Uneasy Lies the Kingdom

Sid Sommers sat in his seat at Edison Field before the Angels played the Indians Monday night, and when Disney’s possible sale of the Angels was brought up, he shrugged. If they end up selling, he has only two requests.

“They need to make sure the new owner is looking to stay in Orange County and they have to know about baseball,” said Sommers, 67. “They can’t tell [Angel general manager Bill] Bavasi or whoever they hire as general manager what to do if they don’t know what they’re doing themselves.”

Sid and his wife Mary Ann have been coming to games since they moved in 1990 to what is now Laguna Woods. Mary Ann shared Sid’s indifference with Disney’s possible sale, but she did say she preferred it more when Gene Autry was the owner. She said she was shocked at the news, and that Disney was more interested in the bottom line than Autry was.

“I think the difference is that with Autry it was not a business, it was a love,” Mary Ann said. “Autry loved baseball, and he had no one to report to but himself.”

Other Angel fans weren’t as patient with Disney. Al McKinley of Simi Valley complained about the poor pitching, poor hitting and poor record this year, and shook his head emphatically when asked if he thought the team would be better off without Disney’s ownership. He also mentioned Autry’s era, saying that there was a more polite atmosphere among the employees at the stadium.

“It’s been bad,’ said McKinley, 61, who said he comes to three to five Angel games a year. “I’ve been coming here since 1966, and today I was told I couldn’t park where I wanted to. I’ve never been told that before. I feel that they don’t have the same enjoyment and good attitude anymore.”

That’s not to say everyone at Edison Field was ready to show Disney the door. Trudy Davis, Don Carlson and Steve Coates sat at the Angel Booster Club table and all agreed it was too soon for Disney to sell the team. Disney took over controlling interest in the Angels on May 15, 1996.

“They’re coming around,” Davis said. “I hope they stay with us because I think everyone is just getting used to each other. It takes awhile.”

Carlson agreed, saying he didn’t think the team would be sold, rather that changes would take place in personnel. He noted that the atmosphere around the stadium was “more personable” when Autry owned the team, and the fact that there was no single owner made it tough for things to get accomplished.

“You have too much red tape in a corporation,” he said. “If Bavasi wants to pull the string on something, he has to go to someone else who goes to someone else until they get to [Disney CEO Michael] Eisner.”

“But Disney’s got the money,” Coates responded. “As a fan, you want the owner to be willing to spend the money to have a competitive team at least.”

All the money and politics didn’t matter to 12-year-old Andrew Jones, who came to the game with McKinley.

“It’s always fun,” Jones said. “I don’t really care who owns them.”

* ANGELS LOSE AGAIN

Hard-throwing Cleveland pitcher Bartolo Colon shuts out Anaheim, 4-0, on seven hits. Page 8

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BY THE NUMBERS

14%: Decline in Disney stock price in 1999

40%: Decline in stock price since peak in 1998

$130 Mil.: Disney’s purchase price for Angels

$100 Mil.: Cost of renovation of Edison Field

$42 Mil.: Estimated Angel operating losses

22: Angel merchandise rank among 30 MLB teams

$6-9 Mil.: Estimated Duck losses last season