Where the Angels are and where the Red Sox/Yankees are

Don’t forget the small city that Matsui will bring in. He has a following all in its own. He will bring this team even more money and improve the offense at the same time. Plus the Angels will be able to make money on the TV viewing rights in Japan.

Agree on population draw, but this is a very affluent market with an owner (Nintendo) willing to pay big market payroll and a wonderful stadium. Seattle always has a top team payroll, they just have not been able to allocate it in a winning manner! They seem to be moving closer to that re-allocation. I don’t consider them a major threat for 2010, but the West is not what it was.

They have a large area (all of New England) to draw from, a small but lucrative park that is easily (and constantly) filled, their own sports network for added revenue, and a talented management that spends wisely and routinely fields 95+ win teams. Unlike almost every other major market team (LA, Chicago, New York) there is no other regional team for them to compete with for fans. Finally, there is a large and intensely devoted fanbase that has stuck with them for decades of despair; the loss of bandwagoners wouldn’t hit the team that hard.

about the depth of the base’s loyalty…

I mean, I live and grew up in Santa Barbara, and one of my earliest memories is of watching a very young Cal Ripken and his Orioles pound the Angels on a black and white TV…. Channel 5 baby, and I was sad cause my dad was unhappy. I remember Bobby Gritch being very excited and not knowing why, and people chanting “Boooooone” when Bob Boone came up (I thought they were booing him and asked mom why). If your parents are a fan, you become a fan of the team before you even fully understand what’s going on. You pick on Willie Fraser cause he looks goofy, he sucks, and your parents groan everytime he comes in. You love Brian Downing because he reminds you of your dad.

So if I had my love for the Angels instilled in me from 76-86, when we were good but not THIS good, and still not drawing well, then imagine how many kids are being pre-programed to root for Howie and Kendry now, with 3million a year coming out! And how many times have I had to sit in a local bar where the two young women sitting next to me yell “Dodgers bitch!” but can’t name more than three players on the team. They watch the team, were the t-shirt and root for the Doyers because that’s what their dad did with them as a kid.

My point is that every dedicated fan can generate several more over the years, this builds the team into a powerhouse, Dodger fans are a product of repressive, child abuse like family tradition, and Arte needs to get that regional thing covered and get on a damn radio station I can hear up here or my kids are gonna go Padres.

We are just now entering the 2nd and 3rd generations of Angel fans. I’d say in about 20 years we could probably have a fanbase the size of New York and Boston, given the population that lives in the market.

I mean, we’re seeing Angel fans on TV at road games all over the place now, even a few in places like NY, and I don’t remember seeing that at all growing up.

I think you can throw out any blueprint for success under these conditions. However, it seems like Angelos has allowed the professionals to run the baseball team since McPhail came aboard.