Mr. 20/20, or Professor Chaos? Neto joins historic Halos company

WEST SACRAMENTO -- ­­Zach Neto reached an impressive milestone only attained by a few Angels players and American League shortstops on Friday.

Neto smacked his 20th homer of the year in a 10-3 loss to the Athletics, giving him his second straight season with at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases. He became just the fourth player in Angels history with multiple 20/20 seasons, joining his teammate Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani and Don Baylor.

Additionally, Neto became just the sixth shortstop in AL history to record multiple 20/20 seasons, as the only others to accomplish the feat are Alan Trammell, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Francisco Lindor and Bobby Witt Jr.

“It means a lot, especially where it all started at the end of last year and starting late this year [because of shoulder surgery],” Neto said. “Just coming back with all the perseverance and everything I had to overcome and stuff. I’m pretty grateful to be able to do it.”

Neto first achieved the mark last season, when he had a breakout year and was the club’s best player with 23 homers and 30 stolen bases in 155 games. This year, he’s stolen 21 bases to go along with his 20 blasts, and again leads the club in wins above replacement.

“It's pretty impressive,” said interim manager Ray Montgomery. “What he does on a daily basis doesn't surprise us, but it is cool for him. Obviously, I wish we would have done it in a winning fashion, but still, it's not easy to do. Puts him in pretty rare company.”

Neto, 24, has done it despite missing the first 18 games of the season after undergoing right shoulder surgery in November after injuring his shoulder on a stolen base attempt in the club’s fourth-to-last game of the year last season. He’s altered his sliding technique with more feet-first slides into second in an effort to stay healthy this season.

He reached the 20/20 mark on a two-run shot off right-hander Jack Perkins in the fifth inning. He jumped all over a 2-1 cutter over the heart of the zone, driving it a Statcast-projected 434 feet onto a building beyond the left-field fence at Sutter Health Park.

“Honestly, I was just trying to get a pitch to drive the ball,” Neto said. “He had got me two times already in the game, so I was just trying to get something over the plate. And he left a mistake, and I was able to capitalize on it.”

Neto also did it on MLB Players' Weekend using a custom green bat depicting Professor Chaos from "South Park." It’s a nickname Neto earned from Trout in Spring Training because of the chaos he brings as an elite defensive shortstop and multi-dimensional leadoff hitter. Trout also jokes that Neto looks like the South Park character Butters, who portrays the comical villain Professor Chaos as his alter ego.

“I think that had something to do with it,” Neto said with a smile. “It’s pretty special to do it on one of those [Players’ Weekend] days.”

Neto will also be using an orange bat on Saturday to honor Campbell University, where he starred for three years from 2020-22 before the Angels took him with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2022 Draft. And despite being a Miami native, his blue bat on Sunday will pay homage to the NFL’s Detroit Lions, his favorite football team.

But Neto’s homer wasn’t enough to deliver the Angels their fourth straight win, and they weren’t able to build on their three-game sweep over the rival Dodgers. In mid-May, the Angels also swept the Dodgers and then carried it over against the A’s, sweeping them in four games, but that wasn’t in the cards this time.

Lefty Yusei Kikuchi struggled, allowing four runs over four innings, while reliever Connor Brogdon gave up two runs in the fifth after Neto’s homer brought the Angels within one run. Carson Fulmer also gave up four runs in the eighth to make it a blowout for the A’s.

It snapped an eight-game win streak for the Angels over the A’s dating back to last year. And Neto said the change in atmosphere from the sold-out crowds in the Freeway Series to playing in a Minor League park was an adjustment.

“It's tough, but I mean there's no excuses today,” Neto said. “We came out flat, but at the end of the day, we got tomorrow, and we’ve got a chance to win the series still. We’ll come out tomorrow and try to get a win.”