Angels–Rangers rivalry

The Angels–Rangers rivalry is a Major League Baseball (MLB) divisional rivalry played between the Los Angeles Angels and the Texas Rangers as both teams play in the American League West Division. The rivalry has been said to have developed over a domination in the division between the two teams, and also in recent years more animosity between the two teams due to multiple players who have played for both, including Nolan Ryan, Mike Napoli, Darren Oliver, Vladimir Guerrero, C. J. Wilson, and Josh Hamilton. Both teams often fought for control of the division, primarily during the 2000s and 2010s though both teams entered the present decade fighting for relevance as neither side has appeared in the postseason since 2016. The Angels and Rangers have each pitched a perfect game against each other, making them the only pair of MLB teams to have done so. Mike Witt pitched a perfect game for the Angels against the Rangers in 1984 at Arlington Stadium and Kenny Rogers for the Rangers against the Angels in 1994. Both teams have yet to face each other in the postseason, the Angels currently lead the series all time 512–487.

History
When the original Washington Senators announced their move to Minnesota to become the Twins in 1961, Major League Baseball decided to expand a year earlier than planned to stave off the twin threats of competition from the proposed Continental League and loss of its exemption from the Sherman Antitrust Act. As part of the expansion, the American League added two expansion teams for the season–the Los Angeles Angels and a new Washington Senators team. The new Senators and Angels began competing to fill their rosters with American League players in an expansion draft. Following an apathetic fan response in Washington, owner Bob Short would relocate the Rangers to Arlington in 1972, while the Angels managed to move into a new ballpark in 1966. Both teams struggled mightily in their first 2 decades as expansion teams, though both would tie for second place in 1978. The Angels would not appear in the postseason until 1979, while the Rangers would not make a postseason appearance until 1996. Both teams were tied for second place of the division in 1998, however; the Angels would lose 2/4 games against the Athletics and find themselves swept by the Rangers for the final two games of the season, eliminating them from playoff contention. The Rangers would find themselves swept in both 1998 and 1999 by the Yankees, then fail to make a playoff appearance from 2000 to 2010, eventually making back-to-back appearances in both the 2010, and 2011 World Series. Meanwhile the Angels managed a shocking appearance in the 2002 World Series, beating the San Francisco Giants and securing the franchise's first and only World Series title, though they would begin to struggle mightily under new owner Arte Moreno as the team found themselves losing three times to the Boston Red Sox in 2004, 2007, and 2008. Though the Angels would also manage an appearance in the 2009 ALCS, they would fall to the Yankees in six games. In 2012, then-Angels' pitcher C.J. Wilson played a practical joke on his former Rangers teammate Mike Napoli by tweeting his phone number. Enraged, Napoli began to exchange words with Wilson during the pregame warmups on May 19. The feuds go back to two incidents between Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy and Rangers catcher Gerald Laird trading insults, leading to benches clearing in a brawl between both teams. The Rangers managed two more appearances in the ALDS, but lost both times to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Angels have not posted a winning season since they appeared in the 2014 ALDS in which they were swept by the Kansas City Royals, meanwhile the Rangers managed a return to the postseason in 2023 after seven years out of contention.