We went to the Team Store this afternoon and ya know what? There is just not enough variety in the merchandise they sell. And they need to either switch designers or get more ideas produced into products. A neighbor of mine was once creative director for Arte's billboard company and now works for an independent advertising agency. Believe you me, I am not posting this to get the guy a gig, just to point out that the Angels might not be tapping into all of the potential creative resources they have.
Great Angel moments are always born of spontaneity - Vlad's heavenly homerun kiss as a logo, the birth of the Rally Monkey on the jumbotron, "Just Another Halo Victory". Everything in the team store seems forced, designed by a committe, approved by a corporate parent with watered-down intentions.
I'm not complaining about the prices - I'm complaining about the dearth of interesting merchandise.
There are a million things you can do. Bad drawings of Darin Erstad are not among them. I love the red, but differentiating merchandise is impossible in a sea of it. Can you mix in a little black, white, grey anywhere?
We had the bucks to burn and walked out of the store with two mini-bats that are presents for friends. Maybe there are limitations to what they can do with the Players' Union or MLB, but the store was ridiculously limited - for example, the only fitted cap is the players field cap. No old styles, no colors beyond red. Type in "Angels Cap" in eBay and you will have a more enjoyable and diversified browsing experience than at the team store.
While it was a nice pilgrimage, complete with getting Halloween candy at the Team's front office (Where I lost my nerve to inquire about the Manny Ramirez rumors), something I wanted to captivate me didn't. I guess April is still a long way away.