Angel Stadium of Anaheim

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, American League

10/10

 The crowds file in for a game with Seattle in April, 2014.

 Just about ready to begin against Oakland in August 2009.

I enjoyed my 3rd game at the Big A probably most of all, thanks to a good atmosphere in the upper deck.

Angel Stadium is now one of my favourites. I have been here a total of five times now, twice against the Athletics in 2009, once on a cool April evening against Seattle in 2014 and twice in September of 2016 against the Blue Jays.

It's located near a trifecta of freeways and about a 10 minute drive from the Disneyland area. It's surrounded by a ton of parking in the immediate area and a little further there are actually some bars and restaurants, over towards the Honda Center, the home of the NHL's Anaheim Ducks.

The park was built in the mid 1960's as a new home for the Angels after they spent their first few years at LA's Wrigley Field and "Chavez Ravine" as Dodger Stadium was called when it hosted them. It was massively renovated when the NFL's Rams moved in and massively renovated again when they moved away. The results are incredible. Compare the before(By watching the remake of Angels in the Outfield maybe?) and the after(by going) and be amazed. From the outside it is very obvious it's an older park and maybe in the upper deck, but on the bottom it appears 30 years younger than it really is. That's my favourite thing about this park, it was turned from a gargantuan NFL-sized stadium into something more reasonable.

The fans here are passionate about supporting their team, instead of the other team in the LA area.

I like the food here quite a bit. There's lots of good options. As of 2014, it included Panda Express and Jack in the Box, as well as a very good pizza chain that replaced California Pizza Kitchen, the name escapes me at the moment....

The atmosphere is great, very baseball-oriented, with just enough quirks to keep things interesting.

The backdrop of the Honda Center and hills makes it a nice place to spend an evening.

In 2009, I went for a night game against Oakland and was so impressed by the crowd at atmosphere that I went back the next afternoon and sat in the sun on a 112 degree afternoon. The guy at the pulled pork sandwich stand (Reggie?) insisted on selling me a medium pop instead of a small saying "You'll thank me later."

Thanks Reggie.

I returned in April 2014, for the final game of a season opening series between the Angels and the Seattle Mariners. It actually did get cold in the upper deck later on and some of the dining options had changed, but it was more or less the same park, which was good. If you haven't gone, try to go and if you have, go back, it's just as good the 2nd time.

Update 2017: I went back here for two more games in September 2016, as the Blue Jays were in town. They lost to the Angels without much of a struggle both games I saw. There was still a good crowd both days, despite the latter being the same afternoon as the first home game for the new Los Angeles Rams.  It reminded me of the game versus Oakland in 2009, where it was very, very hot.

Food service options at the park changed again with "Oggi's" now the pizza of choice and Jack In the Box having taken over the burger stands. I frequented a custom gourmet hot dog stand, which while expensive, was fantastic. There's also a healthier concession deep in the outer concourse of the park, as well as several others in a sort of food court. I made it onto the mezzanine this time around and was not dissapointed. I'd still give this park a 10/10, it's a favourite. I wonder if now that Oakland is without the NFL, they could renovate it in the same vein?


Linescores
2009-08-29
                                123    456   789  RHE
Oakland                    000   000   310  491
Los Angeles(AL)        001  200   000   390
Temp: 89F  Time: 3:01  Att: 43,011

2009-08-30
                             123   456   789    R H E
Oakland                  001   000  000   1 6 0
Los Angeles(AL)     000   040   05x   9 13 1
Temp: 92F  Time: 2:12  Att: 38,018

2014-04-02
                                 123   456  789    R H E
Seattle                      001     014   002  8  13 0
Los Angeles(AL)        000     000    002  2  3  1
Temp: 57F  Time: 2:39   Att: 38,007

2016-09-17
                               123   456  789    R  H E
Toronto                     000   000  010  1 10 3
Los Angeles(AL)       010  012   20x  6  8  0
Temp: 83F  Time: 3:08  Att: 39,195

2016-09-18
                              123   456   789   R H E
Toronto                    000   000   000   0 4  1  
Los Angeles(AL)      010   010   02x   4 10 0
Temp: 84F Time: 3:25  Att: 36,270