VLADIMIR GUERRERO at bat in 2005 (Wikipedia).

As the Los Angeles Angels poise to start another season with no one in the roster known to anyone outside of their immediate families, it’s tempting to reflect on the great players who have starred under the Big A.

I mean you’ve got great pitchers – Dean Chance and Nolan Ryan – and heavy hitters – Don Baylor and Mike Trout. And there’s no questioning that Shohei Ohtani exceeded all standards during his seven-year stint with the Halos.

But if you wanted to single out one player who provided the most pure entertainment, it had to be Vladimir Guerrero.

Vlad attracted my attention in two ways. One, was that he was often the key player in the Angels’ glory years, leading them to five division titles in six years.

The other thing was that Vlad would swing at anything. He was regarded at the best “bad-ball hitter” in the sport, once hitting a pitch that bounced in front of home plate. Amazingly, he hit that ball even after the bat struck the ground. Try doing that at home.

Statisticians say he swung at outside the strike zone 45.5 percent of the time, and yet had a lifetime .319 batting average.

In a game that emphasizes “working the pitcher” and being patient, he hit 126 of his 449 home runs the first pitch of an at-bat.

In short, he was delightfully unpredictable and therefore a terror to the other teams.

When was the last time that any Angel (other than, perhaps Shohei) scared any team? He’s the only Angel in the Hall of Fame wearing the halo, and deservedly so.