Los Angeles Angels

It is easy to draw parallels between Los Angeles’s two NBA teams, the storied Lakers and the hapless Clippers, and the city’s two MLB teams, the Dodgers and the Angels, there are three main differences. The Dodgers boast a great history of triumphs (and tragic losses) in the World Series, with many seasons of being regarded as one of the best teams in baseball. Many of the most iconic players in history have worn the blue and white. The Dodgers brand has always been recognized worldwide as one of the iconic symbols of Major League Baseball and Dodger Stadium is a large yet atmospheric ballpark dating back to the 1960s (third oldest in the league). And yet, the Angels have not been overshadowed quite so dominantly as have the Clippers. While it is true that the team has seen more than its share of losing seasons, they do have one unlikely triumph to their name as well as a grand old stadium of their own (the fourth oldest in the league). In recent years, the acquisition of superstar Mike Trout and the generational (or once in a lifetime) talent Shohei Ohtani* has drawn more eyeballs worldwide to the Angels than their crosstown brethren (though this is about to change in a big way in 2024). The teams are also located about an hour’s drive away from one another (the Angels play in Anaheim), meaning that their natural fan bases tend to be slightly different (unlike the Clippers, who share Crypto.com Arena with the Lakers). The Angels first descended on the Sunshine State in 1961 as an expansion team, just three years after the Dodgers themselves had moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. To say the Angels struggled initially is a massive understatement, as they recorded just three winning seasons in their first fourteen seasons before finally cracking the playoffs in 1979. This postseason appearance, which they lost in four to the high-flying Baltimore Orioles, was to be one of just three appearances by the team from Anaheim until 2002, when the Angels finished 2nd in their division but went on to beat the New York Yankees in the ALCS and Minnesota Twins, causing their long-suffering fans to realize with shock and delight that their team, which had previously not won a playoff series in forty years of trying, was heading to the World Series. Adding heat to the Series was the fact that they would be facing another California team, the powerful San Francisco Giants. Hearts began to sink in Anaheim after the Giants took Game Five to push the Angels to the brink, but with two games at home in their own ballpark, the team rallied in front of their massive home crowds, scoring six runs in two innings to pull off an astonishing 6-5 victory in Game Six before clinching glory in Game Seven thanks to a three-run double from Garret Anderson. The Angels celebrated by wearing Stetson cowboy hats in tribute to their long-time owner, actor (and star of many Western films) Gene Autry, who had sadly passed away four years previously, having never seen his team win as much as a pennant*. In the ensuing years, the Angels continued to make the playoffs, though they never progressed again past the ALCS, but then oddly tailed off even after acquiring Trout and later Ohtani, failing to record a winning season after 2015. Now, with Ohtani’s departure to their crosstown rivals following the 2023 season, the mood around Angel Stadium is understandably downbeat. Whether or not the Angels can dust themselves off and rise up the rankings again will be one of the stories to follow in MLB in the years ahead. 

Los Angeles Angels Rivalries

For a team that has spent so much of their history scraping the basement of their division for wins, the Los Angeles Angels have a remarkable number of quite heated rivalries. The obvious one is the sibling rivalry with their (slightly) older brothers, the Los Angeles Dodgers (now known as the Freeway Series). The teams did not play an official league game until the commencement of interleague play in 1997, with a bench-clearing brawl kicking the rivalry into high gear in 1999. The Angels have strong divisional rivalries with the Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers, the latter being the spiciest due to the many players who have played for both teams and a couple of minor punch ups. 

In a city with such a big sports-loving population, getting tickets to such popular matchups (especially Dodgers-Angels) can be difficult. TicketX is your top spot for finding the most affordable tickets to all the most exciting Los Angeles Angels games.

Los Angeles Angels Update*

Japanese superstar and multi-talented pitcher/hitter Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023, which could add even more fire to their already hot city rivalry.

*A children’s film was made in 1994 called Angels in the Outfield (a remake of a 1951 film about the Pittsburgh Pirates) where a kid’s question to his divorced dad about when their family will reunite is answered with “When the Angels win the pennant.” Predictable storylines involving actual angels ensue, though it’s pretty terrible for a movie that contains a remarkable number of famous (and to-be-famous) actors. The movie was filmed at Angel Stadium and distributed by Disney, part-owners of the team.