Dave Roberts was acknowledged wherever he went final winter: at a Chargers recreation, at a UCLA recreation, at a Palisades Excessive baseball follow, even in Japan. He’s the supervisor of the Dodgers, the reigning World Collection champions. In three weeks, the Dodgers will distribute 40,000 Roberts bobbleheads.
Ron Washington, the supervisor of the Angels, went out to run some errands Thursday. As normal, he mentioned, nobody observed.
“I have not had anyone recognize who I am out there,” he mentioned Friday.
When would possibly that change?
Angels and Guardians gamers watched a flyover earlier than they performed Friday at Angel Stadium.
(Eric Thayer / Related Press)
“When we show a consistent amount of success,” Washington mentioned. “Right now, I’m just a regular Joe out there.”
That is the Dodgers’ world, and everybody else in baseball is simply residing in it.
Sadly for the Angels, they’re residing with the longest playoff drought within the main leagues, and with the Dodgers of their faces, in a stadium 30 miles up the Santa Ana Freeway.
And so it was that when the Angels threw their followers a celebration earlier than the house opener Friday, I didn’t should look far to search out somebody in a Dodgers jersey.
In equity, the Dodgers followers I discovered have been a part of households with divided loyalties. Marie Hernandez of Los Angeles got here together with her son, who supported the Angels. Her gear for the day: a Dodgers World Collection sweatshirt and cap.
“I’m representing the team that won,” she mentioned. “I’m still very hopeful for the Angels.”
Manny Galvan of Pico Rivera didn’t a lot care about that. His son wore his Mike Trout jersey. Galvan wore a Dodgers jersey with Shohei Ohtani’s identify.
“I always wear a Dodger jersey,” he mentioned. “I wore Ohtani so I didn’t get booed today.”
Zuleyka Gonzalez of Riverside additionally wore a Dodgers jersey with Ohtani’s identify. She attends Angels video games commonly — typically in that Ohtani jersey, different occasions sporting Dodgers jerseys with the names of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman or Teoscar Hernández.
Her fiancé is an Angels fan. The couple agreed their youngster could be raised as a Dodgers fan if a boy and an Angels fan if a woman.
The Angels’ Mike Trout celebrates with teammates within the dugout after hitting a house run towards the Cleveland Guardians at Angel Stadium on Friday.
(Eric Thayer / Related Press)
Congratulations, Halo Nation: You have got a stupendous month-old lady supporting your staff, even when she doesn’t fairly know that but. Her identify is Zule.
Jered Weaver, one of many best pitchers in Angels historical past, caught the ceremonial first pitch Friday. He performed highschool ball in Simi Valley, the place he grew up a Dodgers fan. He now lives in Thousand Oaks.
“Everybody’s on the Dodgers bandwagon out there,” Weaver mentioned.
Kenley Jansen, the Dodgers’ nearer for a decade, is the Angels’ nearer this season.
“Dodger fans have been great forever,” he mentioned. “Every time I’m walking down the street in L.A., all these great Dodgers fans keep me giving me a fist bump. They show love, and how much they care.
“Now, I’m getting all the Angels fans too. I feel like I’m a complete package now. All the Angels fans are so excited that I’m wearing the Angels uniform. I’m a complete L.A. guy. I get to play for both teams now. It’s something special.”
Jansen lives in Palos Verdes, which he’s mentioned is extra Dodgers territory than Angels territory. Travis d’Arnaud, the Angels’ new backup catcher, performed at Lakewood Excessive and lives in Los Alamitos, on the Orange County fringe of the border with Los Angeles County.
“There’s more Angel fans and Angel gear,” he mentioned. “There’s still a lot of Dodgers gear, don’t get me wrong.”
I requested Jansen what message he had for Angels followers bored with listening to in regards to the Dodgers.
“We can’t worry about that,” he mentioned. “The Dodgers are going to be the Dodgers. We have to figure out how to be successful again. The focus of this group is to get this organization back to winning.”
To make certain, the Angels’ fan celebration was overwhelmingly populated by Angels followers: many in Trout jerseys, only a few in jerseys of anybody else on the roster, fairly a couple of in jerseys of Angels greats that really received postseason video games in Anaheim, together with Weaver and Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter and Howie Kendrick, Garret Anderson and Tim Salmon, Darin Erstad and Troy Glaus, Rod Carew and Reggie Jackson.
Angels outfielder Mike Trout takes the sphere earlier than a recreation towards the Cleveland Guardians at Angel Stadium on Friday.
(Eric Thayer / Related Press)
Trout is 33. The final 12 months the Angels received a postseason recreation was the 12 months he graduated from highschool.
There may be work to be performed in Anaheim. Aitken can negotiate a deal on behalf of town, if Moreno even desires to barter.
In the event you construct a greater ballpark, will they arrive? In the event you construct a greater ballclub, will they arrive?
The Dodgers have performed each. Followers have come. Rings have come. For the Angels, success is outlined 30 miles up the freeway.
