Freeway Series
Los Angeles Angels
Los Angeles Dodgers
LocationGreater Los Angeles
First meetingJune 17, 1997
Dodger Stadium
Dodgers 4, Angels 3
Latest meetingJuly 8, 2023
Dodger Stadium
Dodgers 10, Angels 5
Statistics
Meetings total144
Most winsAngels
Regular season seriesAngels, 73–71 (.507)[1]
Largest victoryAngels: 13–0 (2004)
Dodgers: 16–3 (2006)
Longest win streak
  • Angels: 6 (2003–2004)
  • Dodgers: 10 (2021–2023)
Current win streakDodgers, 10
🌍
Locations of Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers

The Freeway Series is a Major League Baseball (MLB) interleague rivalry played between the Los Angeles Angels and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Angels are members of the American League (AL) West division, and the Dodgers are members of the National League (NL) West division. The series takes its name from the massive freeway system in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area, the home of both teams; one could travel from one team's stadium to the other simply by driving along the Santa Ana Freeway (Interstate 5). The term is akin to Subway Series which refers to meetings between New York City baseball teams. The term "Freeway Series" also inspired the official name of the region's NHL rivalry between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks: the Freeway Face-Off.[2]

Background

The rise of Southern California as a major region of the United States brought about a significant economic rivalry between neighboring Los Angeles and Orange counties.

To many living outside of Southern California, the entire region is often simply referred to as "LA", associating Los Angeles and Orange counties with the same stereotypes and preconceptions. However, the two counties differ sharply in political ideology, socioeconomic status, and demographics.

Los Angeles County is considered more liberal, and is represented by a more ethnically diverse population, while Orange County was known to be one of the most conservative areas in the state.[3] This divide led to the Los Angeles/Orange county line being colloquially referred to as the Orange Curtain.

This can be somewhat misleading, though, because the older, more urban, cities of northern and central Orange County (Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Buena Park, etc.) are much more in tune with Los Angeles County cities than their southern Orange County counterparts. These older Orange County cities are much less homogeneous than the south, and the income levels and demographics represent this.

In recent years, coinciding with the postseason success of the Dodgers and the growing postseason drought for the Angels, gameday experiences for each team have drastically changed (with a Dodgers game costing much more money to attend than an Angels game)[4] because of this the economic situations of each fanbase have experienced a sort of role reversal. Another contributing factor of the changing fanbases of both franchises is the ownership of the Angels by Arte Moreno (the first Mexican-American to own a major sports team in the United States) which has led to a significant growth of its Hispanic and Latino American fanbase.[5] This has even become a contributing factor toward players such as Anthony Rendon choosing to sign with the Angels over that of the Dodgers.[6]

History

Dodger Stadium (left), the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Angel Stadium (right), home of the Los Angeles Angels.

The Freeway Series began as a pre-season exhibition series regularly played between the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers at their respective regular season ballparks during the final days of each pre-season. The first exhibition game between the two clubs (won by the Angels) was played in 1962 in Palm Springs, at the time the spring training home of the Angels. The first pre-season series was played at Dodger Stadium, at the time the home ballpark of both teams April 6–7, 1963. The Angels won both of the two games played. The Dodgers and Angels continued playing spring training exhibition games against one another in 1964. On the eve of the Angels' 1966 move to Anaheim Stadium, the series paused for the 1965 pre-season and did not resume until the 1969 pre-season. The exhibition Freeway Series has mostly persisted since its 1969, with only occasional skipped years in 1972, 1980 and 2000-02 pre-seasons,[7] the latter of which was the result of bad blood that developed between the teams' front offices following the Dodgers' late cancellation of the 2000 pre-season Freeway Series to play the New York Yankees, which left the Angels to scramble to find a last minute replacement club to play. While the novelty and transition of the exhibition Freeway Series lost much of its luster following MLB's adoption of regular season interleague play, the exhibition Freeway Series continues to this day. Generally, the exhibition Freeway Series is two or three games, with at least one game played at each of Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium between the end of the Cactus League and Opening Day, and is extremely well attended for preseason games (for example, the average attendance for the 2023 preseason Freeway Series was 36,108.[8]

The Angels' Mike Trout and the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw both won the MVP awards for their respective leagues in 2014.

In anticipation of the Angels moving to Anaheim for the 1966 season, the Angels renamed as the "California Angels". They would keep this name from late-1965 to 1996 and rename as the "Anaheim Angels" from 1997 to 2004. After the Angels added Los Angeles to their official name in 2005 (as the "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim"), the rivalry took on renewed interest, as the series took on a more intracity atmosphere. Throughout the 2005 season, Dodger Stadium listed the Angels as "ANA" on its out-of-town scoreboard and team schedules, as it was prior to Angels' name change. However, the Dodgers now post "LAA" on both their scoreboard and schedules. Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully refers to the team as just the Angels when mentioning them on the air. Dodgers tickets still refer to the Angels as the "Anaheim Angels." As of the 2011 season, however, the Angels' out-of-town scoreboard in right field still lists the Dodgers by their pre-2005 "LA" abbreviation instead of "LAD". The Angels' name change was largely opposed by the Dodgers organization, city and county of Los Angeles, Anaheim, every other city in Orange County, and fans on both sides. The prevailing argument was that the Angels did not play within Los Angeles county limits, and that adding LA to the name inaccurately represented the location and background of the team's fans. The Angels' ownership countered that bringing the Los Angeles name to the American League was beneficial to the entire region and organization.[9] Furthermore, the Census Bureau's definition of Greater Los Angeles includes Orange County in its definition, and the Angels have always used Los Angeles stations to broadcast their TV and radio games. The adding of the "Los Angeles" to the Angels name still causes some resentment in the minds of both Angel and Dodger fans today.

Regular- and post-season games between the two teams take place at either Angel Stadium of Anaheim or Dodger Stadium. The two stadiums are located approximately 30 miles (48 km) apart,[10] and take approximately 40–50 minutes to travel via Metrolink or Amtrak from their closest stations, Los Angeles Union Station and the Anaheim Station.[11]

At one point, both teams were owned by major media conglomerates: the Angels had been owned by the Walt Disney Company,[12] and the Dodgers were owned by News Corporation (each company owned one of the MLB broadcast partners, with News Corporation changing its name to 21st Century Fox in 2013, and subsequently being purchased by the Walt Disney Company in 2019).[12] Both teams have been sold in recent years.

Shohei Ohtani spent his first 6 seasons with the Angels before signing a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in 2023.

During the 2002 World Series, there was a moment of peace in the rivalry as a result of the nightmares the Dodgers and their fans were facing because the Angels played the San Francisco Giants, the fierce in-state rivals of the Dodgers.[13][14][15] The Los Angeles Times called the series "the Dodgers' 'Nightmare Series.'"[12] The New York Post called it "the worst-scenario World Series for the Dodgers."[15] The San Francisco Chronicle called the series "a Dodger fan's worst nightmare."[16] The Dodgers and their fans, including Chairman Bob Daly and former manager Tommy Lasorda, rooted for the eventual champions and attended their games in Anaheim.[13][14][15] Lasorda was at Game 2 and stood behind the batting cage and said that he's a big fan of Angels manager Mike Scioscia (Scioscia had spent his entire 13 year playing career with the Dodgers).[17] Daly attended Game 7 and sat near the Angels dugout, as a fan of late Angels owner Gene Autry.[18] This series was the Angels first championship, while the Dodgers' most recent title came in the 2020 World Series.

History was made in 2014 when two MVPs were chosen from the same metropolitan area with the Angels outfielder Mike Trout winning the American League MVP and Dodger pitcher Clayton Kershaw winning National League MVP for the year. This occurred again in 2019 when the Angels' Trout and Dodgers' Cody Bellinger won their league's respective MVP awards.[19][20]

Another recent point of contention between the two fanbases occurred on December 9, 2023 when Angels’ star Shohei Ohtani signed with the Dodgers for $700 million.

Club success

Team World Series Titles League pennants Division titles Wild Card Berths Playoff Appearances World Series Appearances All-time Regular Season record Win Percentage Seasons played
Los Angeles Angels[21] 1 1 9 1 10 1 4,958–5,016–3 .497 63
Los Angeles Dodgers[22] 6 12 21 3 28 12 5,710–4,724–6 .547 66
Combined 7 13 30 4 38 13 10,668–9,740–9 .523 66 in LA
129 total

Note: Dodgers records only from 1958 when they moved to Los Angeles.
As of October 2, 2023.

Summary of results

LAA vs. LAD Angels wins Dodgers wins Angels runs Dodgers runs
Regular season 73 71 599 604

Updated to most recent meeting, July 8, 2023.

Season-by-season results

Angels vs. Dodgers Season-by-Season Results
1990s (Dodgers, 9–5)
SeasonSeason seriesat Anaheim Angels
LAD–ANA		at Los Angeles Dodgers
ANA–LAD		Overall seriesNotes
1997 Dodgers 4–0 5–4; 8–2 3–4; 5–7 Dodgers
4–0		 First season series sweep by either team.
1998 Angels 3–1 5–6; 4–6 5–6(11); 3–2 Dodgers
5–3
1999} Dodgers 4–2 6–7(10); 3–1; 13–3 4–5; 4–7; 7–5 Dodgers
5–3		 First year of 6-game home-and-away format.
2000s (Angels, 36–24)
SeasonSeason seriesat Anaheim Angels/Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
LAD–ANA/LAA		at Los Angeles Dodgers
ANA/LAA–LAD		Overall seriesNotes
2000 Angels 4–2 5–12; 8–3; 7–8 3–4(10); 5–3; 6–2 Dodgers
9–5
2001 Angels 4–2 6–2; 5–6; 4–6 1–0; 1–2; 6–5(10) Tie
13–13
2002 Tie 3–3 7–5; 1–7; 0–5 8–4; 5–10; 4–5 Tie
16–16		 Angels advance to the American League playoffs as the Wild Card, Win American League pennant
Angels win 2002 World Series.
2003 Angels 4–2 0–3; 0–3; 1–3 2–5; 2–4; 6–3 Angels
20–18
2004 Tie 3–3 3–7; 8–5; 6–2 13–0; 7–5; 5–10 Angels
23–21		 Both teams make the postseason for the first time.
2005 Angels 5–1 0–7; 1–3; 3–5 9–0; 3–1; 2–6 Angels
28–22		 Angels rename to "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" (see City of Anaheim v. Angels Baseball LP for more information.)
Angels win American League West Division title and finish as runner-up in their respective league championship series.
2006 Dodgers 4–2 6–1; 2–9; 0–4 3–16; 4–8; 0–7 Angels
30–26		 Dodgers advance to the National League playoffs as the Wild Card, Angels finished second in the American League West Division standings.
2007 Angels 5–1 1–9; 2–6; 1–4 1–2; 3–0; 10–4 Angels
35–27		 Angels win their first of three consecutive American League West Division titles.
2008 Tie 3–3 2–4; 6–3; 2–10 0–6; 0–1; 1–0 Angels
38–30		 Both teams win their respective divisions. Dodgers finish as runner-up in their National league championship series.
2009 Tie 3–3 4–5; 6–4; 5–3 3–1; 4–5(10); 10–7 Angels
41–33		 Both teams win their respective divisions and finish as runner-ups in their respective league championship series.
2010s (Angels, 29–21)
SeasonSeason seriesat Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim)
LAD–LAA		at Los Angeles Dodgers
LAA–LAD		Overall seriesNotes
2010 Angels 5–1 3–6; 1–2; 10–6 10–1; 4–2; 6–5 Angels
46–34		 First Angels sweep at Dodger Stadium.
2011 Angels 4–2 5–0; 1–7; 1–3 8–3; 6–1; 2–3 Angels
50–36
2012 Angels 4–2 5–8; 3–1; 3–5 3–2; 2–5; 2–1 Angels
54–38
2013 Tie 2–2 3–4; 2–3 7–8; 0–3 Angels
56–40		 Series changed to four-game format with two in each city, except in years the AL West plays the NL West (2015, 2018, etc.)
Dodgers win their first of eight consecutive National League West Division titles (current). Dodgers finish as runner-up in their National league championship series.
2014 Dodgers 3–1 2–1; 7–0 5–0; 4–5 Angels
57–43		 Both teams win their respective divisions.
2015 Dodgers 5–1 7–5; 6–4; 2–3 3–5; 1–3; 3–5 Angels
58–48		 Dodgers win National League West Division.
2016 Angels 3–1 1–8; 4–7 7–6; 1–5 Angels
61–49		 Angels name reverts to "Los Angeles Angels"
Dodgers win National League West Division and finish as runner-up in their National league championship series.
2017 Tie 2–2 2–3; 6–2 4–0; 0–4 Angels
63–51		 Dodgers win National League West Division, win National league pennant, and Dodgers lose 2017 World Series.
2018 Tie 3–3 Angels
58–482–3; 3–1; 3–4		 2–3; 5–4(10); 3–5 Angels
66–54		 Dodgers win National League West Division, win National league pennant, and Dodgers lose 2018 World Series.
2019 Angels 4–0 3–5; 3–5 5–4; 3–2 Angels
70–54		 First season series sweep by the Angels and first by either team since 1997, the first year with interleague play.
Dodgers win National League West Division.
2020s (Dodgers, 17–3)
SeasonSeason seriesat Los Angeles Angels
LAD–LAA		at Los Angeles Dodgers
LAA–LAD		Overall seriesNotes
2020 Dodgers 6–0 7–4; 6–5(10); 8–3 5–9; 6–7; 0–5 Angels
70–60		 Season shortened to 60 games due to COVID-19 pandemic. Second season series sweep by the Dodgers.
Dodgers win National League West Division, National league pennant, and 2020 World Series.
2021 Tie 3–3 2–9; 14–11; 1–2 4–3(10); 3–5; 2–8 Angels
73–63		 Albert Pujols signs with the Dodgers after being released by the Angels on May 17.
2022 Dodgers 4–0 9–1; 7–1 0–2; 1–4 Angels
73–67		 Third season series sweep by the Dodgers.
2023 Dodgers 4–0 2–0; 2–0 4–11; 5–10 Angels
73–71		 Elimination of the six-game format that was played every three seasons and adoption of the four-game format (two games at each ballpark) for every season. Fourth season series sweep by the Dodgers.
Summary of Results
SeasonSeason seriesat Los Angeles Angelsat DodgersNotes
Overall Regular Season Angels 73–71 Angels, 42–30 Dodgers, 41–31

Postseason series

As of 2023, the two sides have never met in the postseason. To meet in the postseason would require that they both advance to the World Series in the same year. To date, the two teams have made the playoffs in the same year four times: 2004, 2008, 2009, and 2014. In 2004, both teams lost in their respective Division Series, whereas in 2008 the Angels lost to the Boston Red Sox, 3–1 in the Division Series while the Dodgers swept the Chicago Cubs 3–0 and lost to the eventual champion Philadelphia Phillies 4–1 in the National League Championship Series. In 2009, both teams advanced to their respective League Championship Series. The Angels lost the ALCS 4–2 to the eventual champion New York Yankees, while the Dodgers lost the NLCS to the Phillies, 4–1. The Angels' only World Series win and appearance came in 2002, while the Dodgers' most recent win came in their championship season of 2020.

In 2014, both teams finished first in their respective divisions. However, the Angels were swept, 3–0, by the Kansas City Royals in the ALDS, while the Dodgers lost 3–1 to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS.

See also

Other rivalries in the Los Angeles area

References

Inline citations
  1. ↑ "Head-to-Head Records". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  2. ↑ Yoon, Peter (December 14, 2007). "No controversy, just champions". Los Angeles Times. p. D3. Now that we have the Freeway Faceoff between the Kings and Ducks to go along with the Freeway Series between the Dodgers and Angels, we need a name for this. It might be difficult to incorporate 'freeway' into it, though, since they share the same building. Maybe we could call it the 'We took the same freeway as you did to get here tipoff.' Or, 'The showdown at the intersection of the 10 and 110 freeways.'
  3. ↑ "American FactFinder". Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Angels are more of a bargain than Dodgers for a family night out - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. March 21, 2019.
  5. ↑ "For Latino fans, the Angels mean familia – Orange County Register". April 6, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Anthony Rendon on not choosing Dodgers - L.A.'s 'Hollywood lifestyle' not a fit". December 15, 2019.
  7. ↑ Stephen, Eric (March 25, 2018). "Freeway Series history between the Dodgers and Angels". SB Nation: True Blue LA. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  8. ↑ Box Scores:"Angels @ Dodgers: March 26, 2023, Attendance: 37,192"., "Dodgers @ Angels: March 27, 2023, Attendance: 35,067"., and "Dodgers @ Angels: March 28, 2023, Attendance: 36,067".
  9. ↑ http://laist.com/2008/06/16/la_angels_name_change_hearing_postp.php. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ↑ "Driving directions to 2000 E Gene Autry Way, Anaheim, CA 92806". Google Maps.
  11. ↑ "Metrolink schedule from Union Station to Anaheim". Metrolink.
  12. 1 2 3 Penner, Mike (October 28, 2002). "Angels' Dream Is Fox's Nightmare". Los Angeles Times. p. U3.
  13. 1 2 Chang, Richard (October 21, 2002). "Many Dodgers fans wearing a halo". Orange County Register. p. Angels. Dodgers fans look to the Angels coaching staff—former Dodgers Mike Scioscia, Mickey Hatcher, Ron Roenicke and Alfredo Griffin—as another reason to like the Angels...The Southern California connection, as well as the north-south divide, also plays a role...Most true-blue Dodgers fans are looking beyond Mickey Mouse and are hoping the Angels reduce the Giants to gnats.
  14. 1 2 Shaikin, Bill (October 18, 2002). "Angel Report /Notes; Rodriguez Giving a Sneak Preview". Los Angeles Times. p. D10. The way Angel Manager Mike Scioscia figures it, Dodger fans will be rooting for the Angels during the World Series, if only as the lesser of two evils. As a former Dodger catcher, Scioscia is well aware that a Dodger fan's two favorite teams are the Dodgers and whoever is playing the Giants.
  15. 1 2 3 Sherman, Joel (October 20, 2002). "Mike Makes Right". New York Post. p. 98. This is the worst-scenario World Series for the Dodgers...San Francisco is the Dodgers' most hated NL rival. The Angels are the Dodgers' neighbors to the south...'This is not a good situation for the Dodgers,' (Paul) Lo Duca admitted. But he said because he has a relationship with Scioscia and former Dodger coaches and current Angel coaches Mickey Hatcher and Ron Roenicke, it would be easy for him to root for Anaheim.
  16. ↑ Garofoli, Joe (October 19, 2002). "Dodger fans cross the line, seek Series tickets". San Francisco Chronicle. p. A14. This Series is a Dodger fan's worst nightmare.
  17. ↑ Brookover, Bob; Salisbury, Jim (October 21, 2002). "Lasorda watches Series with pride, prejudice". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C6. Although Lasorda could never cheer for any team other than the Dodgers, he obviously is a big Scioscia fan, who spent his entire pro career as a Dodger under Lasorda.
  18. ↑ "Spotlight; Dodgers' Daly Pulls for Angels to Win". Los Angeles Times. October 28, 2002. p. U2. There was little doubt where Dodger Chairman Bob Daly's allegiances were...—the Brooklyn native was seated two rows behind the Angel dugout for Game 7...'I grew up...loving Gene Autry, so for me this was easy,' Daly said of the late Angel owner. 'The Angels...have a good team,...played very well, and...I've enjoyed it.'
  19. ↑ "Dodgers' Cody Bellinger, Angels' Mike Trout win Most Valuable Player honors". TheGuardian.com. November 15, 2019.
  20. ↑ "LA Sweep: Angels' Trout, Dodgers' Bellinger win MVP awards | Times Colonist". Archived from the original on November 16, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  21. ↑ https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/ANA/ Los Angeles Angels history at baseball-reference.com
  22. ↑ https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/LAD/ Los Angeles Dodgers history at baseball-reference.com
Bibliography
  • DiGiovanna, Mike (June 18, 2007). "Freeway Series is Turning into a Romp". Los Angeles Times.
  • Newhan, Ron. "Freeway Series Pits Dodgers Against Bad Angels". Los Angeles Times.
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