10 Ways Games are Different at Angel Stadium versus Dodger Stadium

To the rest of the nation, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Anaheim Angels of Anaheim teams represent the “greater Los Angeles area.” What do they know? Go ask Angels and Dodgers fans if their squads represent the same place, and expect a bunch of brickbats hurled by each side at the other (and don’t even get families split by allegiances started unless you want to see tíos who remember Davey Lopes and Ron Cey fight their Trout-lovin‘ nephews—just sayin’!). To love the Angels or Dodgers is to love different philosophies, histories, players and gear, and nowhere is it more evident than in the stadium experience for each team.

Full disclosure: I’m not the biggest baseball fan. But if anything, that gives me more of an objective eye. On to the scoreboard!

Angel Stadium is More “Family-Friendly”

Dodger games have a rightful reputation for being a puro pinche pari, leaving Angel games looking like a Calvary Chapel bible study by comparison.  According to Jose Antonio, an Angels fan at last week’s game against the Texas Rangers, “You’re at Disneyland at Angel Stadium and at Dodger Stadium, you’re at a baseball game.” he says with a chuckle. 

“Angel stadium is more of a family-friendly environment and Dodger Stadium is more of a social environment for a group of friends.” says Brianna Rivera, a Dodgers fan checking out the Angels game. “Angel fans tend to be a little nicer.” says Frank Lopez, another Dodgers fan, as he explains that the threat of being jeered is almost non-existent at Angel Stadium, which brings us to our next point…

You Can Wear the Gear of Other Teams at Angel Stadium, And You Won’t Get Heckled
Every baseball fan in Southern California knows that anyone who shows up to a Dodgers game in anything other than Dodger blue is asking to be mercilessly heckled. Yet at Angel Stadium, one can wear any other professional baseball team’s gear and sit in the stadium in peace. “At Angel Stadium, Dodger fans will heckle Angel fans on their own turf,” Antonio said with a laugh. “I’ve worn Indians, Orioles and Dodger stuff at Angel Stadium and nobody says anything,” says Lopez.

Angel Stadium Is Cheaper

Angel stadium has the lowest per-game prices on season tickets, averaging $9.80 each and reasonably priced parking at $10 upon arrival— that’s the Dodgers’ $20 parking fee right there! (However, Dodger parking is $10 when purchased online) With the ten bucks you save on parking at Angel Stadium, you can buy yourself and a buddy a beer for $4.50 each while Dodger Stadium’s brews come out to $6.25 each. Don’t forget: having beer without a hot dog at the ballpark is sinful. Thankfully, the Angel dog is priced at a meager $4.50, while a Dodger Dog comes in at $5.50. Perhaps the Dodger’s $236 million payroll (in comparison to the Angels’ $146 million payroll) factors into Dodger stadium’s pricier ticket and parking sales? 

Dodger Stadium Has Better Food
Sorry Halos fans, but Cracker Jacks and peanuts just don’t cut it anymore. Angel Stadium can’t seem to compete with the eclectic Dodger menu of elotes, bacon-wrapped hot dogs, meatball marinara sandwiches, and other gourmet yet ballpark casual eats.  Shiet, I wouldn’t be surprised to even see Guisados move into Chavez Ravine in the near future

Angel Stadium is WAY Quieter
Angel Stadium brings on the noise, from the rumbling opener of Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky” to introduce the night’s starting lineup to fan contests and scoreboard games to kiss cams, beach balls, the Wave, and beyond. Yet when it comes to actually cheering what’s happening on the field? Quiet, quiet, quiet. Even the fans in the cheap sheets don’t compare to the enthusiasm in Dodger Stadium’s box seats. You know your fan base is quiet AF when they get rowdiest for the light wave, the tamest fan tradition ever known in the history of professional baseball. 

Dodger Stadium Has Better Beer

While both stadiums offer traditional and craft beer selections, one major beer option sets Dodger Stadium apart. “You can’t go to an Angels’ game and get a Michelada.” says Rivera. BOOM

Angel Stadium Is Less Diverse

“You see a lot more diversity at Dodger Stadium.” says Rivera and cites the Dodger’s history of culturally diverse signings such as Chan Ho Park, Yasiel Puig, Fernando Valenzuela, and Jackie Robinson as a draw for ethnic fans.  “Not that the Angels haven’t been diverse, but the Dodgers set a high standard in all of baseball.” says Lopez.  

That was the old Dodgers, back in the days when the Angels’ franchise player was Wally Joyner, the whitest person on Earth not named Curt Pringle. But one of the few smart moves of the team under Arte Moreno was to start recruiting Latin American ballplayers, attracting a new generation of diverse fans. “Since I moved to this country when I was 12, the first game I saw on T.V. was Dodgers versus Angels,” Antonio says, “I could’ve been a Dodgers fan if I wanted to, but I saw Vladimir Guerrero playing and that was it, I said ‘That’s my team.'”

Angel Stadium is Easier to Get In and Out Of
While both stadiums are adjacent to major freeways, the Orange Crush’s traffic is nonexistent compared to the Bermuda Triangle that is the 110, 5, and 101 freeways. It may take around 45 minutes to make it out of Dodger Stadium’s parking lot, while exiting Angel stadium only takes about 10 to 15 minutes, usually. 

Angel Stadium Allows Tailgating
America’s other great pastime, tailgating, is welcomed at the family-friendly Angel Stadium yet strictly prohibited at Dodger Stadium (don’t tell the primos that!). Seems like the stadiums have a different attitude when it comes to trusting their patrons—wonder why…

Angel Broadcasters Sound Biased When Compared to Vin Scully

When the Dodgers mess up, their fans and Vin Scully relentlessly hold them accountable.  Yet when the Angels mess up, there seems to be more of a forgiving and passive relationship among their fans and broadcasters. “You can hear it in the broadcast—the Angel broadcasters— you can tell they’re kinda Angel fans,” says Lopez, “Vince Scully is like the most unbiased broadcaster there ever was. He obviously likes being associated with the Dodgers, but he doesn’t like people thinking he favors them.”

Both Angel Dogs and Dodger Dogs Still Suck
This last blurb isn’t exactly a way that Angel and Dodger stadium differ but more so a rant on how these two professional baseball teams based in one of America’s greatest food-scapes can’t seem to step their hot dog game up. While the Dodgers’ 10-inch ballpark frank looks unique, it tastes just as bland as the Angels’ sad, impotent dog. It’s 2016, team execs: we can do better.