Angels’ Silver Slugger history a sad reminder of their undeniable failure under Arte Moreno

There's a narrative that the Los Angeles Angels have always been a disaster under Arte Moreno. That's not entirely the case. Moreno purchased the Angels from the Walt Disney Company in 2003, mere months after the club won the first and only World Series in its history.

That 2003 season was already underway when Moreno came onto the scene, and it was a massive letdown, with the club going 77-85. The following winter, a very different Moreno went on a rampage. He signed Vladimir Guerrero, Bartolo Colon, Jose Guillen, and Kelvim Escobar. Guerrero's decision to sign with the Halos was in part due to Moreno and the vision he was thought to possess.

The Angels returned to the postseason in 2004 with a 92-70 record. They'd make the playoffs in five out of the next six seasons. However, despite announcing his arrival with a big spending spree, the Halos weren't yet Moreno's club. The much-maligned former owner had bought a successful organization, with a world-class manager in Mike Scioscia, and many stars like Garrett Anderson, Troy Glaus, Troy Percival, and Francisco Rodriguez.

By 2010, the book was closing on that first chapter of Moreno's ownership, and the preexisting pieces were dropping like flies. 2011 marked the beginning of a new era, one that really came into shape in 2012, when Mike Trout won the AL Rookie of the Year. By this point, Moreno, one of the most hands-on owners in the game, no longer had the benefit of the infrastructure left by the previous regime. He had to build something entirely his own, and Trout was his cornerstone.

One could have not asked for a better foundation. In addition to that Rookie of the Year Award, Trout has 12 All-Star appearances, nine Silver Sluggers, and three MVPs to his name. Yet, he's been to the playoffs just once, in 2014.

The third phase of Moreno's ownership began on December 8, 2017 when the Angels landed Shohei Ohtani. Finally, Trout had a sidekick that was on, even above, his level. Ohtani chipped in two Silver Sluggers and two MVPs, but his addition yielded zero trips to October.

Arte Moreno squandered Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani's Angels tenure, but not because he refused to spend

Having the greatest player of his generation and then augmenting him with the most unique player in baseball history and still having nothing aside from one playoff appearance to show for it, is really something. It's a special kind of ineptitude. But there's a common misconception that the Angels failed because Moreno is stingy.

The thing is, Arte did spend. He spent lavishly on shiny, flashy things, but ignored all the buyer-beware labels plastered all over them. For example, heading into the 2013 season, Moreno decided to give a budding young Trout a running mate, handing Josh Hamilton a five-year, $125 million contract. Hamilton's demons were well known before the deal was signed, and they resurfaced with the Angels. He ended up being one of the franchise's biggest regrets.

He also decided he wanted to add a third star to the mix with Trout and Ohtani, and decided that Anthony Rendon should be that guy. Instead, all he did was surpass Hamilton as the organization's greatest embarrassment.

These are just two of the most egregious examples. There are C.J. Wilson, Matt Harvey, and several others over the years who serve as cautionary tales of what could happen when Arte pried open the checkbook. Over these most recent years, he's basically turned off spending after being snake-bitten so many times.

The real mistake was that Moreno would make these splash signings but ignore the mid-level moves, under-the-radar pickups, and savvy depth signings that good teams truly need to make.

Because of that, the history of the Angels under his stewardship is Trout, a little bit of Ohtani, and nothing else. The lack of depth repeatedly doomed the franchise, and has put the fan base through what felt like unending misery. Eleven combined Silver Sluggers and five MVPs, and yet nothing to show for it. Thankfully, brighter days are ahead.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow