Since May 16, when the Los Angeles Angels were 24-14 and tied for 1st in the AL West, the team’s done about as well as ex-Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu, going 20 and 47 as of Aug. 5, slipping into irrelevance during another lost season.
Fans looking for an escape could be forgiven for spending more time checking out the scene in and around Angel Stadium than the game itself, and those looking to get away may have seen prominent ads for Hotel Villagio on the pitcher’s mound during the Aug. 2 telecast of the Angels game with the Oakland A’s, and another ad for Vintage House behind home plate.
New additions to the Disneyland Resort area? No, both are part of The Estates at Yountville, the Napa-area resort acquired by Newport Beach’s Gary Jabara last year in a deal worth nearly $300 million.
Jabara, a big baseball fan who once tried to buy the San Diego Padres, no doubt was targeting A’s fans watching the game in Northern California, but probably caught the attention of some Angels fans already waiting till next year.
Before turning his attention to Brea’s real estate scene, collectibles and other ventures, Dwight Manley was a notable sports agent, once representing Dennis Rodman.
Manley is back in the sports pages, thanks to a recent lawsuit filed in OC Superior Court, against the Los Angeles Rams and Fanfaire, a related fan membership organization.
The suit alleges “a devious and deliberate scheme devised by the Rams billionaire owner Stan Kroenke and his lawyer, Alan Bornstein, to make more money at the expense of loyal Rams fans,” according to a July 29 statement.
Manley’s lawsuit claims he was talked into paying about $1 million for six Stadium Seat Licenses—which give a buyer the ability to purchase season tickets—at the team’s new home in Inglewood, and was told that there would be “an online trading platform and secondary market for the SSLs” going forward.
After the Rams won the Super Bowl, Manley thought he’d be able to resell the SSLs for a profit but has been unable to do so because the promised secondary market doesn’t exist, the suit alleges.
Christopher Pitet, managing partner of the Newport Beach office of Adkisson Pitet LLP, is representing Manley.
Shohei Ohtani might be considering a lawsuit of his own—one alleging criminal negligence by his employers—after pitching and hitting in the Aug. 3 matchup against the A’s; the Angels lost 3-1.
Joining Ohtani in the lineup that game: the opposite of the 1920s-era Yankees Murderers’ Row. Ten Angels with batting averages at or below a paltry .231 batted during the game, including an astounding seven players hitting at the Mendoza Line of .200 or under (some well under).
The MLB average this year is .243.
“Right now, I’m an Angel, and that’s all I can focus on,” last year’s AL MVP told reporters on July 28, via his translator. Not a ringing endorsement from Arte Moreno’s prized international star, who reportedly brings in over $10 million in endorsement revenue to the team each year.
