Having taken over as the owner of the Los Angeles Angels in 2003, Arte Moreno has seen his relationship with the fanbase grow strained over the years.
Since 2010, the Angels have made it to the playoffs only once. As a result, recent years have seen the Halos earn a reputation as serial underperformers.
This has naturally caused a great deal of frustration amongst fans, with many blaming Arte Moreno for a lack of ambition. The Angels are currently the tenth-most valuable MLB franchise, valued at $2.75 billion per Forbes.
To make matters worse, in an interview with insider Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register on February 20, Moreno pinned the blame on the fanbase, claiming the Angels found themselves in such a predicament because winning isn’t high on Angels fans’ list of priorities.
On Tuesday, February 24, analyst Jim Rome ripped into Arte Moreno for his controversial comments.
“Just because you own a team, doesn’t mean you want to win. When he says ‘The fans really don’t prioritize winning,’ what he’s really saying is he doesn’t prioritize winning. Because I’ve never met a fan in any sport who didn’t throw down their hard-earned cash, who didn’t get to the yard, or the arena, or the stadium, or the rink, not giving a damn if they won or lost. Of course you want to win, of course that’s why you’re there. Can you imagine trying to turn around and blame the fans for the futility of your pathetic franchise? A franchise that’s made the playoffs only once since ’09,” Rome said, during Tuesday’s episode of ‘The Jim Rome Show.’
“Somehow that’s on you Angels fan, because you don’t want to win. The owner does, but not you. That’s why they’re not good. Because if it were up to the owner, that team would be winning. He pretty much said that. Not every owner wants to win, because it’s too expensive. Alright, then if you can no longer afford to play that game, then get out of the game! Sell the team to somebody who can, and somebody who does want to win, and somebody who knows that the fans want to win. Contrary to what you’re saying, Arte, Angels fans absolutely want to win, you’re confusing your inability to win with Angels fans not wanting to win.”
Per USA Today, the Angels had the 13th highest payroll in MLB at $190.5 million. However, they finished at the bottom of the AL West last season, going just 72-90.
Insider Explains Why MLB Commissioner Will Not Be Best Pleased With Arte Moreno’s Controversial Comments
Making an appearance on Friday’s episode of “Fair Territory,” The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal explained why, in addition to Angels fans, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred would also not have been best pleased with Arte Moreno’s controversial comments.
“If I’m Rob Manfred, the commissioner of baseball, and I see an owner saying this on the eve of collective bargaining agreement negotiations (I’m not going to be happy),” Rosenthal said (Timestamp: 0:33).
“Trying and winning is going to be a key element of this whole deal, which the union wants more of from more teams. Arte Moreno is embarrassing Major League Baseball with this kind of stuff, and if I’m Rob Manfred. I’m not happy about it.”
The 2026 season will be the Los Angeles Angels’ 24th under Arte Moreno’s ownership.
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