At Angel Stadium, fans mourn as signs of Shohei Ohtani are quickly wiped away
Sebastian Wright
Published Apr 07, 2026
The Athletic has live coverage of Shohei Ohtani’s first Dodgers press conference
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Red paint stained Sebastian Romero’s hands as he held onto a sign that read “SELL THE TEAM, ARTE!” in the franchise’s bright, unmistakable signature color.
The Anaheim native in his early 20s had awoken Saturday midday to the most devastating news a lifelong Angels fan could get: Shohei Ohtani had signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers on a 10-year, $700-million deal.
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“I haven’t eaten breakfast yet, I haven’t drank anything. I woke up, and saw Ohtani to the Dodgers and had a good cry in my shower,” Romero said, the speed of his voice increasing as he appeared to be holding back more tears. “This is one of the few things I’m very, very, very passionate about.”
A moment later, his voice was drowned out by a crane pulling up to the massive Ohtani mural just feet from where he stood. The final vestige of the two-way superstar’s legendary six-year term with the Angels was soon being torn unceremoniously off the side of Angel Stadium by a man in a cherry picker.
His crane rolled in at 2:42 p.m. — about two-and-a-half hours after Ohtani’s Instagram post announcing his decision. The final square was rolled up and whisked away at 3:48 p.m. Gone as if he was never there.
“I have so many memories coming out here watching him,” said Barry Foster, a lifelong Angels fan and Orange resident. “I don’t like to over-dramatize sports. But it feels like someone is just leaving you. … It’s very tough.”
Dozens of fans of all different backgrounds made their way to Angel Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Some were Japanese tourists who hadn’t realized he’d signed elsewhere. Others were die-hard Angels fans who wanted somewhere to be.
A family of Dodgers fans came by to take pictures. “We wanted to come check it out and see if it was actually coming down,” said Joe Aguilar, who was wearing a Dodgers hat and jersey. “I was curious how fast they’d take it down.”
For the rest of those that came out, it was like a vigil. Nothing was awaiting them at this stadium, except more reminders of his painful departure. Still, it served as a setting to mourn the ending of his complicated tenure.
One fan, Julian Cedillo, walked up to the stadium alone wearing an Angels shirt. He placed two bouquets of red roses on top of two bricks that bore Ohtani’s name. A few minutes later, he walked back to his car and left.
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“It was six years of excellence,” Cedillo said. “I’ve been an Angels fan my entire life. It feels like a piece of me died.
“I wanted to pay my respects.”
There was no denying the brutality of the circumstances for this tortured fan base. Ohtani has put together three of the greatest seasons in baseball history in the past three years. The Angels went 77-85, 73-89 and 73-89 during those times.
Not only was there a conclusiveness that Ohtani’s on-field results were wasted. To make it even more painful, he went to the Dodgers. It’s hard to call the two teams rivals. It’s been years since the Angels won a game against the Dodgers. But this move only further cemented their little brother status.
Regardless, even the most emotional of Angels fans couldn’t blame this on Ohtani.
“It is sad,” said an Angels fan from Japan, who now lives in Anaheim. “But he has his own dream.”
The Angel Stadium team store was open on Saturday. It’s essentially a shrine to Ohtani. His gear can be found in every nook and cranny.
The television inside the store was tuned to MLB Network. There was live coverage of Ohtani’s deal with the Dodgers. An interview with baseball reporter Joel Sherman could be heard by all the shoppers — almost all of whom were perusing the copious No. 17 merchandise.
All of it, now, had suddenly become memorabilia. It was no longer team gear. These were relics of an era that had sharply ended hours prior.
“My son’s going crazy. He’s crying right now. He’s 22 years old,” said season-ticket holder and Anaheim resident Freddy Gonzalez. “It’s sad.”
Tearing down the mural was no easy task. 25 frames had to be individually ripped away. First, the stadium worker removed the tape atop each frame. Then he would meticulously remove that part of the picture before rolling it up and placing the crumpled sticker to his left or right.
A Japanese television crew filming the process was asked to leave by security for not having an Angels credential.
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That doesn’t mean the process wasn’t documented. At least a dozen other fans stood with their phones craned upward, recording the simple but memorable act.
When it was over, each of the 25 stickers was handed to another stadium worker in an orange vest. He carried them to a Chevrolet truck. No spectators would be getting them as a souvenir.
The man in the cherry picker went back to the ground. Many of the fans dispersed. All that was left was an empty window, and the bottomless void that it represented.
“It’s sad to see it come down,” Cedillo said. “He meant so much to this franchise. We’re a small franchise. To see a superstar like him leave us, it hurts.”
(Top photo by Sam Blum / The Athletic)
