Ultimate Baseball Road Trip (118 page)

A Pacific Surfliner Amtrak/Metrolink station is located a short walk from the ballpark. For just $7 patrons may purchase round-trip fare from LA’s Union Station to the ballpark.

Metrolink Maps and Information:
www.metrolinktrains.com/spevents/?id=76
.

Shortly after the stadium opened in 1966, fans took to calling it the Big A. The 230-foot-tall scoreboard looming over the field shaped like a giant “A” probably had something to do with that. Originally it stood right behind the centerfield wall with its trademark halo around its top. But in 1980 it was transplanted to the parking lot beyond the stadium in right field to allow football fans clearer sight lines from the newly added upper-level seats. Management also explained the break from tradition as a move to ensure greater safety should an earthquake ever send the massive capital letter plummeting to the ground. But the unfortunate reality is that rather than being visible from every seat in the park, like it used to be, today the big A can only be spotted by
those seated on the left-field side of the diamond. Its peak can be found to the right of the centerfield scoreboard for those sideways-peering fans.

Josh:
We’d better not park under it. You know, just in case.

Kevin:
It’s withstood Mother Nature for nearly 50 years.

Josh:
Still, earthquakes can be pretty bad, I hear. We should play it safe.

Kevin:
Relax, Boston boy. I don’t think “The Big One” is going to hit today.

The main entrance is adorned by some super-jumbo-colossal baseball bats holding up the Angel Stadium sign. There are also colorful pictures of current Angel stars posterized on the façade above the gates. And on either side of the entrance, fans find giant red Angels hats. The oversized lids are remnants of the Disney Era. They are so big that fans can walk beneath them and inspect their scaffolding. We found ourselves unexpectedly taken by these, despite their gaudiness.

Josh:
What do Juan Rivera, Luis Polonia, and Chad Curtis all have in common?

Kevin:
They all played outfield for the Angels.

Josh:
Wrong. They all hit for a higher lifetime average than Angels Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, who batted just .262.

Kevin:
But they also played outfield for the Halos, right?

Josh:
Well, yes.

Kevin:
So my answer was essentially correct.

Josh:
Keep fanning that ego. You’ve still got a way to go to catch that notoriously big-headed Reggie.

Kevin:
Let me guess. He refused you an autograph when you were twelve and you still can’t let it go?

Josh:
Wrong. The
Jackson Incident
occurred when I was twenty-three.

Whether or not you agree that Mr. Jackson’s head was a few sizes too big for his hat, you’ll marvel at these gigantic caps on display outside the park. If they were fitted caps, Kevin calculated that they’d be Size 649.5. No, not really. Kevin’s not very good at math. In fact, that’s what the faux tags on the inside rims say. They also say 100 percent wool, though, which is clearly not the case.

Also outside the home plate entrance is a regulation size infield made of brick. The grass portion of the diamond is represented by gray bricks, while the clay portion is represented by red bricks. The bases and pitcher’s rubber light up fluorescent colors at night. We found this kitschy but also kind of cool. If you trot out to one of the infield positions, you will find the name and year of each Opening Day Angels’ starter at that position inscribed on a brick. Again, very cool.

Both the right-handed and left-handed batter’s boxes contain bricks inscribed with the team’s Opening Day designated hitters for each season. And not to be left out, the fans have left their mark as well, in the form of personalized bricks between the pitcher’s mound and home plate. We found a few inscribed with verses from the Bible. These seemed particularly goofy when they abutted other bricks advertising website addresses and other commercial goods. Several read like tombstones, noting the dates of birth and death for Angel fans.

If you want to leave something behind so that the Angels and their fans always remember your trip to Anaheim, consider shelling out $99 for a brick of your own. Or to save a little coin, leave a wad of Big League Chew on the bottom of your seat like Kevin did.

At eye level beside the main gate, a bronze plaque is attached to the face of the stadium. It reads, “City of Anaheim, California, founded in 1857,” and features a depiction of orange trees and rolling hills. Unless there’s a part of Anaheim we missed somehow, the image on the plaque is a whole lot woodsier than Anaheim today. But we assume there are places in Orange County that still retain some pastoral charm.

Chain restaurants abound on State College Boulevard and Katella Avenue. But there are a number of local establishments for visitors to enjoy as well.

2610 Katella Ave.

http://jtschmidsrestaurants.com/

Maybe it’s a California thing, but we found this fine brewery oddly placed within a strip mall. It’s worth a visit, though. From the appetizer menu, we recommend the sweet potato fries. At meal time, order a Mexico City Burger (Jack cheese, guacamole, cilantro, roasted salsa, lettuce, and tomato) or an eighteen-ounce Rib Eye and you won’t be disappointed. From the bar, we suggest the house-brewed Hefeweizen or Grandpa’s own Emil’s Amber. There is outdoor seating on a lush patio.

701 Katella Ave.

We’re still trying to figure out what’s meant by the name of this gentlemen’s club. Did they mean “two” instead of “too”? We’re also trying to figure out what a seedy topless place is doing so close to Disneyland. And we’re wondering whether
Wally World
adventurer Clark W. Griswold would have visited after his wife and kids fell asleep.

2055 Katella Ave.

www.pandaexpress.com/

This is a popular chain in these parts. There is also a Panda Express stand inside the stadium but it is much more expensive than the one outside the park. So if you’re in the mood for Chinese, why not enjoy some before the game?

Kevin:
And the best part is, by the third inning you’ll be hungry again.

Josh:
Hey, we’re traveling on a limited budget.

450 East State College Blvd.

http://ocsportsgrill.com/

The highlight of this otherwise straightforward sports bar is the array of misters out on the patio. No, not gentlemen. We mean
water
misters. We found these a welcome touch on a hot afternoon.

1759 Claudina Way

www.throwbackssportsbar.com/Home

A mile from the park, the Angels and Dodgers are always on the tube at this popular watering hole. As an added attraction, the bar ferries fans to and from Angel Stadium on its own shuttle buses.

Downtown Dr.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/destinations/downtown-disney/

Downtown Disney—a land of colorful make-believe houses and storefronts—is only a mile or so from the ballpark, so why not stop by for an overpriced cocktail and a bite to eat? At least the help is always smiling. Don’t worry, you don’t have to pay the amusement park admission fee to get into Downtown Disney. Heck, you don’t even have to pay to park. A large lot on Downtown Drive offers free three-hour parking. If you manage your time wisely, this is a good way to get a taste of the Disney experience without having to hand your entire wallet over to that money-grubbing mouse.

Follow Katella to Disney Drive and take a right. After you pass the theme park proper, take a left onto Downtown Drive and you’ll head right into the parking lot.

We stopped by the
Disney ESPN Zone
to watch the Red Sox play the Yankees on satellite. Kevin’s brother Sean rated the “pour” on his Guinness better than the average tap job in L.A. Sean also enjoyed a Bloody Mary. As for the two of us? Well, wary of these chain-type places, we played it safe and ordered Bud Lights the size of vats. We found the most interesting item of décor the American flag made of 383 red-white-and-blue baseballs—one for each strikeout Nolan Ryan had for the Angels in 1973. Each ball bears the name of one of Ryan’s victims, beginning with No. 1, Fred Patek, and ending with No. 383, Rich Reese. We don’t know what’s more remarkable, the fact that Ryan struck out 383 batters in 1973, or the fact that he completed twenty-six games and still wound up three behind league leader Gaylord Perry in that category.

Other eateries in Downtown Disney include the
House of Blues, Rain Forest Café, Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen, Tortilla Jo’s, Uva Bar,
and
Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria.

The open view of the mountains beyond the left-field fence goes a long way to improve the atmosphere and character Angel Stadium was lacking during its NFL days. The park does not have the Hollywood cachet of Dodger Stadium but is still an attractive place. Even a decade after the Disney era, the stadium retains a Disneyland-type feel, with ushers who are very courteous, and exceptionally clean concourses, bathrooms, and seating areas.

The fake-rock formation beyond the outfield fence in left-center was created in the late 1990s to give Angel Stadium a trademark feature. Of course, signature stadium features that come about organically—like the Wall in Boston or the ivy in Chicago—are more meaningful, but we can’t blame the Angels for trying something to dress up a once-uninspired part of the park. With its hundred-foot-high geyser, fireworks, and assortment of rocks, the “Outfield Extravaganza” is meant to resemble the rocky California coast. Or maybe it’s the geyser at Yosemite National Park that’s being replicated? We found it hard to tell for sure. What we do know is that the rocks at the top of the waterfall form the shape of
a capital letter “A,” while down below, the center-field cameramen hide in a cave. Perhaps the display would look better had real rocks been used instead of Styrofoam. As actor/comedian/all-around-good-guy Robin Williams stated, “It looks like a miniature golf course on steroids.” And as writer/comedian/all-around-good-guy Kevin O’Connell remarked, “It looks and feels a lot like Disney’s Country Bear Jamboree. All that’s left is to install animatronic bears to play banjos when the Angels homer.”

In case you’re wondering, Walt Disney Imagineering served as manager of the project, while HOK Sport drew up the actual blueprints. So, as far as we can tell, blame Disney for the Styrofoam and thank HOK for the tiered bullpens to the left of the display.

Also to the left of the rocks, fans find red-and-white flags honoring Angels teams of yore that made the playoffs. These are a nice touch.

The uppermost portion of the batter’s eye in centerfield consists of artificial turf between the rock display and seats. While hitters have given this rave reviews as an effective backdrop for slugging, we must say that aesthetically it’s pretty revolting. Fortunately, closer to the field the backdrop is much more appealing thanks to the presence of a green hedge that rises above the home run wall.

Kevin:
Wonder if Torii Hunter ever had to fight it out with the hedge to snag one of the many homers he robbed.

Josh:
Torii never met a shrub who wanted it as badly as he did.

A number of ballparks display likenesses of great players in team history. In Anaheim, the team founder and a player’s daughter are memorialized in this way. Heartfelt though this may be, we found it odd.

Inside the main gate on the third-base side stands a bronze of Gene Autry smiling, as if for the cameras, and holding out his trademark cowboy hat.

On the first-base side stands a statue of Michelle Carew, holding a puppy dog in her arms. A beautiful bed of flowers surrounds the piece, which depicts Ms. Carew from the waist up. Rod Carew—who poked and bunted his way to 3,053 hits in a nineteen-year career with the Twins and Angels—had a daughter named Michelle who died of leukemia, but not before inspiring others to fight back against the disease. The base of her statue reads, “Her spirited battle against leukemia raised awareness for the national marrow donor program throughout this country and in the process her legacy has saved countless lives. When she went to sleep, she woke up the world.”

High above the seats in right field appear the Angels’ retired numbers. These include: No. 11 for Jim Fregosi, who played for the Angels from 1961 to 1971 and managed the Angels in 1978; No. 26 for Autry, the team’s metaphorical twenty-sixth man; No. 29 for Carew, who not only played for the Halos but served as their batting coach from 1992 to 1999; No. 30 for Ryan; No. 42 for Jackie Robinson; and No. 50 for coach Jimmie Reese, who began his seven-decade professional career as a batboy for the Pacific Coast League Los Angeles Stars in 1917, went on to play for the Yankees and Cardinals, and finished hitting fungos at the Big A from 1972 to 1994.

Josh:
Let me get this straight: Autry wasn’t on his death bed or even sick when they retired his number in 1982?

Kevin:
He lived something like another fifteen years. What’s your point?