Indio native Tony Reagins knows things are only supposed to go so well for a first-year general manager in the major leagues.

Eleven months after taking over as general manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Reagins has seen his team cruise to the American League West division title with a major league-best and franchise record 100 victories.

The two major trades Reagins helped orchestrate have paid dividends as the Angels look not only toward starting the playoffs at home today against the Boston Red Sox, but potentially to winning a second World Series title in six years.

But Reagins isn't taking all the credit for a remarkable Angels season.

“I'm the general manager, but there are a lot of people who do a lot of work throughout the organization,” he said.

Reagins, formerly the Angels' director of player development, took over the Angels job in October 2007 from Bill Stoneman, whose tenure was marked by the 2002 World Series titles and divisional titles each year from 2004 to 2007. But the Angels haven't returned to the World Series since 2002, and Stoneman was criticized at times for holding on to minor league prospects rather than making mid-season trades that could have improved an already strong team.

The Reagins era has been marked by two key trades, getting pitcher Jon Garland for starting shortstop Orlando Cabrera in the off-season and then acquiring slugging first baseman Mark Teixeira for first baseman Casey Kotchman in July. But Reagins, a 1985 graduate of Indio High School, preaches the importance of the minor league system just as much as Stoneman did.

“I'll say this. The things that happen in Double A and Single A and rookie league are just as important as getting players like Torii (Hunter, an off-season free agent acquisition) or Teixeira,” Reagins said.

The 25-man roster the Angels take into tonight's playoff opener includes homegrown stars such as Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, Garret Anderson and record-setting relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez, as well as players from outside the organization like Hunter, Teixeira, Garland and Vladimir Guerrero.

With a team that produced identical 50-31 records at home and on the road, Reagins echoes what some pundits are saying, that the Angels are a serious threat for the World Series title.

“We feel if we can keep playing the way we have played and we can stay healthy, we can not only go to the playoffs but go deep into the playoffs,” he said.

On the field, this is a down time for Reagins, since there are no more player acquisitions to be made and manager Scioscia and Reagins are only concerned about finalizing the last spot or two on the roster for each playoff series. But off the field, Reagins said he has remained busy in the final few weeks of the regular season.

The team's annual organizational meetings were held two weeks ago in San Francisco, and Reagins, Scioscia and others are already working on off-season decisions such as which free agents to try to sign and what players might be available through free agency or trade for the 2009 Angels.

“Actually, what we try to do is look three years down the road,” said Reagins, who joked that he already had a 2011 roster.

For now, Reagins is happy to be a first-year general manager with a team that has already had one champagne-drenched celebration this season for winning the division title.

“Hopefully, there are three more of those in the next few weeks,” Reagins said.