Angels put another target on their back with petty Shohei Ohtani decision

It's hard to believe, but the Los Angeles Angels are 65 years old. In turn, their longtime home, Angel Stadium, is turning 60 this year.

The stadium has become synonymous with the team at this point. They did spend their first five years of existence playing in Wrigley Field (the now-defunct one in California) and Dodger Stadium (though, at the time, it was more commonly known as Chavez Ravine Stadium), but Angel Stadium is the only home the Halos have truly ever associated with.

As such, the team released an awesome tribute video celebrating 60 years in Anaheim.

It's a touching tribute, one that's meant to celebrate the franchise's long-running history as a fixture in Los Angeles. Mike Trout naturally features prominently, as does the legendary 2002 championship team. Albert Pujols even got a cameo, as did the Savannah Bananas, who played at Angel Stadium as part of their 2025 World Tour.

And yet, despite making room for folks not even associated with the franchise, the Angels couldn't a single highlight to put in of Shohei Ohtani?

Shohei Ohtani's Angels legacy is complicated

There's no secret as to why Ohtani was snubbed from the video -- betraying your team by signing with their crosstown rivals for a historic contract doesn't exactly endear you to a fanbase.

It's also true that the Angels never experienced any notable team success despite Ohtani's individual greatness. They never made the playoffs during his time in Anaheim, and the failed "Big 3" of him, Trout, and Anthony Rendon will go down as one of MLB's greatest what-ifs.

That being said... Ohtani is one of the best players to ever put on an Angels uniform. He won one of the three Rookie of the Year Awards in franchise history, joining Trout and Tim Salmon. He's also responsible for more than a quarter of the organization's MVP trophies, joining Trout as the only two players in Angels history to win multiple with the team.

The Japanese phenom did just about everything he could to guide the Halos toward success. He's the greatest two-way player the sport has ever seen, and the Angels were the ones responsible for giving him the leeway necessary to succeed both on the mound and in the batter's box.

The lack of team success and playoff trips stings, but that's been the Angels' thing for a while now. Ohtani didn't fail them; they failed Ohtani.

Because he's still playing and racking up titles with the Dodgers, it's fair to feel animosity toward the now-four-time MVP. But to try and write the story of the Angels without including Ohtani is a disservice to an incredible era in which he and Trout were teammates at the same time, in which they were the two best players in the world... even if that era is now defined by what could have been more than what was.

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