The 1996 California Angels season involved the Angels finishing 4th in the American League West with a record of 70 wins and 91 losses.
The season was notable for being the final season the franchise bore the "California Angels" moniker, as the team name was changed to "Anaheim Angels" the following season.
The Angels used 29 different pitchers during the season, the most of any MLB team in 1996.
Offseason
November 21, 1995: Randy Velarde was signed as a free agent with the California Angels. December 6, 1995: Mike Aldrete signed as a free agent with the California Angels. December 7, 1995: Scott Sanderson was signed as a free agent with the California Angels. December 18, 1995: Todd Frohwirth was signed as a free agent with the California Angels. January 9, 1996: Jim Abbott signed as a free agent with the California Angels. February 6, 1996: Mark Eichhorn was signed as a free agent with the California Angels. March 25, 1996: Ricky Jordan was purchased by the Seattle Mariners from the California Angels.
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Game log
|- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 1 || April 2 || Brewers || 9–15 || Wickander || Finley (0–1) || — || 27,836 || 0–1 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 2 || April 3 || Brewers || 3–2 (11) || James (1–0) || Lloyd || — || 15,024 || 1–1 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 3 || April 5 || White Sox || 7–6 (11) || James (2–0) || McCaskill || — || 22,812 || 2–1 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 4 || April 6 || White Sox || 4–8 || Fernandez || Abbott (0–1) || — || 26,447 || 2–2 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 5 || April 7 || White Sox || 6–5 || Finley (1–1) || Alvarez || Percival (1) || 16,970 || 3–2 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 6 || April 9 || @ Blue Jays || 0–5 || Hentgen || Langston (0–1) || — || 36,616 || 3–3 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 7 || April 10 || @ Blue Jays || 2–1 || Holzemer (1–0) || Guzman || Percival (2) || 25,446 || 4–3 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 8 || April 11 || @ Blue Jays || 4–7 || Hanson || Abbott (0–2) || Timlin || 25,512 || 4–4 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 9 || April 12 || @ Tigers || 5–4 || Finley (2–1) || Lira || Percival (3) || 9,921 || 5–4 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 10 || April 13 || @ Tigers || 5–9 || Keagle || Sanderson (0–1) || — || 11,719 || 5–5 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 11 || April 14 || @ Tigers || 4–5 || Lewis || James (2–1) || — || 12,009 || 5–6 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 12 || April 15 || @ Mariners || 10–11 || Charlton || Eichhorn (0–1) || — || 36,960 || 5–7 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 13 || April 16 || @ Mariners || 3–5 || Johnson || Abbott (0–3) || — || 25,404 || 5–8 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 14 || April 17 || Blue Jays || 5–1 || Finley (3–1) || Quantrill || — || 15,361 || 6–8 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 15 || April 18 || Blue Jays || 9–6 || James (3–1) || Ware || Percival (4) || 25,083 || 7–8 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 16 || April 19 || Tigers || 4–3 || Langston (1–1) || Myers || — || 32,693 || 8–8 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 17 || April 20 || Tigers || 2–1 || Grimsley (1–0) || Keagle || Percival (5) || 25,685 || 9–8 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 18 || April 21 || Tigers || 6–5 || Eichhorn (1–1) || Lewis || Percival (6) || 36,733 || 10–8 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 19 || April 22 || Tigers || 6–5 || James (4–1) || Christopher || Percival (7) || 17,039 || 11–8 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 20 || April 24 || @ Brewers || 4–3 || Boskie (1–0) || McDonald || Percival (8) || 7,051 || 12–8 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 21 || April 25 || @ Brewers || 5–6 || Fetters || James (4–2) || — || 6,707 || 12–9 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 22 || April 27 || @ White Sox || 1–2 || Fernandez || Abbott (0–4) || Hernandez || 18,139 || 12–10 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 23 || April 28 || @ White Sox || 1–10 || Baldwin || Finley (3–2) || — || 15,574 || 12–11 |- bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 24 || April 29 || @ White Sox || 3–4 || Alvarez || Grimsley (1–1) || Hernandez || 12,549 || 12–12 |- bgcolor="ccffcc" | 25 || April 30 || @ Athletics || 7–3 || Langston (2–1) || Prieto || — || 7,154 || 13–12 |-