The Los Angeles Angels have spent the better part of the last two decades as one of baseball's laughingstocks. This is a team that calls the second-largest media market in the country its home, and has stumbled upon not just one but two of the greatest baseball players to have ever lived in Mike Trout (a first-round pick back in 2009) and Shohei Ohtani (who chose the team as an amateur free agent in 2018). Just what do they have to show for that good fortune? Nine straight losing seasons, zero playoff appearances since 2014 and zero playoff wins since 2009.
The one constant over all that time: owner Arte Moreno, who acquired the team from Disney in May of 2003. Moreno inherited a club that had just won its first-ever World Series; but while the Halos were able to stay competitive for much of the 2000s, eventually Moreno's baffling contract decisions — $125 million for Josh Hamilton, $240 million for Albert Pujols, $77.5 million for CJ Wilson, $50 million for Gary Matthews Jr., $245 million for Anthony Rendon — and overall mismanagement became too much to bear.
But it's not just that Moreno doesn't know how to build a competitive roster, or leave his GM well enough alone. All those splashy megadeals mask the fact that he's shockingly cheap in just about every other area — and the latest evidence might be the most galling yet.
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Arte Moreno throws Mike Trout, Angels players under the bus with outrageous schedule policy
On Thursday night, the Angels are set to conclude their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a night game in Anaheim. Less than 24 hours later, the team will need to be in Minneapolis for the start of their weekend set against the Twins.
If that seems like an unusually quick turnaround, well, that's because it is: Rather than schedule a matinee and allow for the team to fly out at a reasonable time, the Angels have set Thursday's start time for 6:29 p.m. PT — nine minutes earlier than their usual evening start times, and the latest possible first pitch allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The reason, at least according to The Athletic? Night games mean better attendance, and Moreno has no problem risking the health and effectiveness of his roster if it means more money in his pocket.
Just take it from a team spokesperson, who told The Athletic: “The process of selecting game times begins months in advance of an upcoming season and during those discussions, our club makes the convenience of our fans a top priority."
Is a Thursday night start more convenient for fans? Undoubtedly; it's a lot easier to head to the park after work than take the day off. But there's a reason nearly every other team in the league plays day games on "getaway day": It's unreasonable to expect players to be at their best while taking red-eye flights across multiple time zones. And even Moreno's biggest stars are making their displeasure known.
“It’s not ideal for sure,” said Mike Trout, a man so loyal to this franchise that he refuses to even entertain the idea of a trade. “I don’t know when we’re supposed to land, but it’s going to be early. And we’ve got to play that night. And the worst part about it is, the next day is a day game.”
All-Star closer Kenley Jansen said "I don’t think it’s healthy for anybody," whlie veteran outfielder Taylor Ward added "I don’t think it should be allowed, to be honest,"
To make things even worse, the Angels did all of this in the hopes that Pirates ace and SoCal native Paul Skenes would be on the mound on Thursday. But Pittsburgh has had to shuffle its rotation a bit in the early going, meaning Skenes isn't scheduled to pitch until Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Moreno got dollar signs in his eyes and couldn't help himself, and now his players are the ones forced to pay the price.