Angels Making Some Waves on the Web

The Angels are on the air, and the fans are listening through their computer speakers as they dispatch e-mail. . . .

* From South Korea: “Feels like I’m home.”

* From New Zealand: “I’m a long-time Angel fan . . . What’s the status on Gary’s thumb?”

* From South Carolina: “How about sending me some of those baseball cards you guys were playing around with last night?”

That the Angels, without a pennant to their credit, have a national and international following is wondrous enough. That these fans can listen to the broadcasters and write to them--at the same time--is a small testament to the power of technology.

“For somebody in Ireland to be listening to you calling a game is an impressive concept,” said Mario Impemba, one of the Angels’ radio voices.

Yet the interactive capabilities extend far beyond sending Impemba an e-mail inquiry about shortstop Gary DiSarcina’s thumb injury and hearing an answer through your computer in New Zealand. With a click or two, fans can continue to listen to the game on their computer while buying tickets to another game, looking up scores and statistics and debating strategy with other fans.

“Radio and the Web [are] starting to provide that interactivity in ways TV can’t yet,” said Rick Burton, director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon. “For the moment, the marriage of computer and radio has taken off.”

When Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry T. Nicholas III considered buying the Angels (and Mighty Ducks) last year, he envisioned a day in the not-too-distant future when fans could watch the game on television and, simply by using remote control, view replays, interviews and statistics, and send and receive e-mail.

That so-called “convergence”--the merging of computer and television into one device--may not be far away. But with radio, the dinosaur among electronic media, a futuristic broadcast is already here.

For the cost of logging on to the Internet--typically, a local phone call--fans can do much more than sit and listen to the radio, or sit and watch the TV.

“The interactivity with the computer beats the one-dimensionality of the TV,” Burton said. “It’s a little foreign to the baby boomers. But, to the younger generation, it’s a pretty simple thing.”

Nicholas and other merchants of convergence promise fans the chance to direct their own telecast by selecting from a variety of camera angles, close-ups and replays. Aside from brief clips, video is not available on the Angels’ Web site.

But there is money to be made online, and teams need not wait for convergence to cash in. By clicking onto angelsbaseball.com for the radio broadcast and then clicking through the site, fans can buy tickets, including box seats at half-price for Friday’s game, the latest Internet-only special.

The Angels sold 28,000 tickets online last season, roughly one of every 100 tickets sold overall. They already had sold more than 13,000 tickets online this season, spokeswoman Nancy Mazmanian said.

Fans also can buy team merchandise while they listen to the game at home, although the selection is far greater at Edison Field than in the online store.

The interactive experience does not require a purchase, of course.

What’s the score of that Cleveland-Seattle game? With Angel closer Troy Percival warming up, who’s the best hitter among the opposing team’s possible pinch-hitters? Click around the Web to find out.

Want to second-guess Manager Mike Scioscia? No need to wait for the postgame show; click on the Angels’ bulletin board or chat room.

Behind the scenes, Impemba and partner Daron Sutton click away too, finding details of other games and other information that may interest or amuse listeners, including Canadian Football League trivia to spice up a slow-moving game in Toronto. Rob Smoot, who produces the broadcasts, sits behind Impemba and Sutton and prints out e-mails for them to answer.

“You’re not going to have Pedro Martinez and Kent Bottenfield every night,” Impemba said. “On the nights we’re going three-plus hours, it gives us a chance to keep the broadcast moving.”

The Angels’ Web site attracts some 50,000 visitors per day, according to the team. Although they can’t tell how many fans listen to a game on the computer, Impemba and Sutton receive about 50 e-mails per game, a few from military personnel dispersed around the world and lonely for baseball.

“That gives you a neat feeling,” Impemba said. “They’re performing an important service. If you can give them some sort of escape, that’s great.”

And then there was the e-mail from the woman who wanted to know whether left fielder Darin Erstad is married. As of this past January, he is.

“She got her answer on the air,” Impemba said. “It may not have been the answer she wanted, but she got her answer.”