MLB’s 30 Stadiums: An Odyssey/#28 — Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Part 3 of 30: Anaheim — The Big A

28. Anaheim — The Big A

Angel Stadium (more popularly known as the Big A) houses the team now known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Angels created this geographically impossible grouping of words in the hopes of attracting a fan base from the much larger Los Angeles area rather than the culturally bankrupt and Mickey Mouse-infested city of Anaheim.

Anaheim Stadium, much like its local counterpart, Dodger Stadium, was fairly nice in the 70’s when it was relatively new and every other stadium sucked. Again, however, like the Dodgers, team officials apparently still believe that it’s 1970 and that they are just one Jimi Hendrix concert away from profitability.

I will give the Anaheim front office some credit for creating a better parking situation than the Dodgers since they were able to use a calculator and figure out that 20,000+ cars using two driveways probably wouldn’t work. Of course, their logistical expertise is significantly better than their marketing skills.

Anaheim apparently realized they had a relic of a ball field and wanted to make it cool and happening and retro like the other teams in the league. Regrettably, they decided that they were going to build a big baseball helmet in their front entrance, accompanied by a painted field on what can be described as nothing other than a big concrete driveway leading into the main gate. The helmet is both useless and kitschy and probably would’ve been cool in 1932 before the invention of plastics but strikes one as lame and misguided now. It reminds me of the time that my father bought a light for my bedroom in the shape of a basketball going through a hoop. I thought it was fantastic. I was 8.

The rest of the Big A suffers from the same time warp prevalent at Dodgers Stadium, it is simply old and boring and, unless you have an unholy attraction to lightweight concrete, offers little in the way of aesthetics. The Big A could be given some credit for trying — several years ago, they attempted to upgrade their concessions and monotone food by adding Carls Jr’ concessions to the standard hot dogs and Cracker Jack fare. Unfortunately, nobody on the team realized that the only food in the world worse than Cracker Jack is Carl’s Jr. Trying is admirable; but succeeding probably would have made for a better ballpark experience.