How the Angels' clubhouse has become more tight-knit

This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger’s Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ANAHEIM -- Logan O'Hoppe doesn’t remember who started it or who was in it to start out, but he knows now that the club’s entire active roster is on a group text thread that helps keep the team close.

Shortstop Zach Neto said that thread helped him feel part of the team even when he was on his rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake before his return on Friday, and it’s noticeable just how tight-knit this group is this season. They are posing for team photos before games and having team dinners on the road to build the comradery needed to get through the grind of a long season.

“It started with a few, and it grew to a lot,” O’Hoppe said. “So now, we’ve got all the boys in it. And it's easy, if we're going to dinner or something on the road and we don't want to go alone, we can shoot a quick text, and it's helped us a lot.”

Angels players have noticed a difference in the clubhouse atmosphere compared to last year, as their young core grew together in 2024 and they added several veterans to help mentor their teammates such as Kenley Jansen, Kyle Hendricks, Travis d’Arnaud, Yusei Kikuchi and Jorge Soler. It was Jansen who stepped up early in spring and spoke about the importance of bonding on road trips because they spend more time together than they do with their families during the season.

“It’s awesome,” Jo Adell said. “Just being part of the group messages and the team dinners. Just that communication, that constant support and brotherhood. You want everybody to feel like they're a part of it, and they are. We’re definitely going to more group dinners than we have in the past. When Kenley got over here, he brought that up as being important and he's been a part of a championship team.”

Jansen, MLB’s active career saves leader, won a World Series with the Dodgers in 2020 and has pitched in 21 playoff series over 10 different postseason runs. He knows what it takes to change a clubhouse culture and said one of the biggest goals of his career is to help turnaround the Angels and end their postseason drought that dates all the way back to 2014.

“You have to understand the importance of trust in each other,” Jansen said. “You have to set the tone off the field and bring it to the field. I’m a big believer in that. That’s how you win a majority of your games. It’s not about the individual.”

Jansen said it’s important to make sure there’s a positive atmosphere every day at the ballpark even when things aren’t going well. The Angels had a tough slate to start the season, becoming the first team since the 1951 Cubs to play 15 of their first 18 games on the road. But the Angels weathered that early part of the schedule despite scuffling against the Astros and Rangers to end their last road trip. And now, they’ll be rewarded with a May schedule that doesn’t see them leave the state until May 30.

“It's a very enjoyable group,” Jansen said. “It's fun coming here, working with my teammates. Everybody’s willingness to work and learn together every day. And we try to have respect and we’re bonding. It’s the first tone we set in Spring Training to make sure we would bond together.”

O’Hoppe, who has emerged as a leader despite his inexperience, said he believes the Angels can keep it rolling and surprise people this season. He’s noticed a different mentality from his teammates this year and is excited to see that sense of togetherness continue to manifest itself on and off the field.

“It's been sick,” O’Hoppe said. “I can't really credit anything to how it changed or why, but we jelled the second we got to spring. And I think anyone that's been around us knows that we've kept that rolling. And even when things weren't going well on the road trip, there's no panic. And I feel like part of the part of the failure brings us closer, too. So I've enjoyed every second good or bad with these guys.”