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ANGEL STADIUM OF
ANAHEIM
A
LTHOUGH EXTENSIVE
and costly
renovations in the late 1990s provided
striking features andamenities enjoyed
bymanynewbaseballballparks,AngelStadiumof
Anaheim isactually the fourth-oldestactivemajor
leaguestadium inAmerica—andmanydon’t real-
ize it.OriginallyknownasAnaheimStadiumwhen
itopened in 1966, the “BigA” (asmany localsstill
call it) is owned by the City of Anaheim and has
been home to theAmerican League’sAngels for
nearlyhalf a century.
Until 2002, when the franchise won its first
playoff series in history en route towinning its
onlyWorldSeries,many fans thought thestadium
was cursed or the franchisewas jinxed because
of tragic accidents and shootingdeaths, freakish
injuries toplayers (includinga team-busaccident)
and heartbreaking losses when the teamwould
near a championship. (The Angels came up one
game short of the 1982World Series, one strike
short of the 1986World Series andmissed the
playoffs in 1995afterblowingan 11-gamedivision
lead inAugust.)
Unsubstantiated rumors persist that Angel
Stadium sits on the site of an ancient Native
Americanburial ground,whichprobablyexplains
whyonetimeAngelsgeneralmanagerBuzzieBa-
vasi oncehadaCatholicpriest sprinkleholywater
on home plate. In recent years, the Angels won
five division titles in a six-year span but didn’t
make it back to theWorld Series. In addition,
pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in a 2009 auto
accident involving a drunken driver on the same
night he pitched. Since-traded slugger Kendrys
Moralesmissed almost two seasons after being
hurt in a home-plate celebration after hitting a
game-winninghomer in2010.Cursed?Youdecide.
The ballpark food is diverse and tasty, but
there also are quality restaurants and bars in
the area for Angels fans— and themany out-of-
towners visiting nearby Disneyland and Califor-
niaAdventure— to patronize. At
TheCatch
, the
game-daymenu highlights include the famous
OMG burger (a 5-pound patty of ground chuck,
topped with 10 slices of cheddar cheese and
served with 2 pounds of seasoned fries). Cost:
$60. The
OCSportsGrill
features The “Machine”
Burger, a specialty sandwich in Albert Pujols’
honor—ahalf-pounderseasonedwithchimichurri,
queso frito, pulled pork and cabbage sautéed in
Dominican “savon sauce” and toppedwithonion
straws. There are also Angels-themed cocktails
suchas theGorgeousBourjos, TrumboPunchand
RallyMonkeyMargarita. At
J.T. Schmid’s
, there
is a plethora of handcrafted beers on tap and a
hugemenuwith exotic food items, such as The
Twenty Dollar Burger (toppedwith 8 ounces of
prime rib) and jambalaya. Anaheim’s
ESPNZone
has several viewinganddiningareas, includinga
Screening Room that looks like a casino sports
book, with leather recliners and agargantuan 16-
foot HDmonitor surroundedby a dozen 36-inch
TVs. There’s also the second-floor Sports Arena
with 10,000 square feet of interactive games.
Sometimes, it’s difficult to leave evenwhen you
havegame tickets.
U.S. CEL LULAR F I ELD,
CHICAGO
B
ASEBALL HISTORY
in Chicago doesn’t
begin and end at Wrigley Field on the
North Side. Located less than 10 miles
away on the South Side of town is U.S. Cellular
Field (née new Comiskey Park), home of the
AmericanLeague’sChicagoWhiteSox since 1991
andwhere the Sox celebrated the first two vic-
tories of their four-game sweep of the Houston
Astros in the 2005World Series. That ended an
88-year championship drought for the Sox and
put theonusbackon the crosstown-rival Cubs.
“The Cell,” as locals like to call it, was built
across the street fromwhere the original Comis-
keyParkopened to thepublic in 1910. (Homeplate
from the old park is now in amarble plaque on
the sidewalk next to the new park, and the old
ballpark’s foul lines arepainted in theparking lot.
Nice touch.)
ANGELS INTHEOUTFIELD:
Angels fanshavebeen
coming toAngel StadiumofAnaheim for nearly
50years.
TOPANDOPPOSITEPAGE,UPPERLEFT:
U.S.
Cellular Field last sawaWorldSeries andaWhite
Sox championship in2005.
BOTTOM:
a sliced-brisket sandwichatBacardi at
thePark inChicago
58
APRIL 01, 2013
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
