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Los Angeles Angels: The Twisted Logic Of Owner Arte Moreno
Lest it never be said that baseball owners don’t know how to put a spin on things they find distasteful, meet the owner of the Los Angeles Angels, Arte Moreno . According to Forbes , Moreno is said to be worth $2.1 billion. And yet, in his mind as he told MLB.com “we need to save all the money we can because we spent it all like a drunken sailor”. What a crock…..
The funny part about his statement is the use of the word “we”, as if the entire team and front office signed the contracts that cripple the Los Angeles Angels franchise now, and even further into the future. Consider just this one piece of information and you’ll see what I mean. This year, the Angels will have paid a player $40 million to one player between last season and the upcoming one. This player did not have an at bat in the majors last year, and unless a miracle occurs, he is not likely to have one this year. And if he does, it certainly won’t be with the Angels who are paying him, because he’s not even a member of the Angels anymore.
That player of course is Josh Hamilton , who at one time Arte Moreno (apparently) thought was the second coming of Babe Ruth . And dare we even mention the contract that was extended to Albert Pujols for 10 years, $240M, a contract that Moreno will be paying on until Pujols has a cane instead of a bat when he strolls to the plate at the age of 42 (2012-21).
And the only thing to say about the best player in the game today, is that you aren’t paying Mike Trout enough ($145 million through 2020).
Angels Fans Deserve More For Their Support
More from Call to the Pen
So now, Arte Moreno insists on crying poverty while Angels fans sit by watching the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros continue to improve their teams, and they’re far from done yet. Meanwhile, it’s not likely that there was a reported sighting of the Angels at the Winter Meetings.
Now I’m no financial genius, but it would seem that if Arte Moreno invested that 2,100 million dollars he is attributed to have, the annual interest alone would cover the Angels payroll. I don’t live in Los Angeles, but I would imagine that fans of the Angels are justifiably irate. Because this is a franchise that draws 3 million plus fans each season, before the gates even open on Opening Day.
Similar perhaps to the Detroit Tigers, who now look back and lament about their sins of past, the Angels have a responsibility to the city and their fans to put the best team possible on the field every single season. And you don’t get to “take a couple of years off” to catch up on things, as Moreno claims he needs to do.
And if he can’t (or won’t) do that, then maybe it’s time that he takes the advice of Halos Heaven and sells the team to someone who can. Because as things stand now, the Angels are one sorry excuse for a major market big league franchise.
