Sports Addict, a popular sports store in Fountain Valley, has long been known as the go-to spot for Angels fans in Orange County. But this year, there’s been a new surge of Dodger fans flocking to the store.
“Angels were very popular in 2002 when they won it, but since then they haven’t been there the Dodgers have been there, won their pennant 12 straight years,” said Charlie Phillips, a former pitcher for the Dodgers in 1976.
Owners Mike Gaspar and Leah Baccanti said that Shohei Ohtani has been a key factor in driving this new wave of Dodger blue.
“It’s been amazing; we’ve been so lucky. Because Ohtani was a local guy on the Angels and leaving having gone to another local team, for us it really is the best scenario,” Baccanti said.
“We’ve pretty much been an Angel store and people have called us the Angel store for the past 20 years. And this year, we’ve almost sold twice as much Dodgers as Angels. So it’s an amazing transformation,” Gaspar said.
In September, fans flooded the store when Ohtani made history by hitting his 50/50 record.