The Los Angeles Angels are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, that plays in the American League (AL). The team's name comes from the first sports team based in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Angels, which took the name Angels from the English translation of Los Angeles, which means “The Angels” in Spanish. The Angels began their life in the major leagues playing in Los Angeles proper. The name “Angels” was taken from the city's former Pacific Coast League (PCL) club.
The minor league version was an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and played at a Los Angeles stadium also called “Wrigley Field”, not to be confused with the friendly confines of Chicago's north side. For the next four years, the Angels shared Dodger Stadium with the city's National League team. Then, in 2002, they won their first World Series title in their first appearance in the “Fall Classic”. This championship was shared with the people of Los Angeles, and if they had not won it, Anaheim would not have cared if they changed their name or not. If they had won it in subsequent years, Los Angeles would have embraced them with open arms. The city argued that the name “of Anaheim” mocked Anaheim and stated that under the strictest interpretation, there would be nothing to prevent Moreno from calling the club “Los Angeles who are ashamed to be associated with Anaheim” or “Los Angeles formerly known as the team identified with Anaheim”.
California Sports Writer of the Year Award Bill Shaikin Covers Baseball and Sports Business for Los Angeles Times. As he recalls, the Dodgers billed the Angels for each square of toilet paper used in Chavez Canyon during the Los Angeles games. A group of Japanese tourists fly to Los Angeles to watch Shohei Ohtani climb the mound against the Astros. So rest in peace “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim”, the most absurd name we've ever agreed to call a major league team. Now, the “Angels Angels of Anaheim” have existed two years longer than the “Angels of Anaheim”.
Rather, the city said it recognizes professional sports teams that bear the “Los Angeles” name only if their facilities are within the city limits of Los Angeles, in a hilariously serious resolution titled THE TRUTH IN SPORTS ADVERTISING ACT. The Walt Disney corporation opposed the “Mighty Angels of Anaheim”, keeping the team as the Anaheim Angels until selling it to Arte Moreno in 2003. Before settling in Orange County, they first considered moving to Long Beach but approved it when that city insisted on them calling themselves “the Angels of Long Beach”. Prior to 1972 season, they traded six-time All-Star shortstop Jim Fregosi for future Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, who went on to throw four of his record seven career no-hitters in an Angels uniform and contributed to their first playoff spot in 1979 (on a team led by Fregosi).And so, Orange County is and will always be part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. People in other parts of the country don't make distinctions that Orange County residents began to make for their own commercial and often racist reasons in 70s. The city sued alleging that inclusion of Los Angeles in team's name violated spirit if not letter of contract it signed with Disney corporation in 1996. The Los Angeles Angels are a beloved baseball team that has been part of Southern California for decades.
They have been embraced by both Los Angeles and Anaheim and have become an integral part of both cities' culture and history. From their humble beginnings as a minor league affiliate to their World Series victory in 2002, they have been a source of pride for both cities.
