Road outlook from Anaheim by Mike Ghika
Recapping my first visit to Angel Stadium

A night after all of you appreciated readers were responsible for SoxSpace being named Best Sox Blog at the 2009 New England Sports Blog Awards, I took in Game 2 of the Sox-Angels series Wednesday night at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

For one, traffic from the 10 to the 405 to the 105 to the 710 to the 91 to the 5 (umm, yeah seriously, right?) at rush hour was just dreadful, and it took about an hour and 15 minutes to get to the park from my vacationing spot in Santa Monica. Know how the surrounding lots at Fenway charge anywhere from $20 to $40 for parking? Well I parked not even a half-mile away for a mere $3. A closer lot was still just $5, and stadium parking was only $8. Try finding prices like that in Boston.

Upon arrival, I bought an Angels Magazine for just $3 to score the game. While a program from vendors outside the ballpark at Fenway is just $2, an actual Red Sox Magazine is somewhere near $10. Another price that caught my eye was the price of beer, whereas at Angel Stadium game-goers have an option of a 12 or 16 oz. beer at $5.50 and $6.25 respectively, while the only option Fenway provides is a $7.25 12 oz. draft.

After Jason Bay’s home run in the first and the Sox tacked on two more in the second to go up 4-0, a family member of mine knew a production manager in the truck for the Angels’ TV network FS WEST, so we left the ballpark to check it out. It turned out to be a great experience, as it was somewhat overwhelming to see 46 Samsung monitors before your very eyes with guys shouting which exact cameras to switch to.

For example, when Mike Napoli hit his 3-run homer to put the Angels on top 5-4, the guys in the truck would start shouting Camera 1 to follow the Halos’ catcher around the bases, Camera 4 to stay on Tim Wakefield for his reaction after giving up the homer, and a number of other cameras to follow fan reaction where the home run landed, behind home plate, and in the upper deck.

And when the production guy would say roll away into dissolve, sure enough the camera on the live broadcast would fade out and slowly move on to another camera. One guy then turned to me and asked if I remembered who had the game-winning hit in Game 3 of last year’s ALDS for the Angels (I correctly answered Erick Aybar). Minutes later, the question was directed to the graphic design coordinator who inserted the question on the live screen for the night’s Aflac Trivia Question. I felt the need to remind the crew it was the Halos' first playoff win over the Sox in 22 years.

Between innings they even got former major leaguer and current Angels’ color man Mark Gubicza to give a shout-out from the press box. It was undoubtedly an incredible experience to see how 12 guys in a truck control what millions of viewers in a greater area tune into on a given night.

As for the stadium itself, the forest green seats and its high nosebleeds kind of remind you of Camden Yards in Baltimore. But in fact, the stadium was built back in 1966 for a mere $25 million and was renovated some 10-12 years ago for over $100 million. I was in Section 105 just 13 rows back along the third base line for Game 2, but much like down the right field line at Fenway, the seats face directly at the outfielders instead of home plate even at Angel Stadium. Stiff neck syndrome would ensue, but then again I couldn’t complain given it is the fourth-oldest stadium in the majors (only Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, and Dodger Stadium are older).

On the field, we saw a 12 runs scored total, so I was surprised to see the game not even come close to the 3-hour mark. Then again, that will happen when a starter sits down 19 in a row at one point in a complete game effort. Although I'd say it was probably 25 percent Sox fans invading Anaheim, I still couldn’t team up with any local rooters to convince the West coast guys that Daniel Bard actually could get it up into triple digits (he topped out at 97 mph according to the stadium gun). Regardless, aside from Bay’s blast, the former Tar Heel’s performance (0 R, 1 SO in 2.0 IP) was the highlight of a downer for the Sox on the road, although it was still a memorable experience for myself in a trip to foreign territory.

-Mike Ghika

Published on May 14, 2009

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