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LA Angels Series Preview: Trout and Bellinger go head to head

Ryan Falla|
ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 30: Brian Goodwin #18 is greeted at the dugout by Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning of the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on April 30, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 30: Brian Goodwin #18 is greeted at the dugout by Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning of the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on April 30, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
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Yes, it is a rivalry

As much as people like to say that games between the Dodgers and Angels are insignificant, without any powerful rivalry ties aside from sharing the name of a city, this sentiment couldn’t be farther from the truth. When these two teams meet head-to-head the stadium they play in falls into a playoff atmosphere in an instant. This season has all the story lines to shoot the tensions between the two fan bases through the stratosphere.

Cody Bellinger has had the best season of any athlete in baseball for 2019 and because of that we’ve had to hear the annual revival of the oh-so-hot take of “is so and so actually better than Trout?”

This year we’re seeing Bellinger as the man being hailed to finally surpass Trout as the best player in baseball despite him having just 63 games of astronomical success compared to Trouts eight full seasons of first ballot Hall of Fame performance. That isn’t to diminish Bellinger’s accomplishments this season, but at the same time this is something that’s sparked some extra intensity between the Angels and Dodgers fanbases.

Trent Rush talks about challenging week for Angels:

This rivalry is clearly a rivalry between fan bases and not exactly between players/teams, we all know the Dodgers and Angels have less intense views of each other when it comes time to meet on the field. They’ve never met in the playoffs, they play just a few games a year and despite sharing the name of a city the Angels have never really made a serious push to threaten the Dodgers for “ownership” of LA.

Given that the Dodgers fanbase views the Angels as non-threatening this only stokes the flames of war on the side of the Angel fans as we all know this team is very capable of competing despite them coming up short all too often. All of this fuel is only going to stoke those same flames between the fanbases; if the Angels win than Dodger fans will dismiss it as “meaningless games” and then mock Angel fans as “desperate” and “arrogant” for having the gall to celebrate a couple wins against a superior team. On the other hand if the Dodgers win that fanbase will use it as ammo for their “Angels are garbage and their fans are worse” takes.

Is anyone else really getting fired up to watch the Angels shock the Dodgers or is it just me?

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