The dust is slowly settling on the baseball world after the monster signing of Japanese prodigy Shohei Ohtani.
Except perhaps in Anaheim, where several particles are still present in the air. And this may continue to be the case for a long time, since fans of the Los Angeles Angels will have some serious mourning to go through.
This is the case of Sebastian Romero, among others, who held a sign bearing the words SELL THE ARTE TEAM! outside Angel Stadium yesterday (Saturday).
The 20-something Anaheim native woke up to the most devastating news a longtime Angels fan could receive: his idol signing with the enemy, the Dodgers. from Los Angeles.
I haven't had breakfast yet, I haven't had anything to drink. I woke up, saw Ohtani at the Dodgers and cried in the shower. It's one of the few things that I'm very, very passionate about.
You'll tell me it's not like no one saw it coming, and you'd be right. Everyone, except perhaps Angels fans, knew that the Japanese superstar would not return home.
But as long as there is life, there is hope. And that doesn't take away the memories, as Barry Foster, another Angels fan, this time from Orange County, mentions.
I have so many memories of watching it here. I don't like to dramatize sport. But you feel like someone is leaving you. It's very hard.
As the last vestiges of the Japanese were removed, just two hours after the announcement, dozens of fans gathered around Angel Stadium. Some were Japanese tourists who didn't realize he had signed elsewhere, while others were die-hard fans of the reuniting Angels.
One of them, Julian Cedillo, even placed two bouquets of red roses right next to two bricks that bore Ohtani's name.
It was six years of excellence. I've been an Angels fan my whole life. I feel like a part of me has died. I wanted to pay tribute to him. He meant so much to this organization. We are a small franchise. Seeing a superstar like him leave us hurts.
And let's say that the next difficult seasons in view of the angels in our countryside will only fuel this feeling of mourning. The owner Arte Moreno has not left the inn.
