Angels ’94 : CALIFORNIA ANGELS : A Whole New Ballgame?

The kids are a year older, and with some more fresh faces from the minors and Bo Jackson from Chicago, they hope to contend in the revamped American League West. Only two players--Mark Langston and Gary DiSarcina--who were in the Angel opening day lineup in 1992 are expected to be there Tuesday.

How to Get There, Seating, Tickets and Tidbits

Home park: Anaheim Stadium

Location: 2000 State College Blvd., Anaheim, 92803

Phone number: (714) 634-2000

Seating capacity: 64,593

1993 attendance: 2,057,460

1993 average per date: 25,400

1993 largest crowd: 60,326 (Sept. 17 vs. Texas Rangers)

Record crowd, regular season: 63,132 (July 4, 1983 vs. Kansas City Royals)

Parking and hours: Parking lots open two hours before game time ($5). Stadium gates open 90 minutes before game.

Advance ticket purchases: Gate No. 1; Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Advance ticket windows on field level behind home plate are open during game. Fax request for order form to (714) 937-7246. There is a $4 service charge. Discover, VISA, MasterCard accepted.

Telephone ticket orders: Ticketmaster: (714) 663-9000 or (213) 480-3232; 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday. MasterCard, VISA, American Express and Discover. Tickets ordered 10 days before a game will be mailed. Late orders can be picked up at Will Call window at Gate 1. Ticketmaster outlets also available at Tower Records, Music Plus and Robinson’s/May (cash only or Robinson’s/May credit card).

Mail order: Must be received at least seven days before the game. Add $4 per order for postage and handling. VISA, MasterCard or Discover. Mail to Angels Tickets, P.O. Box 2000, Anaheim, 92803. View Pavilion: $5 Club Pavilion: $5 Terrace Pavilion: $5 Field Pavilion: $5 Lower View: $8 Terrace Box: $9 Club Box: $11 Field Box: $11

Handicapped seating: Wheelchair areas are available on the Terrace level. To order call (714) 634-2000 or inquire at Gate 1 at the stadium.

Smoking policy: City ordinance prohibits smoking in seating areas. Smoking permitted in the concourse areas only.

Angel giveaways: 4/17-Magnetic calendar; 4/30-Baseball cap; 5/7-Umbrella; 5/21-Wiffle bat and ball*; 6/11-Car shade; 7/16-Calculator; 7/22-Baseball helmet; 7/24-Dean Chance commemorative pin; 8/6-Sports bag; 8/27-Bike bag; 9/10-Notebook

Local television and radio: KTLA (Ch. 5) will televise 44 road games and 6 home games. KTLA, which also televises the Dodgers, will show one team or the other nearly every Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout the season (112 total games). Listen to all Angel games on KMPC 710 AM.

Seating Shuffle: The Angels restructured the seating prices this season. Instead of having center field and general admission tickets, the entire outfield section is now called Pavilion seating; prices for these tickets are $5. Another pricing change occurred in the View section. The very top row of seats, now called Upper View, will sell for $7; the next section below the walkway, Lower View, will sell for $8. In addition, there are no longer children’s tickets. But kids under 2 are free.

No Can Do Two: There’ll be no freeway doubleheaders this year. The only date when both the Angels and Dodgers are both at home is April 27, and unless there is a schedule change, both games will begin at 7:35. Cable hookup: Prime Ticket will broadcast 22 Angel games throughout the season.

The Team

Opening Day Order (’93 averages) 1. Chad Curtis, CF .285 2. Damion Easley, 3B .313 3. Tim Salmon, RF .283 4. Chili Davis, DH .243 5. Eduardo Perez, 1B .250 6. Dwight Smith, LF .300 7. Greg Myers, C .255 8. Harold Reynolds, 2B .252 9. Gary DiSarcina, SS .238

New Faces

Most prominent will be Bo Jackson, the charismatic former Raider, who has defied experts by playing major league baseball with an artificial hip.

Bo Jackson / DH-OF 1993 with Chicago White Sox:

AVG. HRs RBIs .232 16 45

Most gifted all-around athlete of his era?

Dwight Smith / OF 1993 with Chicago Cubs:

AVG. HRs RBIs .300 11 35

Free-agent acquisition adds depth, good bat.

The Skipper

Despite a 71-91 record last year, Buck Rodgers returns for his fourth season. He took the team over in August, 1991.

Buck Rodgers / Manager Record as a major league manager

WON LOST PCT. 748 732 .505

On a Good Day

If you want to maximize your chances of seeing the Angels win, maybe you should plan to head over to the Big A on a Wednesday or a Saturday. Since the franchise saddled up in 1961, Wednesdays (404-400, .502) and Saturdays (427-417, .506) are the two days of the week on which the Angels have a cumulative winning record. Worst day: Thursdays, (243-289, .457). Mondays: .488 Tuesdays: .476 Wednesdays: .502 Thursdays: .457 Fridays: .476 Saturdays: .506 Sundays: .472

Fan Fade

The Angels have drawn more than 2 million fans to the Big A for 12 consecutive seasons. But since 1989, when they attracted 2.6 million, attendance has slipped each year. Last season’s 2,057,460 total was the lowest since strike-shortened 1981. ‘89: 2,647,291 ‘93: 2,057,460

Jumbled Jumbotron

The Big A’s earthquake-damaged scoreboard will not be replaced until August. The new one will be 1,092 square feet--a 30% increase. That will make it the second largest in the major leagues; Toronto’s Skydome has the biggest screen. The new board will also have the ability to do light shows and special effects. Until it is installed, replays and highlights will be shown on a temporary scoreboard located in the lower deck in left field.

Dean and Cy

This season is the 30th anniversary of Dean Chance winning the Cy Young Award, given each year to the outstanding pitcher in each league. Chance is the only Angel to win the award, and he did it in high style, leading the major leagues in ERA (1.65) and shutouts (11) and the AL in victories (20). Chance will be honored on July 24 when the Angels issue a commemorative pin celebrating his achievement.

New Hope

It has been awhile since the words Angels and playoffs have been mentioned in the same sentence. But this season’s new three-division alignment will leave the Angels with just three teams to beat in order to make it to the post-season. Last season, they had identical 6-7 records against all three. Here’s how the new American League West teams finished in 1993:

Team Won Lost Pct. Texas Rangers 86 76 .537 Seattle Mariners 82 80 .506 California Angels 71 91 .438 Oakland A’s 68 94 .420

Two Hangups

In the history of the American League, 44 players have had their numbers retired. But only two have received that honor from two different league teams: Rollie Fingers (Oakland and Milwaukee) and Angel hitting coach Rod Carew. Carew wore number 29 for both the Angels, who hung up the number in 1986, and Minnesota Twins, who did it in 1987.

The Schedule

All times Pacific daylight and subject to change

K: Televised on KTLA, Channel 5

P: Televised on Prime Ticket

AWAY GAMES

APRIL 5 Min. 5:05 K 6 Min. 5:05 7 Min. 10:15 8 Mil. 4:05 9 Mil. 11:05 K 10 Mil. 11:05 K 19 Bal. 4:35 20 Bal. 4:35 21 Bal. 4:35 K 22 Bos. 4:05 K 23 Bos. 10:05 K 24 Bos. 10:05 K 25 N.Y. 4:05 K 26 N.Y. 10:05

MAY 9 Tex. 5:35 10 Tex. 5:35 11 Tex. 5:25 13 Sea. 7:35 K 14 Sea. 7:05 K 15 Sea. 1:35 K 24 Det. 4:05 25 Det. 4:05 26 Det. 10:15 27 Tor. 4:35 K 28 Tor. 10:35 K 29 Tor. 10:35 K 30 Cle. 4:05 K 31 Cle. 4:05

JUNE 1 Cle. 4:05 13 K.C. 5:05 K 14 K.C. 5:05 K 15 K.C. 5:05 16 Chi. 5:05 K 17 Chi. 5:05 K 18 Chi. 4:05 K 19 Chi. 11:35 K 27 Oak. 7:05 28 Oak. 7:05 K 29 Oak. 12:15

JULY 1 Bal. 4:35 K 2 Bal. 4:05 K 3 Bal. 10:35 K 4 Bos. 10:05 K 5 Bos. 4:05 K 6 Bos. 4:05 7 N.Y. 10:05 8 N.Y. 4:05 K 9 N.Y. 11:05 K 10 N.Y. 10:35 K 12 All-Star Game 28 Tex. 5:35 K 29 Tex. 5:35 K 30 Tex. 5:35 K 31 Tex. 5:05

AUGUST 2 Sea. 7:05 K 3 Sea. 7:35 4 Sea. 7:05 K 12 Det. 4:05 K 13 Det. 5:05 14 Det. 11:35 K 16 Mil. 5:05 K 17 Mil. 5:05 18 Mil. 11:05 19 Min. 5:05 K 20 Min. 5:05 21 Min. 11:05 K 30 Tor. 4:35 K 31 Tor. 4:35

SEPTEMBER 1 Tor. 4:35 K 2 Cle. 5:05 3 Cle. 10:05 4 Cle. 10:05 16 K.C. 5:05 17 K.C. 5:05 K 18 K.C. 11:35 K 19 Chi. 5:05 20 Chi. 5:05 21 Chi. 10:35 29 Oak. 7:05 30 Oak. 8:05

OCTOBER 1 Oak. 1:05 2 Oak. 1:05

HOME GAMES

APRIL 11 Cle. 1:05 12 Cle. 7:05 13 Cle. 7:35 14 Tor. 7:05 15 Tor. 7:05 16 Tor. 7:05 P 17 Tor. 1:05 P 27 Bal. 7:35 28 Bal. 7:05 29 Bos. 7:05 P 30 Bos. 7:05 K

MAY 1 Bos. 5:05 3 N.Y. 7:05 K 4 N.Y. 7:35 5 Oak. 7:05 6 Oak. 7:05 7 Oak. 7:05 K 8 Oak. 10:05 16 Chi. 7:05 K 17 Chi. 7:05 P 18 Chi. 7:35 19 K.C. 7:05 20 K.C. 7:05 21 K.C. 7:05 P 22 K.C. 1:05

JUNE 3 Mil. 7:05 P 4 Mil. 7:05 5 Mil. 1:05 6 Min. 7:05 P 7 Min. 7:05 8 Min. 1:05 9 Det. 7:05 10 Det. 7:05 P 11 Det. 7:05 12 Det. 1:05 20 Sea. 7:05 P 21 Sea. 7:05 P 22 Sea. 7:35 24 Tex. 7:05 P 25 Tex. 6:05 26 Tex. 1:05

JULY 14 Bal. 7:05 P 15 Bal. 7:05 16 Bal. 8:05 17 Bal. 1:05 18 Bos. 8:05 19 Bos. 7:05 20 Bos. 7:35 P 21 N.Y. 7:05 K 22 N.Y. 7:05 P 23 N.Y. 7:05 P 24 N.Y. 1:05 26 Oak. 7:05 K 27 Oak. 1:05

AUGUST 5 Chi. 7:05 P 6 Chi. 8:05 7 Chi. 1:05 8 K.C. 7:05 P 9 K.C. 7:05 10 K.C. 7:35 23 Mil. 7:05 24 Mil. 7:35 P 25 Mil. 7:05 26 Cle. 8:05 27 Cle. 7:05 P 28 Cle. 1:05

SEPTEMBER 6 Tor. 7:05 P 7 Tor. 7:35 8 Min. 7:05 9 Min. 8:05 10 Min. 7:05 11 Min. 1:05 13 Det. 7:05 P 14 Det. 7:35 22 Sea. 7:05 23 Sea. 8:05 24 Sea. 7:05 25 Sea. 1:05 26 Tex. 7:05 27 Tex. 7:05 P 28 Tex. 7:35

Source: California Angels