Vaughn Already Boosting Local Economy

Michael Mahi proudly wore his Mo Vaughn T-shirt to the Angels’ home opener Tuesday night. But Mahi didn’t wait for opening night to bug his father to buy the shirt. He dragged his dad to the Angels’ store at MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana weeks ago and pointed immediately to the rack with the Vaughn stuff.

“He’s good,” said Mahi, 10, of Santa Ana. “He’s probably one of the best hitters on the Angels.”

And the most popular, by indicators that exceed the roaring standing ovation that preceded his first at-bat. After five months of anticipation following the landmark $80-million signing, Vaughn was finally in the house at Edison Field--on the field, and in the ticket booth and the community relations office and the souvenir shops, too.

“The addition for Mo did wonders for us,” said Ron Minegar, Angel vice president of sales and marketing.

Vaughn T-shirts, one inscribed “The Beginning of a New Mo-llennium,” run $23 for adults and $20 for kids. A cap reading “Mo’llennium” costs $20, a “Little Mo” toddler T-shirt $15, a Vaughn batting practice jersey $100.

Vaughn spurred ticket sales as well. Within days of his signing last November, the Angels shipped pizza boxes to their season-ticket holders, with a big smiling picture of Mo and the words “We Deliver,” a piping-hot reference to the team’s promise to add a marquee player.

And Vaughn delivered too. The Angels had anticipated 85% of season-ticket holders to renew this year, a number that jumped to 91% after Vaughn signed, according to Minegar. The Angels sold the equivalent of 1,000 new season tickets this winter and expect to sell another 1,000 during the season, Minegar said.

With Vaughn aboard and pennant fever spreading, the Angels hope to attract 2.75 million fans this season, just shy of the record 2.8 million of 1982. The Angels drew 2.5 million last season, with the renovated Edison Field--backed by a $5-million Disney advertising campaign--accounting for much of a remarkable 42% jump from the previous year.

The attendance Tuesday included some two dozen friends and family members in Vaughn’s private suite, including his mother and father. During the season, Vaughn plans to use the suite to entertain children.

That is but one of Vaughn’s charitable activities. Before considering local endorsement opportunities, he wanted to select several community causes to support, according to his business manager, Mark Gillam.

For each run he drives in, Vaughn has pledged $100 to the Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities (RBI) program of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Orange County and another $100 to the UCI Medical Center for an activity room for sick children. Vaughn also will donate money to refurbish a youth baseball field in the county, joining teammates Gary DiSarcina and Darin Erstad in that endeavor.

“We wanted to set up the charitable things first,” Gillam said. “If there are dozens of endorsement opportunities, there are thousands of charitable things. You will never run out of causes that have merit and need help.”

Just ask Dennis Bickmeier, the Angels’ director of community relations. Bickmeier reports a dozen requests a week related to Vaughn--letters, calls, faxes and e-mails from community groups--wanting Vaughn to appear at an event or donate a signed ball, bat or jersey for fund-raising purposes.

“When I worked for the Rams, when Jim Everett was playing, he had his own foundation, and he was extremely popular in the community,” Bickmeier said. “His requests were pretty high. But this will blow anything away that happened in this county.

“I don’t know if you want to call it a phenomenon, but this will be big.”