'Los Angeles Angels' will appear on jersey for first time with City Connect uniforms

How does a team connect with its city when it does not represent a city?

The Angels have not represented a city since 2005, when owner Arte Moreno decided his team would no longer be the Anaheim Angels. He adopted the Los Angeles name to better persuade advertisers of the vast media market in which his team played, he said, but he has not added “Los Angeles” to the uniform — until now.

The Angels’ City Connect uniforms are an homage to enduring Southern California themes: surf culture, the beach and the Pacific Ocean.

The promotional video features montages of beaches in Orange and Los Angeles counties, with spoken references to “Surf City” — Huntington Beach — and Pacific Palisades.

When narrator John Stamos says “city of angels,” the video shows Angel Stadium.

The uniforms, unveiled Monday, include a sleeve patch that says “Los Angeles Angels.” The Angels said the patch "pays tribute to the early railway that connected Southern California, bringing those from all over to enjoy the coast."

The jerseys and pants are a cream color, with “Angels" in red letters "in the sand," with the “e” and “l” connected to resemble a wave.

"As the club of Trout and Salmon, the end of the 's' is none other than a 'fish tail' end of a surfboard," the Angels said.

The numbers on the jerseys are presented with diamonds, an apparent baseball-themed tip of the cap to an iconic Huntington Beach surf shop. The asymmetrical stripes reflect vintage surfboard designs.

The jersey also includes a surfboard atop the tag, at the bottom. The socks are accented with waves.

The Angels are not the first team to include a sand color on their uniform. The San Diego Padres currently wear sand-colored pants for road games and, sometimes, a sand-colored pinstripe jersey as well.

The Angels are scheduled to wear the uniform for the first time on Saturday.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.