ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : A Park Fit for Baseball Takes Shape in Anaheim

As Angels fans make the necessary psychological adjustments to the reconstruction of Anaheim Stadium, to a new name and new uniforms, and to the marketing wizardry of Disney management, it is worth remembering that there once was a citrus field where home plate now stands. Like the opening of Disneyland, the arrival of Gene Autry’s Angels and the inauguration of the Big A in 1966 became a defining moment for Orange County, contributing to its modern sense of unity and place.

Now, through the dust, the county looks again to its future in Anaheim. The host city and the county at large should be glad that, if there is some dislocation to be endured during the modernization, it is good after all to still have a major league baseball team around while going through the discomforts of being modernized.

An aura of construction was in the brisk evening air as the Angels opened their season at home last week in two games against the Boston Red Sox. The new Big A, or more appropriately, “Anaheim Stadium, the Work in Progress” so far is a little cozier and windier.

On one of those nights, Thursday, the promise of the future was very much in evidence. The huge outfield seats constructed for football are gone. They will not be missed by anyone except those who like watching baseball through binoculars. As 17,323 people looked around at an altered ballpark, they saw the rookie pitcher Jason Dickson pitch a complete-game five-hitter to lead the Angels to victory.

No doubt, a terrific new facility will be great as a family entertainment destination. However, it will take more performances like the one for Game 2 to get the juices of baseball fans going, and put people in the seats. The best thing that the Angels can do to ensure the success of the new stadium will be to build and sustain a winning team down on the field.

Though it was far too early for the competitiveness of divisional races, there was some excitement in the air. A spirited contingent of relatives and friends of the Red Sox rookie shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, who hails from Whittier, traded cheers, oohs and aahs with surrounding Angels fans in a close and well-played contest.

In an era of big money and seemingly anonymous players, “Anaheim Stadium, the Work in Progress” seems nicely en route to providing one of the game’s endearing but endangered assets--a natural intimacy between players, fans and the ballpark.