Latest Athletic fan poll gives more fuel for Arte Moreno to sell the Angels

For Los Angeles Angels fans, this has been a very trying few years. Despite having both Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani on the roster, the Angels were completely unable to build a complete core around them thanks to an apparent disregard for the need for a pitching staff and some notable misses in free agency (including baseball despiser Anthony Rendon).

Now, Shohei is playing across town, Mike Trout's health is an open question, and it is unclear how the team should proceed to return to relevance. At the center of all of it is owner Arte Moreno. When Moreno originally bought the team from Disney back in 2003, he promised big things for the franchise and, for a while, it seemed like he was going to deliver. Throughout the 2000s, the Angels were in the playoffs constantly and between big signings like Albert Pujols, drafting Trout, and signing Ohtani, the future looked incredibly bright.

Unfortunately, things have turned sour in a hurry. LA has made the playoffs just once since 2010 and Moreno even flirted with selling the team recently before deciding to pull the Angels off the market with some big time offers on the table. To say that Angels fans are over it may be a bit of an understatement.

The Athletic recently did a survey of Angels fans (subscription required) about their overall confidence in the Angels in a multitude of areas. Unsurprisingly, fans are not feeling particularly great at the moment, but particularly striking was Moreno's approval numbers. After starting off as very popular among the fan base, 67.6% of fans rated Moreno as a poor owner with an additional 23.5% considering him below average entering 2024. Just 1.9% of fans considered him to be a good or better owner.

Angels fans clearly want a change in ownership from Arte Moreno

While Moreno has certainly spent a fair bit of money during his time as owner, it is hard to argue with the overwhelming sentiment from fans. Several big signings supposedly pushed by Moreno did not end well, investments in making the team sustainable have been few and far between, he has steered away from top pitching talent for reasons known only to him, and the Angels just haven't been good in a long time.

It is fair to point out that it isn't like the Angels get glowing reviews in other areas. However, Moreno was clearly the source of fans' ire, with a shocking 95% of respondents saying that he should sell the team. There are plenty of owners that are unpopular with fans, but the disdain for Moreno is abnormal even amongst that group.

Unfortunately for Angels fans, that doesn't look like it is going to happen anytime soon. While it seems like negotiations to sell the Angels got to a fairly advanced point last time around, Moreno either didn't get an offer that could convince him or he just could get over not being an owner. For better or worse, Moreno is going to be around for a while longer. Based on his track record, it is more likely to be for the worse.

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