ANAHEIM, Calif. — If you’re one of the many diehard fans who believe the wave is a travesty, then Thursday's ALDS Game 1 in Anaheim must have had you clutching your pearls.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, a phenomenon known as the "Light Wave" occurred. At some point this season, Angels fans began holding up their smart phones and creating a strobe with the flashlights. In a stadium that holds 45,000, the effect is — well, it’s something.
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Angels social media dubbed it the Light Wave in a nod to the classic wave seen at sporting events since the early 1980s. Some call them rally lights and say they’re meant to spark the offense. Others believe they’re the smart phone equivalent of yelling “Hey, batter, batter.” In fact, plenty of Athletics fans bemoaned the practice when the A’s played at Angel Stadium. CSN’s Brodie Brazil called the practice “tacky” in a tweet last August. He took umbrage with Angels fans doing it during a Stephen Vogt at-bat.
Really awesome of many #Angels fans to shine their phones & flashlights during Vogt at bat. #Tacky pic.twitter.com/F0tapBUQ9w
— Brodie Brazil (@brodiebrazilCSN) August 29, 2014Whatever the motive, the Light Wave has gained popularity throughout the season, much to the bewilderment of visiting team fans.
The Angels have a long history of strange traditions — from the Rally Monkey, who bounces on the scoreboard to the House of Pain song "Jump Around," to the Thundersticks they popularized in the 2002 World Series and which are now common in ballparks across the nation. It would be a lot easier to make fun of these practices if they didn’t kind of work. I mean, the Rally Monkey brought the team back in the bottom of the ninth for a win over the Giants in 2000. Those Thundersticks ushered in a World Series win in 2002. And for the first time since 2009, the Angels, armed with the Light Wave, are in the postseason. You can’t argue with science.
Some say the practice poses a danger for batters, which is something to consider. Interestingly, when the Angels played the Rangers in 2012, a fan was removed for shining a light directly at Albert Pujols during an at-bat. Third base coach Dino Abel brought it to the attention of the third base umpire, who informed security. Despite that case and similar ones in other ballparks, opposing teams shouldn’t expect officials at Angel Stadium to do much about stopping the Light Wave. The official baseball rules only provide umpires with the ability to eject fans who enter the playing field without authorization. And while they may ask security to handle unruly fans in the stands, something tells me ejecting thousands of people who are involved in a Light Wave wouldn’t be high on anyone’s priority list. Imagine trying to kick everyone out who participated in the wave, or hit one of those godforsaken beach balls.
Regardless of your feelings about the practice, it doesn’t appear to be a malicious attempt by Angels fans to distract batters. In fact, Thursday's Light Wave occurred in the bottom of the sixth, with the home team at bat. It was, as the Angels have proclaimed it to be, a rallying cry. And as long as it keeps working, we haven’t seen the last of it.
Erin Faulk is a documentary filmmaker and writer based in the Los Angeles area, best known for a unique brand of storytelling on Twitter. Examples of her work have appeared on Slate, Gawker, Jezebel and other sites.