It’s obvious by now that Arte Moreno, the owner of the Los Angeles Angels, is not well-liked in many quarters.The majority of fans are unhappy with his time as owner, and his relationship with the city of Anaheim is still tense due to the fallout from the failed sale of Angels Stadium and its aftermath.
But it appears that the hate for Moreno has reached new heights when a LA Times column attacked the controversial owner both directly and indirectly, and criticized Rob Manfred for doing little to deal with him.
LA Times blasts Angels owner Arte Moreno, holds Rob Manfred accountable
LA Times columnist Bill Shaikin made a pretty compelling case for MLB needing to do something about how the Angels are run under Moreno. He noted the Angels are in a huge media market and having a team and owner that is run so poorly and is so unpopular with fans threatens to hurt baseball’s popularity overall. He isn’t wrong.
Unfortunately, criticisms of Moreno continue to fall on deaf ears. Manfred himself was asked about Moreno’s ownership of the team and his response was, “Arte, I think, has worked hard over the years to be as competitive as possible. He runs a fan-centric business operation in Anaheim. The results on the field are the results on the field.” At best, this is corporate speak to shield one of his own. At worst, every single part of his response was a bold-faced lie.
It hasn’t taken Much effort for Moreno to be “as competitive as possible.” He has put a lot of effort into projecting this image by suppressing reporters who don’t agree with the team’s strategy and occasionally advocating for ridiculous but eye-catching actions. He has never given a capable front office the freedom to create a winning team that can last with the Angels. Shohei Ohtani’s departure was mostly caused by Moreno.
When it was announced that Moreno was considering selling the team, there was a ray of hope; however, that dream was dashed when he took the team off the market once more. The league isn’t going to stop Moreno from being an owner, so Angels supporters will just have to put up with more of the same incompetence until it really ends.
