{"id":329550,"date":"2026-05-23T16:47:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T16:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/329550\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T16:47:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T16:47:10","slug":"in-first-mlb-game-since-2023-anaheim-native-shines-in-angels-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/329550\/","title":{"rendered":"In First MLB Game Since 2023, Anaheim Native Shines in Angels Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

In his first MLB game since 2023, outfielder Wade Meckler<\/a> shined in his debut with the Los Angeles Angels<\/a> on Friday in the series opener against the Texas Rangers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On the first pitch he saw, Meckler launched a three-run homer 403 feet into the right field pavilion to mark his first career home run. Meckler became the first player in Angels history to hit a home run in their debut since Mike Napoli<\/a> did it in 2006, according to The Sporting Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meckler\u2019s home run was the second of the night for the Angels after shortstop Zach Neto<\/a>\u2019s leadoff home run. Neto and second baseman Oswald Peraza<\/a> added two more homers to the Angels\u2019 tally later in the game to help the Halos win 9-6.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, Wade Meckler set the tone for the game today,\u201d starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez<\/a> said, per MLB<\/a>. \u201cI mean, obviously [Neto] leading us off with a homer was great, and anytime you can get a leadoff homer is awesome. But Wade hitting that ball off deGrom<\/a>, I mean, that\u2019s what got me going. Like, put it in four-wheel drive and let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meckler Is An Orange County Native<\/p>\n

Hitting a home run in a club debut is always special but it is even more when it is for your hometown team.<\/p>\n

Meckler is an Anaheim, California native who graduated from Esperanza High School and grew up a fan of the Angels. Meckler said his favorite players<\/a> growing up were Chone Figgins<\/a>, Erick Aybar<\/a>, Torii Hunter<\/a> and current teammate Mike Trout<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Before joining the Angels, Meckler played 20 games with the San Francisco Giants<\/a> in 2023. During the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Meckler spent time in various minor league levels and battling injuries that prevented him from making an MLB appearance for two consecutive seasons.<\/p>\n

The Giants ultimately designated Meckler for assignment in December. Then, the Angels claimed him off waivers in January before designating him for assignment later that month.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles<\/a> invited Meckler as a non-roster player to spring training. He started the season with Triple-A Salt Lake but after five games, he was demoted to Double-A Rocket City. He earned a promotion back to Triple-A in April.<\/p>\n

The Angels selected Meckler\u2019s contract on Friday, allowing him to make his long-awaited return to MLB.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a little bit. Spent a lot of the last couple of years injured, grinding through injuries. Just feels good to be healthy and be able to compete the way I feel like I\u2019m capable of competing,\u201d Meckler said, per The Sporting Tribune<\/a>. \u201cObviously, it\u2019s really cool to be in the Big Leagues for your childhood team as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Los<\/p>\n

May 22, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels left fielder Wade Meckler (53) rounds the bases on a three-run home run during the second inning against the Texas Rangers at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The post In First MLB Game Since 2023, Anaheim Native Shines in Angels Debut\u00a0<\/a> appeared first on LA Sports Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In his first MLB game since 2023, outfielder Wade Meckler shined in his debut with the Los Angeles…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329551,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,136827,136829,136828,36470,47,2866,136624,5128,1334,67954,4820,5224,17203,14508,72637,14504],"class_list":["post-329550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-chone-figgins","tag-degrom","tag-erick-aybar","tag-grayson-rodriguez","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-angels","tag-mike-napoli","tag-mike-trout","tag-mlb","tag-oswald-peraza","tag-san-francisco-giants","tag-texas-rangers","tag-the-angels","tag-torii-hunter","tag-wade-meckler","tag-zach-neto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}