OK, Fans, What’s the Story?

When producers of a Major League Baseball commercial were casting for heartfelt stories about the sport, 1,000 fans in Boston braved sub-zero, blizzard conditions to talk about their beloved Red Sox.

When the casting call moved to New York and St. Louis, 500 people in each city turned out for a role in baseball’s marketing campaign “I Live for This.”

And when the campaign rolled into Anaheim on Tuesday -- a cloudless, 70-degree day in laid-back Southern California -- all of about 200 fans responded to the invitation to play a role in the TV commercial, less than half what baseball officials had expected.

Some showed up with faces painted in Angel blue and red. Several wore replica jerseys of their favorite Angel players. Others believed decibel level would determine who was the most enthusiastic Angel fan.

But behind the screamers and colorful outfits were a few fans who connected with the casting directors on a deeper level: a father and a deaf son who communicated his passion for baseball in sign language; a 50-year-old man who kept a lifelong promise to his son by taking him to the Angels’ first World Series game, in 2002; and a woman dressed as a baseball who brought her Angel lunch pail, Rally Monkey, antique glove and baseball fan resume.

While waiting in line for auditions to begin, some fans criticized owner Arte Moreno’s decision to change the team’s name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

“[Moreno] has misjudged the fans of Anaheim,” said Lori Christensen of Silverado Canyon. “The name change has upset me deeply, but I’m still an Angel fan.”

Others moaned about the departures of shortstop David Eckstein, reliever Troy Percival and third baseman Troy Glaus, who signed as free agents elsewhere.

But once the auditions began, the casting directors made it clear they didn’t want a critique of the Angels’ off-season moves or the name change. This was a chance, they said, for Angel fans to rhapsodize about a “unique baseball experience.”

The Angels are one of six 2004 playoff teams whose fans will appear in the 30-second spots, to be shown on national television beginning in March.

The ad campaign continues a theme introduced in 2003, with Major League players professing their passion for the game.

Kathleen Fineout, a Major League Baseball spokeswoman, said one to six fans in each city would be flown to Miami this month for the shoot.

“We’re looking for the right story,” Fineout said, “not the most colorful, or the one who can do back flips like Ozzie Smith of the Cardinals used to do.”

In groups of 10, fans were ushered into the Angels’ Diamond Club and efficiently interviewed by a pair of judges. “What’s your favorite baseball experience?” they asked. “Who’s your favorite Angel of all time?”

Some of the fans were summarily dismissed after just a few minutes. Others were invited to hang around for more grilling. Some seemed woefully unprepared, struggling to find drama in their testimonials.

Commercial producers said they would make the final call Tuesday.

Tim Heitkamp of Chino got in line at 3 a.m. with his son, Steve, but he knew that wasn’t what resonated with casting directors.

“They were looking for a unique story, and I thought my son saying in sign language, “I Live for This,” would be pretty unique,” Heitkamp said.

But there was more to Heitkamp’s story. In 1973, he turned down an opportunity to play for the Angels’ instructional team in Idaho. A street maintenance worker for Ontario, Heitkamp and his son attend about 30 Angel games a year. Steve, who suffered brain damage and loss of hearing from a traumatic birth, spoke about meeting Curtis Pride, an Angel outfielder who is also deaf. He showed the judges his treasured photograph of the meeting.

Fifty-year-old Allen Johncox’s story wasn’t as dramatic, but it got him a callback.

Johncox, who wore a lighted green halo atop his Angel cap, attended his first Angel game in 1963 at Chavez Ravine, where the team played before moving to Anaheim. Johncox told how, as a child, he replayed Game 7 of the World Series over and over -- by throwing into a backyard pitching net.

“I think I was undefeated,” Johncox said.

When he became a father, he began taking his son Jeff to Angel games.

“When he was 7 or 8, I promised him that I’d take him to Game 1 if the Angels ever made the Series,” Johncox said. “My son became a sportswriter in Oklahoma, and he wrote a beautiful personal story about how a father kept his promise to his son.”

Major League Baseball officials were hoping there were a few more fans like Johncox on Tuesday. Despite the low turnout, Angel officials said Tuesday, they expect to sell a record 27,000 season tickets this year, about 5,000 more than last year.