A Mexican American Pastime Also

Crowds cheered heartily at Edison International Field on Saturday night, but not for the hometown Anaheim Angels.

Most of the thousands of fans who attended the exhibition baseball game instead rooted for the Angels’ opponents: the Aguascalientes Rieleros, a Mexican League team short on big-name players but rich in affection from Latino fans north of the border.

It marked the first time a Mexican team played a major league club in a big league ballpark, and the game drew a mostly Latino crowd. Angel officials reported attendance of nearly 25,000, right in the middle of their target range of 20,000 to 30,000. They came from all over the Southland, many donning Angel caps wrapped in ribbons imprinted with the legend “Mexico”.

“It’s a historic day,” said Arnulfo Serrato, a Fullerton resident who bundled himself in a multicolored serape against blustery winds on the unseasonably cold night. “Today I’m proud to be Mexican, and American.”

The game was part of the Angels’ effort to make the team more popular among Orange County Latinos. Though Latinos comprise almost 30% of the county’s population, relatively few consider themselves Angel fans, marketing surveys have shown.

Team executives were shocked by the results of a 1997 survey that showed Spanish-speaking fans in Santa Ana favored the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Texas Rangers and even the Florida Marlins over the team in their own backyard.

Since then, the team has targeted Latino fans by reviving Spanish radio broadcasts, advertising in Spanish-language newspapers and printing pocket schedules in Spanish. Management also included signs in Spanish as well as English in its $117-million renovation of Edison Field.

Saturday’s game was promoted only through Spanish-language media outlets, providing a test case of the Angel initiative. Executives took delight in the large crowd, even if most of the fans weren’t rooting for the home team.

“We’re tickled to death,” said Ron Minegar, vice president for marketing and sales. “This will be a great springboard for us.”

Most of the fans said they felt great pride to see a Mexican team not only take the field against a major league club, but also play competitively. The team led the Angels 2-1 early in the game, though the American team surged ahead in later innings to win 5-2.

“This will show [Americans] that in Mexico they also have good players,” said Jose Luis Valenzuela, a 30-year-old from Aguascalientes who used to play for the Rieleros.

Though there were many Angel fans, most said they were rooting for Aguascalientes out of a sense of loyalty to their homeland. Many of them were transplanted Aguascalientes natives who said they were longtime fans of the club.

“I’m an Angels fan, but today I’m going to support Mexico,” said Jorge Zamora.