Step Right Up, Friends, and Be an Angel Fan
The Angels, after setting an all-time attendance record, rewarded their loyal fans last Sunday with a cheap carnival trick.
Yes, 10 finalists for the $1-million prize were drawn from Sunday’s ticket stubs. Then at the end of the game, eight-foot-high red numbers reading “3,000,000” were erected in the outfield.
The 10 finalists were narrowed to three. It appeared all one had to do to win the $1 million was to pitch a baseball 60 feet 6 inches through the final “0” in “3,000,000.” Tough but possible. Not so! The PA announcer then proclaimed that the ball must be thrown through a four-inch diameter hole in the center of the “red zero”.
Not Pedro Martinez, not Barry Zito, not Nolan Ryan could throw a three-inch diameter baseball through a four-inch diameter hole. That’s not my idea of a thank-you for fan loyalty that spans 43 seasons.
Jerry Mazenko
Garden Grove
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