Employee Solicited Bids for Ring

A longtime Angel employee who solicited bids for his World Series championship ring on EBay never got the ring and no longer has his job.

Phil Alger, a computer analyst and programmer, was suspended last week pending an investigation into whether he violated company policy by releasing confidential information in the EBay listing. After his computer passwords were blocked and his company equipment reclaimed, Alger said, he believed his firing was inevitable and submitted his resignation.

The Angels gave players rings appraised at $15,000 each and gave hundreds of employees rings worth about $10,000 each, team vice president Tim Mead said. The Angels required each employee to sign a pledge not to sell his or her ring, Mead said, although Alger departed before those documents -- and the rings -- were distributed.

Alger worked for Disney’s Angels and Mighty Ducks for the last five years, earning $60,000 a year. Alger, 39, said he lived in a rented Riverside home with his wife and mother-in-law, neither of whom is employed.

“I love the Angels. I still do,” Alger said Monday. “I love the ring too, but if I could have gotten $20,000 or $30,000 for it, I would have rather used that money for a down payment on a home.”

So, in the week before the season started and the rings were distributed, Alger listed his ring for sale on EBay, with a picture of a sample but without revealing his name. Several fans contacted the Angels, wondering about authenticity. The Angels investigated, concerned in part about how confidential pictures of the ring were released without approval.

Alger said he identified himself as the potential seller to Angel officials, then withdrew the listing. He also said no one had told him the ring pictures were confidential or that he would have to agree in writing not to sell his ring before receiving it.

Mead said company policy prevented him from discussing personnel matters, beyond confirming that Alger had not been fired but had been put under “investigatory suspension” before his resignation.

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In 1996, when the city of Anaheim contributed $30 million to Disney’s renovation of Anaheim Stadium, city officials assured taxpayers that $20 million would be recouped in tax revenues from shops, restaurants and other developments soon to sprout atop the stadium parking lot.

But the so-called Sportstown never materialized as envisioned, and those millions have yet to return to the city treasury. That makes Frank McCourt, the Boston real estate developer pursuing the purchase of the Angels, a particularly intriguing bidder to city officials.

The city is not involved in Disney’s negotiations to sell the Angels and has no right to veto a buyer approved by major league owners. Disney’s lease, which would be transferred to new owners, binds the Angels to Edison Field through 2030, with a one-time escape clause in 2017.

That plan collapsed, as did another for an indoor snowboarding and surfing venue. The city retained a Cleveland development company responsible for successful shopping and entertainment centers across the country, but the company backed out after failing to attract enough tenants, in part because of competition from similar centers nearby at Downtown Disney and the Block at Orange.

Disney repaid the city $10 million of its stadium renovation investment, as compensation for lost advertising opportunities. The stadium parking lot now has an office building and a theater, which have contributed about $8 million in tax revenues, according to City Manager Dave Morgan.

The city remains eager to develop the rest of the 40-acre site, and McCourt is said to be interested in exploring the prospect.

ON DECK

Opponent -- Seattle Mariners, three games.

Site -- Safeco Field.

TV -- ESPN2 Wednesday, Channel 9 Thursday.

Radio -- KSPN (710) all three games, XKAM (950) Wednesday and Thursday.

Records -- Angels 2-4, Mariners 3-3.

Record vs. Mariners (2002) -- 9-10.

Today, 2 p.m. -- Ramon Ortiz (1-0, 7.20) vs. Jamie Moyer (0-1, 12.46).

Wednesday, 7 p.m. -- Kevin Appier (0-1, 15.75) vs. Joel Pineiro (0-0, 4.50)

Thursday, 7 p.m. -- Jarrod Washburn (0-1, 5.40) vs. Ryan Franklin (1-0, 6.00).