Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno is selling the team to LA Rams owner Stan Kroenke, a stunning development that’s immediately turned around the popular narrative on the struggling franchise.
Fans who spent much of the year chanting “sell the team” now find themselves with a strange feeling: hope.
Angels executives signal shift in priorities
Before the season began, Moreno said that Angels fans did not prioritize winning.
“The No. 1 thing fans want is affordability,” Moreno said. “They want affordability. They want safety, and they want a good experience when they come to the ballpark.
“Believe it or not, winning is not in their top five.”
Now, that sentiment has left the building.
Team executives speaking in the aftermath of the news breaking were quick to emphasize how important winning is.
While former leadership long prioritized ballpark affordability over winning baseball games, team executives were quick to state that winning games and building successful teams is their primary focus.
Just consider that this squad was subject to something of a fire sale before the trade deadline, which is almost always a sign of a team that’s given up on winning.
Now, though with new flexibility for the roster and an owner who has a reputation for winning championships, players and fans alike have fresh hope.
‘Getting that winning culture back’
Some of the Angels’ biggest stars have expressed their newly positive attitudes toward the team in light of who’s coming in.
Kroenke has won championships in multiple other sports, including the Rams, Colorado Avalanche of the NHL, Denver Nuggets of the NBA and Arsenal of the English Premier League.
That kind of pedigree is hard-earned and therefore respected by tough-nosed players like superstar Mike Trout, whose loyalty to the franchise has remained steadfast despite tough questions from the press and talent that any other team would love to have.
“Wherever he buys, he wins,” Trout explained to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
Of course, a positive vibe only goes so far, and the organization and players will ultimately have to produce on the field for anything to change.
But just getting a breath of fresh air after a stagnant stretch is a big step forward for the Halos.
“It’s obviously been frustrating the last, I don’t know how many years it’s been,” Trout said. “But just to hear the news like this, I’m super excited to have this change.”
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