ANGELS UPDATE: ANGELS FAITHFUL KEEPING THE FAITH.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - The newfound tenacity of Angels fans seemed best measured last autumn, when the team won the World Series, Rally Monkeys flew off of shelves for $20 a pop and the infernal din of inflatable noisemakers provided an eerie backdrop for the team's championship run.

But there's plenty of motivation to attend a postseason game. More remarkable in the bigger picture was an easily forgettable weekend one month ago.

The Detroit Tigers, on their way to setting an American League record for losses and with exactly zero marketable players, visited Edison Field for a three-game series. They would be taking on an Angels team 16 games out of first place with a lineup featuring not a World Series MVP but rather Triple-A call-ups such as Robb Quinlan and Adam Riggs, whose contribution to Angels lore consists of wearing a jersey with the team name misspelled.

And yet, the team drew crowds of 43,174, 42,337 and 40,745 for the three-game sweep.

The trend has continued into this weekend, when the Angels will conclude their most successful season at the gate by welcoming their 3 millionth fan of the year during a three-game series with the Texas Rangers.

That the Angels shattered their attendance mark of 2,807,360, set in 1982, was no surprise. A team's most prosperous year always comes one season after winning a championship, when fans clamor for season tickets and teams ride the wave of the previous year's success.

Until recently, fans have continued to show up en masse, sending team officials the most encouraging signs yet that the attendance surge might last beyond this season.

``We're out of it,'' said Angels vice president of business operations Kevin Uhlich as he eyed another large crowd gathered to watch meaningless September baseball. ``The kids are back in school. But we've still had walk-up (ticket sales) of over a thousand per game. There's still an excitement about this team.''

This season represented the Angels' best chance to make a long-term impression on its growing fan base, and it was a disaster. And come the first week in November, when the Angels mail out season-ticket renewal forms, fans will have the first chance to jump off the bandwagon.

But Uhlich said that although early indications are there will be some churn among the season-ticket base, but that again it should be at least 21,000 next season.

One reason for the sold base is Edison Field. Another is new owner Arte Moreno, who took over in May and made a splash by cutting beer prices and mingling among fans in the upper concourses, creating a warmer vibe than the one engendered by Disney's corporate ownership.

With the future of fan favorites such as David Eckstein and Scott Spiezio in doubt, it remains to be seen whether fans are attracted to the franchise or the players who delivered the title.

Gabe Lacques, [phone]

gabe.lacques(at)sgvn.com

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ANGELS vs. TEXAS

- Gabe Lacques