A marketing strategy put the city of Los Angeles’ name beside the MLB franchise, the Angels. The club’s home park, Angel Stadium, is not even located in Los Angeles County, but in Anaheim, California. Now, an assembly member from California wants the club to own up to the fact and remove the LA Tag.

The New York Post reported that assembly member Avelino Valencia put forward a bill that, once passed, would require the team to officially use the name ‘Anaheim Angels’ once again. Valencia named the AB 2512 bill the “Home Run for Anaheim Act.”

“My community has shown up for the Angels franchise year after year, and they deserve more than being treated as an afterthought,” Valencia told the NY Post. “It is time the name of our local MLB team reflects the city they play in.”

Anaheim taxpayers helped fund Angel Stadium in the 1960s. The community has supported the franchise for nearly 60 years. While other sports teams like the Raiders and Chargers often abandon their hometowns for bigger media markets, Anaheim residents are fighting to keep their local identity.

Owner Arte Moreno changed the team’s name to the “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim” in 2005. He bet that the giant LA media market would make him more money than the team’s Anaheim roots. By 2016, the franchise dropped the word “Anaheim” completely.

The club’s last and only World Series win came in 2002, when they were still called the Anaheim Angels. Assemblyman Valencia wants that history highlighted.

“Residents built the stadium, packed the stands, and cheered with their rally monkeys all the way to a World Series title in 2002,” remarked Valencia in March this year. “That history belongs to our community, and the team’s name should too.”

The new bill passed the Assembly and now waits for State Senate approval. It offers the Angels a major deal. If the team changes its name, California will exempt it from the Surplus Land Act. It will allow the franchise to sell, lease, or redevelop Angel Stadium and the surrounding land.

There is a lot to renovate when it comes to Angel Stadium. The ballpark went through a rodent infestation in April that forced them to close the concession area. Furthermore, during the Freeway Series on Sunday, a fan found a wild opossum behind the final row of seats in Section 534 near the right-field foul pole. A video that went viral online shows a Dodger fan holding the animal by its tail and dropping it inside the cardboard box the stadium staff was holding.

Before Anaheim’s former Mayor Harry Sidhu’s corruption expose, the Angels had an agreement allowing them to buy the 150-acre stadium property and develop the surrounding land. But California officials stopped the sale because Anaheim broke the Surplus Land Act. This law forces cities to offer public land for affordable housing before selling it privately.

Anaheim agreed to pay a $96 million fine to fix the issue. However, the FBI then revealed that Mayor Sidhu leaked secret city info to the Angels. After the scandal broke, the city canceled the deal completely.

The Angels are currently the worst team in the league, with a 17-33 record, and Angels fans are vehemently protesting Moreno’s ownership.

Angels fans raise “Sell the team” chants

The Los Angeles Angels are in desperate need of a turnaround, as they sit at the bottom of the MLB. As they lost the series to the Athletics, fans loudly expressed their displeasure with Arte Moreno.

Fans at Angel Stadium adopted the “tarps off” trend, not to celebrate but to protest the disastrous season on Monday and Tuesday. A section of shirtless fans chanted the phrase, “Sell the team,” so loud that it was audible on both television and radio broadcasts. Fans also took a direct jab at Moreno, repeatedly chanting “Arte s—” while waving t-shirts over their heads.

They have also reportedly planned a protest on Saturday at 5 pm at the State College Boulevard entrance to the stadium. Multiple social media pages of the Angels’ fandom have also asked right-field pavilion ticket-holders to wear black T-shirts as a symbol of protest.

These actions prove that fans care deeply about winning. This goes directly against what Moreno recently claimed. In February this year, the franchise owner had told the Orange County Register that affordability is the fans’ top priority and not winning.

“The number one thing fans want is affordability. They want affordability. They want safety, and they want a good experience when they come to the ballpark,” Moreno had observed. “Believe it or not, winning is not in their top five.”

As the fans continue to prove Moreno wrong with their protests, perhaps a rebranding could bring some good luck to the franchise.