shows.

Salmon is considered one of the most prolific and beloved players in Angels history. At the time of his retirement, Salmon had the most home runs in Angels history with 299, since surpassed by Mike Trout in 2020. He was inducted into the Angels Hall of Fame in 2015.

Salmon was born on August 24, 1968, in Long Beach, California, and was raised in the Belmont Shore neighborhood of the city. When he was three years old, Salmon provoked a two-hour search after he wandered out of the house and was found watching games at the baseball field in a local park. Salmon's parents divorced when he was young, causing him to initially move to Texas with his mother and brother before splitting time between there and his father's house in Arizona under joint custody. Salmon cites his older brother and grandmother as sources of stability in his childhood.

Salmon attended Greenway High School in Phoenix, Arizona. He was a three-sport varsity athlete, primarily playing baseball and football while also playing basketball. As a member of the school's football team, Salmon played various positions, mostly punter and wide receiver, and received scouting interest from various college football programs. As a senior in 1986, Salmon was a member of a state championship-winning Babe Ruth League team. At the age of 17, he was drafted in the 18th round by the Atlanta Braves in the 1986 amateur draft but he did not sign. In high school, Salmon was undecided about which sport to pursue, but he ultimately chose to join Grand Canyon University's baseball team. In 1988, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Salmon was selected by the California Angels in the third round of the 1989 MLB Draft, the 69th overall pick. He was initially assigned to the Bend Bucks, an Angels affiliate in the Class A Short Season Northwest League. In his first minor league season, Salmon posted a .245 batting average with 6 home runs and 31 RBIs in 55 games. In 1990, he was promoted to the A-Advanced Palm Springs Angels. During a May 26 game against the San Bernardino Spirit, Salmon was hit in the face by Kerry Woodson's fastball, fracturing his jaw. He was hospitalized and had his jaw wired shut, sidelining him for a large portion of the season. One doctor likened Salmon's injury to "breaking glass in a sock," but Salmon stated he didn't feel any pain. Up until the injury, he was batting .288 with 2 home runs and 21 RBIs in 36 games. Salmon returned to the field in 1990 with the Double-A Midland Angels, posting a .268 batting average with 3 home runs and 16 RBIs in 27 games. He spent all of 1991 with Midland, batting .245 and hitting 23 home runs with 94 RBIs in 131 games. In the 1992 season, Salmon was promoted to play for the Triple-A Edmonton Trappers, batting .347 with 29 home runs and 105 RBIs, all of which were new career highs in his minor league tenure. He won the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award that season.

On August 20, 1992, Salmon was called up to the big leagues by the Angels. Some baseball media members considered Salmon to be the most anticipated Angels call-up since Wally Joyner in 1986. He made his MLB debut on August 21, starting in right field and going 0-for-4 with a walk against the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium. Salmon recorded his first hit the next day, a single off of Yankees starter Mélido Pérez in the 7th inning. He recorded his first career home run on August 23, a solo shot to left field off eventual teammate Scott Sanderson in the 4th inning. In his brief first season in the majors, Salmon batted .177 with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs in 23 games.

In 1993, Salmon joined the team as the everyday starter in right field for his true rookie season. By August, Salmon was batting .279 with 23 home runs and 71 RBIs, earning him media consideration as the frontrunner for the American League's Rookie of the Year award. Salmon finished the season batting .283 with 31 home runs and 95 RBIs. He won the American League Rookie of the Year award, only the fourth AL player ever to receive a unanimous vote.

Salmon started his 1994 season slow. Through May 3, he was batting .225 with 3 home runs, a point at which Angels hitting instructor Rod Carew had a meeting with Salmon, persuading him to be more aggressive at the plate. He took Carew's advice and results quickly followed: in a three-game stretch from May 10 to May 13, Salmon compiled a total of 13 hits, joining Joe Cronin and Walt Dropo in a three-way tie for the most hits in a three-game period in American League history. The set of games included a 5-for-5 performance with 2 home runs in a blowout victory over the Seattle Mariners in the Kingdome on May 13, raising his season batting average to .336 by the end of the day. Salmon received the AL Player of the Week Award for May 9–May 15, a first for his career. He finished the strike-shortened season batting .287 with 23 home runs and 70 RBIs in 100 games.