The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The Angels have been based in Angel Stadium of Anaheim since 1966. In 2009 they were AL Western Division champions for the third straight season.

An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Los Angeles in 1961 as the Los Angeles Angels, and played their home games at Los Angeles' Wrigley Field (not to be confused with Chicago's stadium of the same name). The team then moved in 1962 to newly built Dodger Stadium, which the Angels referred to as Chavez Ravine, where they were tenants of the Los Angeles Dodgers through 1965.

The team has gone through several name changes in their history, first changing to the California Angels in midseason 1965 in recognition of their upcoming move to the newly constructed Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim the following year. When The Walt Disney Company took control of the team in 1997, it extensively renovated the re-named Angel Stadium. The City of Anaheim contributed $30 million to the $100 million renovation on the condition that both the stadium's name and the team's name contain the word "Anaheim". Disney was hoping to capitalize on the proximity of nearby Disneyland to enhance the tourism in the area, and thus the team became the Anaheim Angels.

In 2005, new owner Arte Moreno wanted to include "Los Angeles" in the team's name, in order to better tap into the Los Angeles media market, the second largest in the country. In compliance with the terms of its lease with the city of Anaheim, which required "Anaheim" be a part of the team's name, the team was renamed to Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Hotly disputed when initially announced, the change was eventually upheld in court and the city dropped the suit in 2009, though the team usually refers to itself as simply the Angels in its home media market. Many news reporters simply list them as "Los Angeles Angels".

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