The Freeway Series is a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB)

interleague Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. Pri ...

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

played between the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

and the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. The Angels are members of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL)

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

division, and the Dodgers are members of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

(NL)

division. The series takes its name from the massive

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

system in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area, the home of both teams; one could travel from one team's stadium to the other simply by driving along

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

. The term is akin to ''

Subway Series The Subway Series is a series of Major League Baseball (MLB) rivalry games played between the two teams based in New York City, the Yankees and the Mets. Previously, this applied to the Giants and Dodgers as well, before they moved out of New ...

'' which refers to meetings between New York City baseball teams. The term "''Freeway Series''" also inspired the official name of the region's NHL rivalry between the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

and the Anaheim Ducks: the '' Freeway Face-Off''.

Background

The rise of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

as a major region of the United States brought about a significant economic rivalry between neighboring Los Angeles and Orange counties. To many living outside of Southern California, the entire region is often simply referred to as "LA", associating Los Angeles and Orange counties with the same stereotypes and preconceptions. However, the two counties differ sharply in political ideology, socioeconomic status, and demographics. Los Angeles County is more liberal, and is represented by a more ethnically diverse population, while Orange County was known to be one of the most conservative areas in the state. This divide led to the Los Angeles/Orange county line being colloquially referred to as the Orange Curtain. This can be somewhat misleading, though, because the older, more urban, cities of northern and central Orange County ( Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove,

Buena Park Buena Park (''Buena'', Spanish for "Good") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census its population was 84,034. It is the location of several tourist attractions, namely Knott's Berry Farm. It is about 12 m ...

, etc.) are much more in tune with Los Angeles County cities than their southern Orange County counterparts. These older Orange County cities are much less homogeneous than the south, and the income levels and demographics represent this. In recent years though, coinciding with the postseason success of the Dodgers and the growing postseason drought for the Angels, gameday experiences for each team have drastically changed (with a Dodgers game costing much more money to attend than an Angels game) because of this the economic situations of each fanbase have experienced a sort of role reversal. Another contributing factor of the changing fanbases of both franchises is the ownership of the Angels by

Arte Moreno Arturo "Arte" Moreno (born August 14, 1946) is an American businessman. On May 15, 2003, he became the first Mexican-American to own a major sports team in the United States when he purchased the Anaheim Angels baseball team from the Walt Disney ...

(the first Mexican-American to own a major sports team in the United States) which has led to a significant growth of its

Hispanic and Latino American Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify a ...

fanbase. This has even become a contributing factor toward players such as

Anthony Rendon Anthony Michael Rendon (, ; born June 6, 1990) is an American baseball third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played for the Washington Nationals and was a member of the Nationals' 2019 World ...

choosing to sign with the Angels over that of the Dodgers.

History

The first exhibition game between the two clubs (won by the Angels) was played in 1962 in

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

, at the time the spring training home of the Angels. The first pre-season series was played at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...

, at the time the home ballpark of both teams April 6–7, 1963. The Angels won both of the two games played. After the Angels added ''Los Angeles'' to their official name in 2005, the rivalry took on renewed interest, as the series took on a more intracity atmosphere. Throughout the 2005 season, Dodger Stadium listed the Angels as "ANA" on its out-of-town scoreboard and team schedules, as it was prior to Angels' name change. However, the Dodgers now post "LAA" on both their scoreboard and schedules. Dodger broadcaster

Vin Scully Vincent Edward Scully (November 29, 1927 – August 2, 2022) was an American sportscaster. He was best known for his 67 seasons calling games for Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, beginning in 1950 (when the franchise was located ...

refers to the team as just the Angels when mentioning them on the air. Dodgers tickets still refer to the Angels as the "Anaheim Angels." As of the 2011 season, however, the Angels' out-of-town scoreboard in right field still lists the Dodgers by their pre-2005 "LA" abbreviation instead of "LAD". The Angels' name change was largely opposed by the Dodgers organization, city and county of Los Angeles, Anaheim, every other city in Orange County, and fans on both sides. The prevailing argument was that the Angels did not play within Los Angeles county limits, and that adding LA to the name inaccurately represented the location and background of the team's fans. The Angels' ownership countered that bringing the Los Angeles name to the American League was beneficial to the entire region and organization. Furthermore, the Census Bureau's definition of

Greater Los Angeles Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...

includes Orange County in its definition, and the Angels have always used Los Angeles stations to broadcast their TV and radio games. The adding of the "Los Angeles" to the Angels name still causes some resentment in the minds of both Angel and Dodger fans today.The team was referred to as the California Angels. Regular- and post-season games between the two teams take place at either

Angel Stadium of Anaheim Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los Ange ...

. The two stadiums are located approximately apart, and take approximately 40–50 minutes to travel via Metrolink or

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

from their closest stations, Los Angeles Union Station and the Anaheim Station. At one point, both teams were owned by major media conglomerates: the Angels had been owned by

the Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

, and the Dodgers were owned by

News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...

(each company owned one of the MLB broadcast partners, with News Corporation changing its name to 21st Century Fox in 2013, and subsequently being purchased by

in 2019). Both teams have been sold in recent years. During the

2002 World Series The 2002 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s 2002 season. The 98th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Anaheim Angels and the National Lea ...

, there was a moment of peace in the rivalry as a result of the nightmares the Dodgers and their fans were facing because the Angels played the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

, the fierce in-state rivals of the Dodgers. ''The Los Angeles Times'' called the series "the Dodgers' 'Nightmare Series.'" The ''New York Post'' called it "the worst-scenario World Series for the Dodgers." ''The San Francisco Chronicle'' called the series "a Dodger fan's worst nightmare." The Dodgers and their fans, including Chairman Bob Daly and former manager

Tommy Lasorda Thomas Charles Lasorda (September 22, 1927 – January 7, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher and manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1996. He was inducted into the Natio ...

, rooted for the eventual champions and attended their games in Anaheim. Lasorda was at Game 2 and stood behind the batting cage and said that he's a big fan of Angels manager

Mike Scioscia Michael Lorri Scioscia (, ; born November 27, 1958), nicknamed "Sosh" and "El Jefe", is an American former Major League Baseball catcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He managed the Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim / Los Ang ...

(Scioscia had spent his entire 13 year playing career with the Dodgers). Daly attended Game 7 and sat near the Angels dugout, as a fan of late Angels owner Gene Autry. This series was the Angels first championship, while the Dodgers' most recent title came in the 2020 World Series. History was made in when two MVPs were chosen from the same metropolitan area with the Angels outfielder Mike Trout winning the American League MVP and Dodger pitcher

Clayton Kershaw Clayton Edward Kershaw (born March 19, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) . He has played for the Dodgers for the entirety of his MLB career. A left-handed starting pi ...

winning

National League MVP The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers' ...

for the year. This occurred again in when the Angels' Trout and Dodgers' Cody Bellinger won their league's respective MVP awards.

Results

, - ,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, style=";" , Dodgers , 4–0 , 5-4; 8-2 , 3-4; 5-7 , First season series sweep by either team. , - ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, style=";" , Angels , 3–1 , 5-6; 4-6 , 5-6₍₁₁₎; 3-2 , , - ,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, style=";" , Dodgers , 4–2 , 6-7₍₁₀₎; 3-1; 13-3 , 4-5; 4-7; 7-5 , First year of 6-game home-and-away format. , - , - ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, style=";" , Angels , 4–2 , 5-12; 8-3; 7-8 , 3-4₍₁₀₎; 5-3; 6-2 , , - , 2001 , style=";" , Angels , 4–2 , 6-2; 5-6; 4-6 , 1-0; 1-2; 6-5₍₁₀₎ , , - , 2002 , Tie , 3–3 , 7-5; 1-7; 0-5 , 8-4; 5-10; 4-5 , Angels advance to the American League playoffs as the Wild Card, Win American League pennant, and Angels win

. , - , - , 2003 , style=";" , Angels , 4–2 , 0-3; 0-3; 1-3 , 2-5; 2-4; 6-3 , , - , 2004 , Tie , 3–3 , 3-7; 8-5; 6-2 , 13-0; 7-5; 5-10 , Both teams make the postseason for the first time. , - , 2005 , style=";" , Angels , 5–1 , 0-7; 1-3; 3-5 , 9-0; 3-1; 2-6 , Angels add "Los Angeles" to their name (see City of Anaheim v. Angels Baseball LP for more information.)
Angels win American League West Division title and finish as runner-up in their respective league championship series. , - , 2006 , style=";" , Dodgers , 4–2 , 6-1; 2-9; 0-4 , 3-16; 4-8; 0-7 , Dodgers advance to the National League playoffs as the Wild Card, Angels finished second in the American League West Division standings. , - , 2007 , style=";" , Angels , 5–1 , 1-9; 2-6; 1-4 , 1-2; 3-0; 10-4 , Angels win their first of three consecutive American League West Division titles. , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, Tie , 3–3 , 2-4; 6-3; 2-10 , 0-6; 0-1; 1-0 , Both teams win their respective divisions. Dodgers finish as runner-up in their National league championship series. , - , 2009 , Tie , 3–3 , 4-5; 6-4; 5-3 , 3-1; 4-5₍₁₀₎; 10-7 , Both teams win their respective divisions and finish as runner-ups in their respective league championship series. , - , - , 2010 , style=";" , Angels , 5–1 , 3-6; 1-2; 10-6 , 10-1; 4-2; 6-5 , First Angels sweep at Dodger Stadium. , - , 2011 , style=";" , Angels , 4–2 , 5-0; 1-7; 1-3 , 8-3; 6-1; 2-3 , , - ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, style=";" , Angels , 4–2 , 5-8; 3-1; 3-5 , 3-2; 2-5; 2-1 , , - ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, Tie , 2–2 , 3-4; 2-3 , 7-8; 0-3 , Series changed to four-game format with two in each city, except in years the AL West plays the NL West (2015, 2018, etc.)
Dodgers win their first of eight consecutive National League West Division titles (current). Dodgers finish as runner-up in their National league championship series. , - ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, style=";" , Dodgers , 3–1 , 2-1; 7-0 , 5-0; 4-5 , Both teams win their respective divisions. , - , 2015 , style=";" , Dodgers , 5–1 , 7-5; 6-4; 2-3 , 3-5; 1-3; 3-5 , Dodgers win National League West Division. , - ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, style=";" , Angels , 3–1 , 1-8; 4-7 , 7-6; 1-5 , Angels drop “of Anaheim” from their name.
Dodgers win National League West Division and finish as runner-up in their National league championship series. , - ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, Tie , 2–2 , 2-3; 6-2 , 4-0; 0-4 , Dodgers win National League West Division, win National league pennant, and Dodgers lose

2017 World Series The 2017 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2017 season. The 113th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers and th ...

. , - ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, Tie , 3–3 , 2-3; 3-1; 3-4 , 2-3; 5-4₍₁₀₎; 3-5 , Dodgers win National League West Division, win National league pennant, and Dodgers lose

2018 World Series The 2018 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2018 season. The 114th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National L ...

. , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, style=";" , Angels , 4–0 , 3-5; 3-5 , 5-4; 3-2 , First season series sweep by the Angels and first by either team since 1997, the first year with interleague play.
Dodgers win National League West Division , - , - ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, style=";" , Dodgers , 6–0 , 7-4; 6-5₍₁₀₎; 8-3 , 5-9; 6-7; 0-5 , Season shortened to 60 games due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Second season series sweep by the Dodgers.
Dodgers win National League West Division, National league pennant, and 2020 World Series , - ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, Tie , 3–3 , 2-9; 14-11; 1-2 , 4-3₍₁₀₎; 3-5; 2-8 , Albert Pujols signs with the Dodgers after being released by the Angels on May 17 , - ,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

, style=";" , Dodgers , 4–0 , 9-1; 7-1 , 0-2; 1-4 , Third season series sweep by the Dodgers , - , - , Overall Regular Season , style=";" , Angels , style=";" , 73–67 , Angels, 42–28 , Dodgers, 39–31 , , -

Postseason series

As of , the two sides have never met in the postseason. To meet in the postseason would require that they both advance to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

in the same year. To date, the two teams have made the playoffs in the same year four times: 2004, 2008, 2009, and 2014. In 2004, both teams lost in their respective

Division Series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series" date ...

, whereas in 2008 the Angels lost to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

, 3–1 in the Division Series while the Dodgers swept the Chicago Cubs 3–0 and lost to the eventual champion Philadelphia Phillies 4–1 in the

National League Championship Series The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Nation ...

. In 2009, both teams advanced to their respective

League Championship Series The League Championship Series (LCS) is the semifinal round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969. In 1981, and since 1995, the two annual series have matched up the winners of the Division Series, an ...

. The Angels lost the ALCS 4–2 to the eventual champion

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, while the Dodgers lost the NLCS to the Phillies, 4–1. The Angels' only World Series win and appearance came in , while the Dodgers' most recent win came in their championship season of . In 2014, both teams finished first in their respective divisions. However, the Angels were swept, 3–0, by the Kansas City Royals in the ALDS, while the Dodgers lost 3–1 to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

in the

NLDS In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...

Other rivalries in the Los Angeles area

*National Hockey League: Freeway Face-Off *College Football:

UCLA–USC rivalry The UCLA–USC rivalry is the American collegiate athletics rivalry between the UCLA Bruins sports teams of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and USC Trojans teams of the University of Southern California (USC). Both universit ...

*Major League Soccer:

El Tráfico El Tráfico, also known as the Los Angeles Derby, is a soccer rivalry between the two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs based in the Greater Los Angeles area, LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC. The rivalry is one of two crosstown derbies in MLS, along ...

*National Basketball Association: Lakers–Clippers rivalry *National Football League: Chargers-Rams rivalry

Former

*National Football League: Raiders-Rams rivalry *Major League Soccer: Honda SuperClasico

References

;Inline citations ;Bibliography * * {{Greater Los Angeles Area Sports Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers Interleague play Major League Baseball rivalries 1997 establishments in California Annual events in Major League Baseball Major League Baseball in Los Angeles