Ballpark: Angels Stadium

Last night, May 15, I attended the Angels vs. Royals game at Angels Stadium with my aunt and two cousins. Surprisingly, there were very few people there. The attendance was announced as over 31,000 but I would estimate there were closer to 16,000 fans at the game. Similar to the Dodgers game, it was a late arriving crowd; fans were still filing into their seats in the 3rd inning. Our tickets were originally in the upper deck but we moved down after the 3rd or 4th inning to field level seats. Even though the field level seats were obviously better, the sight lines at both seats were pretty great.

Angel Stadium is pretty standard when it comes to MLB ballparks. The upper deck wraps around 3/4 of the stadium, there is some uniqueness to the outfield fence, and the field seats are close to the field. In addition to the great sight lines, two defining features make Angel Stadium standout in comparison to the other stadiums I have visited. The first is the waterfall rock pile just beyond center field. I didn't realize on prior to attending the game, the rocks at the top pile form an 'A' for Angels (or is it for Anaheim?). I am not really sure what the waterfall signifies but it wasn't as out of place as it sometime appears on television. The other defining feature is the big A outside the stadium that give Angel stadium its nickname. This structure isn't visible from the stadium when looking onto the field but it lets drivers on the nearby interstate that this is the home of the Angels. Over the rock pile in center field, the stadium is left open in between two above average scoreboards. Unfortunately, there is not much of a view: just an office building, the Honda Center (where the Ducks play and home to a Rolling Stones concert on this night), and the interstate. The food selection was pretty decent with Panda Express, Jack in the Box, and a variety of hot dogs. I opted for the Cali Dog: a hot dog wrapped in a deep fried tortilla, topped with chili, cheese, onions, and jalapanos. I also extended my streak of getting a souvenir cup. I am beginning to really like collecting souvenir cups because they are only a couple of dollars more that a regular pop and it is interesting to see what each team has on their cup.

As for the game, the Royals got out to an 8-0 lead, with the Angels making 3 quick pitching changes. Pretty much every Royals hitter had success against the overmatch Angels pitchers. The Angels managed to push a few runs across against Royals starter Wade Davis and another one off a reliever on a Mike Trout home run but the Royals were able to take the game with a final score of 9-5. Mike Trout was impressive for the Angels and Pujols played well despite having a noticeable limp. The Angels fans were starting to grow impatient with their offseason signee, Josh Hamilton, prompting one fan to yell bring back Torii Hunter.

My take-away from Angel Stadium is similar to Turner Field: a prototypical MLB stadium. While Angel Stadium lacks some of the key features of the best ballparks in the league (city view and a rocking atmosphere), it had an enough features make the ballpark distinguishable among the 29 other stadiums in the league.